Instant analysis of Vanderbilt's offense in its 37-20 loss to No.1 ranked Georgia.

What went right

A group that hasn't been in the backfield much this season was on the first drive of the afternoon and benefited from it with a forced fumble by Aeneas DiCosmo that was recovered by Marlen Sewell and netted Vanderbilt a drive that started inside Georgia's 40 yard line.

It felt like to an extent, the Commodores did take a step up in terms of their pass rush. Carson Beck never seemed to be fully comfortable in the pocket and when Vanderbilt sent more than three guys to rush the passer it caused some disruption.

Whether it was DiCosmo's forced fumble, CJ Taylor's deflection in the backfield, a Nate Clifton sack or a Miles Capers pressure that you want to turn tom there's some backing to the theory that Vanderbilt held its own on the line of scrimmage on Saturday.

The Commodore defense also forced the most turnovers in any game since their week zero matchup with Hawaii, those turnovers both put the Vanderbilt offense in good field position.

What went wrong

It felt like death by 1000 cuts in Saturday's matchup.

Vanderbilt didn't give up the huge play on Saturday but was very obviously outmanned on defense, that was reflected in Georgia getting just about whatever it wanted on the ground and in the intermediate passing game.

Clark Lea's defense seemed to give Georgia just about everything that it wanted underneath as a result of its soft coverage. It's hard to blame the defense for that when considering that it was without De'Rickey Wright, Martel Hight, BJ Anderson, Kane Patterson and Trudell Berry for much of Saturday's contest.

Some of those intermediate passes that Georgia completed turned into gains of over 20 yards, Georgia recorded six of those in Saturday's contest. The Bulldogs also had six of those plays in which they ran for over 20 yards.

The Bulldogs ran for 281 yards in total and was able to beat Vanderbilt without throwing it outside the numbers much. The Bulldogs also threw for 261 yards and dominated the time of possession battle 37:19 to 22:41 without Brock Bowers in the fold.

When Vanderbilt's defense got it back into the game late it took a step backwards and gave up a long run that all but ended this thing.

Defensive MVP: CJ Taylor

Taylor looked every bit of an NFL player on Saturday and frankly he looked like Vanderbilt's best player period.

Vanderbilt's anchor was all over the field in Saturday's matchup which masked a lot of the deficiencies that the defense had. Taylor was that impactful.

The veteran defender finished with an interception, seven tackles, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry, and a tackle for loss. That makes for the perhaps the best statline any Vanderbilt defender has had this year.

Selecting Taylor was an absolute no brainer.

Grade: C+

All things considered (including the opponent), Vanderbilt's defense was about as solid as you can ask for. 37 points is 37 points and 542 yards is 542 yards, but Vanderbilt limiting Georgia's explosive plays the way it did until the end, rushing the passer the way it did and forcing two turnovers is something it can hang its hat on moving forward.

Vanderbilt's defense wasn't awesome by any stretch but the way it battled is worth noting as the Commodores head into the buy week.