NASHVILLE, Tenn. - It's said that SEC games are won and lost on the line of scrimmage. On Saturday, Georgia showed why it's widely considered the favorite to win the league's Eastern Division this year in its 31-14 victory over Vanderbilt.

The Bulldogs' defense held the Commodores to less than five yards per play and the offensive line opened up some nice holes for running back Nick Chubb as No. 10 Georgia never trailed despite a sluggish start.

"So many things went well and so many things didn't go so well," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said. "There's some things we need to learn from, but a lot of things to be thankful for. There were enough good things on offense, defense and special teams where we deserved to win and enough bad things where we could have certainly lost it. To get out of a game like this with a win and still be able to learn from it could be very valuable, and that will be our goal.''

Chubb ran 19 times for 189 yards as part of a Georgia ground attack that gained 281 yards. The Bulldogs' defense held Chubb's counterpart, Ralph Webb, to 25 carries for 68 yards.

"We had a hard time stopping Chubb tonight," Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason said. "When it comes to finishing, you've got to make sure you get him on the ground, and we didn't get him on the ground enough. We had hats around him, we had guys there, but you've got to make plays. Other than that, I thought our guys competed."

Georgia ran its record to 2-0, while the Commodores (0-2) remain the SEC's only winless team.

The Bulldogs led only 14-6 at half as Vanderbilt held the ball for 50 plays to Georgia's 23. That's because the Bulldogs couldn't offset their running success with anything through the air as the Commodores held Georgia to 2-of-9 passing for 25 yards before the break. Bulldogs starting quarterback Greyson Lambert missed his first seven throws before briefly being benched to end the first half.

"I just tell myself to keep playing, that's really the only thing you can do in that scenario," Lambert said. "Keep playing and keep trusting in the players around you to get it done. That's what I tried to do."

Marshall Morgan's 20-yard field goal with 6:47 left in the third quarter extended the lead to 11. Five minutes later on a second-and-goal play from the Vanderbilt 5, Lambert suckered the Commodores' defense on a play-fake and waltzed into the end zone untouched.

Vanderbilt's Johnny McCrary hit Latevius Rayford with a 7-yard scoring toss with 4:33 left. McCrary scrambled for a 2-point conversion and the Commodores immediately got the ball back at the Georgia 8 after a recovered pooch kick, plus a personal foul penalty to the Bulldogs.

But McCrary threw into coverage two plays later, and was intercepted by linebacker Jake Ganus in the end zone.

Georgia's Dominick Sanders returned another errant McCrary toss for an 88-yard touchdown on the next drive. That was the fifth interception that the redshirt sophomore has thrown in two games.

"He's trying a little too hard to make a play,'' Mason said. "We'll have a chance to watch the film and go through that with Johnny. It's disappointing because there was an opportunity there to score points - a touchdown, or even kick a field goal if we have to."

Georgia's Isaiah McKenzie returned a punt 72 yards for the game's first score.

Vanderbilt's Tommy Openshaw put the Commodores on the board with a 47-yard field goal 46 seconds into the second quarter.

Chubb's 21- and 17-yard runs got the Bulldogs in scoring position on the next drive and Sony Michel broke several tackles on a 31-yard scoring run that put Georgia up 14-3.

Openshaw connected from 41 with 4:05 left before the break to pull Vanderbilt within eight, but missed a chance to get his team closer when he clanked a 43-yarder off the left upright with nine seconds left in the half.

Vanderbilt gained 400 yards on the day but it took 89 plays, and many of those yards came late. The Commodores had a tough time keeping Jordan Jenkins (11 tackles, two sacks, 5 1/2 stops for loss) out of the backfield.

"Jordan played with such a great edge," Richt said. "He came back but there were some things he felt he just needed to get better, and that's what I like about him. He's not a guy who thinks he owns the moon by any stretch, but he came back, worked his tail off and has been playing excellent ball."

NOTES: Former Vanderbilt basketball player Festus Ezeli, a member of Golden State's NBA title team this past year, preceded the Vanderbilt team onto the field holding the Larry O'Brien championship trophy. ... Emmanuel Smith, Vanderbilt's starting nickel back, missed the game with an injury. ... Georgia linebacker Lorenzo Carter was ejected in the first quarter for a hit on Vanderbilt QB Johnny McCrary that was ruled targeting.