After the Tennessee Volunteers drove nearly 80 yards in 11 plays on their first drive in Athens, they set up at the 1-yard line with tight end Miles Kitselman in front of star running back Dylan Sampson. At the snap, Sampson jumped out to the right, taking the Georgia Bulldog defense with him. But quarterback Nico Iamaleava handed the ball off to Kitselman who leaped over the offensive line to score the first rushing touchdown of his college career, and Tennessee had an early 7-0 lead. With head coach Josh Heupel pulling out the stops to get his team in the endzone to start the game, coupled with a couple quick stops from the defense, the arrow was pointing up for the Vols.
After dropping UGA to a 10-0 deficit, the vaunted Tennessee defense, built on the strength of the ferocious front seven getting after quarterbacks, started to falter. It started with James Pearce Jr. getting pulled offsides to give Georgia quarterback Carson Beck a free play. He exploited the penalty to the Bulldog’s first big play of the game, a 38-yard gain, spurring a touchdown drive of their own. With the momentum shifted, Georgia never looked back. They scored on four straight drives to close out the first half and start the second half, taking a 24-17 lead into the fourth quarter, a lead they would only add to in a 31-17 win.
While Georgia marched up and down the field seemingly at will after the close of the first quarter, Tennessee’s offense sputtered. Carson Beck sat in the pocket, and was almost never even touched, while Nico was sacked four times. Beck was hitting his receivers in their routes, while Nico was sailing balls or missing his reads entirely. Even when Nico did get it to his receivers, there were drops aplenty. Leading receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr. dropped a certain first down prompting a punt. Squirrel White dropped a crossing route beyond the sticks, leading to another punt. Miles Kitselman saw the ball bounce off his hands on a much needed third down conversion, and the Vols punted again.
Even when the Tennessee offense was generating positive yards, they would more often than not squander it. They twice punted from the Georgia side of the field, and, in the fourth quarter, saw a 12-play drive end in a punt when time was most needed for the Vols to stage a comeback. And even when the defense started making positive plays, Georgia would get the big play they needed, and extend their drive. Only once after the first quarter did the Bulldog’s punter take the field.
There is not an obvious statistic in the Box score to pinpoint as the reason for Tennessee’s struggles. UT converted over half their third down conversions. They generated over 150 yards at a respectable, if not eye popping, 3.9 yards per carry. But Nico Iamaleava was held without a score and only generated 167 yards on 33 attempts. His mistakes during big moments could not be seen on paper, but watching as he missed reads to hit Bru McCoy on a crosser in the 4th quarter on 3rd down, or seeing him get sacked when a receiver was two steps ahead of his defender with no safety coverage on a deep post route, or watching him airball his pass to Squirrel White or overshoot Dont’e Thornton multiple times in the game was the biggest reason for the offenses failure to generate consistent progress.
While Tennessee still has an outside shot at the CFB playoffs, or maybe even the SEC title game, the atmosphere in Athens has proven too much for Heupel’s teams. Tennessee is winless under Heupel against Georgia, who has won 8 straight games against the Vols under Kirby Smart. UT has also generated significantly fewer yards and points against UGA than they average in any other game. It has become a haunted ground for Heupel, and Smart has nothing but success.
Tennessee next has a chance to revamp their offense against UTEP before closing their season in Nashville against Vanderbilt. If they win out, there is still hope in Knoxville for postseason games and a playoff slot.