After whipping the Bulldogs from Starkville, Mississippi, Tennessee traveled to Athens, Georgia to face a different breed of Bulldogs. These Dawgs played rougher that those from MSU and the Vols were chewed up in the second half, losing to Georgia 31-17.
Unlike many recent contests, the Volunteers got off to a great start at the beginning of the game. Tennessee received the opening kickoff and promptly drove down the field for a touchdown. That stunned the Georgia crowd and motivated the Vols who showed good pep in their steps. The Tennessee defense held Georgia, and the offense marched down field for a successful field goal. At the end of the first quarter, Tennessee lead 10-0 and Vol fans were feeling good.
Early in the second quarter, Georgia put together a long drive and their quarterback, Carson Beck, who had been erratic in several games and prone to throwing interceptions, began to regularly find his receivers against the Vols’ defensive backs and linebackers. Beck was particularly effective in finding the Bulldog tight ends and kept the chains moving. Georgia scored its first touchdown only one and one-half minutes into the second quarter to pull to within 3 points of Tennessee at 10-7. Seven minutes later, the Bulldogs took the lead at 14-10 on a 15-yard run by Beck. On its next possession, Tennessee drove down the field to re-take the lead at 17-14 with 1:54 left in the half on a 27-yard run by Dylan Sampson. However, the Vols couldn’t hold that lead until halftime as the Bulldogs kicked a 36-yard field goal to tie the game 17-17 with five seconds left in the first half.
After so many recent games where the Tennessee offense began slowly in the first half, a 17-17 tie game at Sanford Stadium at the end of the first half seemed like a great beginning to many Vol fans. Unfortunately, as the first half moved along, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck began to get comfortable, and Georgia began to make some long gains via the passing game. Another ominous sign for Vol fans were penalty flags that either broke Tennessee’s offensive rhythm or awarded UGA drive-sustaining first downs.
The second half proved to belong to Georgia. Tennessee’s defense was unable to keep the Bulldogs out of the endzone in the third quarter and Georgia took the lead at 24-17 by the quarter’s end. Carson Beck continued his accurate passing for Georgia while Tennessee’s offense was hindered by inaccurate throws and penalties. Moving to the fourth quarter, Tennessee continued to sporadically move the ball on offense but find ways to kill drives without scoring points. Georgia’s defense gave up some yards, but continually stopped Tennessee before the Vols could get in scoring position. With a little under 6 minutes left in the game, Georgia took possession of the ball deep in its own territory. If the Vols defense could hold, the possibility of giving the Tennessee offense good field position to begin a drive for a possible game-tying touchdown was in hand. Unfortunately for the Volunteers, Georgia’s offense had more big plays in its bag of tricks. The Bulldogs drove the length of the field, eating much of the clock, and scored the game’s final touchdown on a two-yard run with only 2:26 left in the game. Final score, Georgia 31 – Tennessee 17.
For the game, Tennessee gained 319 yards while Georgia gained 453 yards. The Vols had the ball for 29:31 compared to the Bulldogs 31:29. Tennessee ran 72 total plays and Georgia ran 71 plays. The significant difference between the two teams that made the scoring difference was: (1) the average yards per play 6.4 to 4.4 in Georgia’s favor reflecting the Bulldog’s long gains and the Vols inability to generate those long gains; (2) penalties where Tennesse had 9 for 70 yards and Georgia had only 7 for 59 yards; and (3) Tennessee had the only turnover in the game, a Dylan Sampson fumble that ended a nice Vol drive without points.
With the loss, Tennessee’s record falls to 8-2 for the season and their chances of making the NCAA Football Playoff field dimmed. Georgia moved to 8-2 on the season and saw its playoff chances improve due to their extremely strong schedule. This is Georgia’s 8th consecutive win over Tennessee, a streak the Volunteers need to end next year when the Bulldogs visit Neyland Stadium.
It is always difficult to defeat a defending National Champion, particularly when you are competing on their home turf and your quarterback is a red-shirt freshman. Tennessee should not be embarrassed by this tough loss but will hopefully use the experience to learn just how demanding it is to compete at your absolute best for 60 minutes or more when attempting to beat championship teams. Tennessee played a fine first half against the Bulldogs, but they hopefully learned it takes more than one half to beat the champs.
With two games left in the regular season, the Vols still have much to play for. The possibility of competing in the NCAA Football Championship tournament is still alive, but Tennessee will need to show improvement against UTEP and Vanderbilt. The Volunteers are enjoying a particularly good season, let’s see if it becomes a championship season yet!