The Georgia Bulldogs have the lead in the SEC East. Coach Mark Richt just hopes they can handle the success better than last year.

After routing LSU 45-16 last season, the Bulldogs flopped the following week, losing to Tennessee 19-14.

"I hope these guys are mature enough to know that there's a long way to go yet," Richt said during Sunday evening's teleconference, the day after Georgia beat UT 27-14. "They're excited about the position we're in."

The Bulldogs are 5-0 overall, 3-0 in the SEC and ranked fifth in the country.

"I think we deserve to be there (in the top five)," Richt said. "But we're not halfway through our schedule yet. Rankings aren't important right now."

Injuries are important. Richt expects to be without two of his defensive starters this week.

Linebacker Tony Taylor suffered an elbow injury against the Vols and is expected to miss the next two games - Saturday against Vanderbilt and the next week against Arkansas. Richt also doesn't expect nose tackle Gerald Anderson (head injury) to play against Vanderbilt.

"We are finally getting banged up a little," Richt said. "Our linebacker corps was already thin to begin with. We might be the only kickoff team in the country that doesn't have any linebackers running down there. "

Jarvis Jackson, who started five games last season, replaced Taylor against UT. Darrius Swain, who has four career starts, will fill in for Anderson.

Commanding Voice: Richt credited quarterback D.J. Shockley for helping draw UT's defense offside by varying his cadence before the snap.

"He has great voice inflexion," Richt said. "He's doing a super job with the cadence. I bet we're averaging three (offside penalties) a game. We've gotten a bunch of people to jump offside."

The Vols' defense was penalized four times for being offside.

Big Blue: Georgia safety Greg Blue, who is one of the hardest hitters in college football, was outstanding against the Vols. Of his 14 tackles, 13 were solo hits.

"There was a lot of space and he had to make plays," Richt said. "If he had whiffed altogether, they (plays) would have gone for a lot of yards. He made some very sure tackles in the open field."

Career Game: Georgia redshirt freshman fullback Brannan Southerland had the best game of his brief college career against the Vols. He had 10 "de-cleaters" - knockdown blocks - against UT linebackers, according to Richt.

Southerland, who became a starter when Desmond Williams was injured, also caught two passes for 12 yards and scored a touchdown.

Comeback Story: Georgia punt returner Thomas Flowers, who had a crucial 54-yard touchdown return against the Vols, is making the most of a second chance.

Flowers lost the punt-return job in preseason camp last year after a couple of fumbles. He took the job back this season and leads the SEC with a 15.8-yard return average.

Taking The Blame: Richt blamed himself for Shockley's interception that set up UT's first touchdown.

"That really wasn't a good call by me," Richt said of the short sideline route. "We had gone to the well too many times. I told Shock, 'that's on me, don't worry about it.' "