No. 22 Vanderbilt’s 5-1 start has turned heads on a national scale, but No. 10 Georgia coach Mark Richt already knew how dangerous the Commodores can be. After losing to Bobby Johnson’s team in 2006 and barely escaping a loss last season in Nashville, Vandy will have UGA’s full attention when the teams hook up at Sanford Stadium.

“They are an outstanding team,” Richt said. “I think it’s the first time ever both of us have been ranked in the top 25. It’s a great tribute to coach Johnson. I think one thing you can say about Vanderbilt is that they’re a very well-coached team.”

It’s rare when a contest between the Bulldogs and Commodores is meaningful to both teams as far as league standings go, but this one certainly is. No team in the SEC East is unbeaten and today’s winner will put the loser in a tough spot in the East.

“The head-to-head battles are the ones that count the most when it comes to who is going to play for the East championship,” Richt said. “We absolutely need to win it if we’re going to keep pace.”

The Dawgs are coming off a 26-14 victory over Tennessee, one that saw quarterback Matthew Stafford get intercepted twice but light up the Vols defense with more than 300 yards passing.

Mohamed Massaquoi had 103 receiving yards and the passing game allowed UGA to move the markers from wire to wire.

It also opened up the running game, helping Knowshon Moreno surpass the 100-yard mark.

Duplicating those numbers could be tough against one of the SEC’s — and the nations — top defensive units. The club from Nashville has thrived with a swarming defense that consistently forces the opposition into mistakes.

“They like to blitz a lot and they play hard,” Bulldog fullback Brannan Southerland said. “They find ways to win. We do know as far as their defensive scheme goes they’ll bring a lot of players and try to get us rattled.”

Vandy is second in the league in red zone defense and tops in sacks, and a major reason the club has won five of its first six is a turnover margin weighted heavily in favor of the Commodores.

In last Saturday’s upset loss at Mississippi State it was Vanderbilt’s mistakes that ultimately dropped Johnson’s team from the ranks of the unbeaten.

The ’Dores have struggled offensively during the first half of the campaign, but Johnson seems to have settled on Mackenzi Adams at quarterback after Chris Nickson began the year as the starter.

“I think (Adams) will bring a fresh start to the team,” Johnson said. “I think Mackenzi has demonstrated that he can sit in the pocket and figure things out there on the field. He can find the open receivers and he has shown that he can make some very good runs this year.”

As a team, Vandy has shown it can do a lot with a little. In its win here in 2006, Jay Cutler was sidelined by injuries, making the victory even more improbable.

“It wasn’t our first big road win that year,” Johnson said. “But we did it without Jay so that proved that it wasn’t just one person getting the wins for us. There have been a lot of tough places to play and we won a lot of those games under great duress.”

Although statistically the Commodores don’t look like a team with a winning record — much less one tied for the top spot in the division — Richt said the club has a certain intangible that has paved the road to success in 2008.

“Sometimes you’ll watch a team and you’ll just see that they believe,” Richt said. “Vanderbilt believes. They have a spirit about them that not all teams have. I guess it’s that chemistry people talk about.

“Those are the things people can’t define on paper, but they come out in wins and losses. I do have a high regard for what they’re doing.”