Hail Mary Lifts #11 Vols Past #25 Georgia, 34-31
Jauan Jennings
caught a 43-yard touchdown heave from Joshua Dobbs as time expired to
lift No. 11/11 Tennessee to a 34-31 comeback victory over No. 25/20
Georgia on Saturday at Sanford Stadium for the Vols' 11th-straight win. Tennessee
(5-0, 2-0 SEC) notched its fourth come-from-behind victory of the
season and its first win over Georgia (3-2, 1-2 SEC) in Athens since
2006. UT has notched back-to-back wins over ranked opponents on
consecutive Saturdays for the first time since 1995. Last week, UT
recovered from a 21-0 deficit to defeat No. 19/16 Florida. Georgia
took the lead with 10 seconds left in the game as Jacob Eason found
Riley Ridley on a 47-yard touchdown throw which split the corner and
the safety on the left sideline. However, an unsportsmanlike conduct
penalty on the celebration resulted in a 15-yard penalty which would be
assessed on the ensuing kickoff. Evan
Berry returned the short kickoff 20 yards and the Vols received five
more yards thanks to an offside call on Georgia to put UT at the
43-yard line. Down 31-28 with four seconds left, Dobbs sat in the
pocket and launched the ball to the left side of the end zone. Three
Vols receivers and six Georgia defenders were in the area, but Jennings
came down with the ball to give Tennessee its first 5-0 start to a
season since the 1998 National Championship year. Tennessee trailed
17-0 in the first half and 24-14 entering the fourth quarter. Down
24-21 with under three minutes remaining, Derek Barnett came up with a
big play in the Georgia end zone. Barnett sacked Eason in the end zone
and forced a fumble that Corey Vereen recovered to give Tennessee its
first lead of the game at 28-24. Dobbs
completed 16 of 26 passes for 230 yards, three touchdowns and one
interception and ran for 26 yards and one score on 11 carries. Jennings
finished with 71 yards on three catches and the game-winning score.
Jalen Hurd had three catches for 50 yards and one touchdown and also
carried the ball 10 time for 42 yards. Alvin Kamara led Tennessee in
rushing with 62 yards on 16 carries and added three receptions for 26
yards and one score. Colton
Jumper recorded a career-high 11 tackles and one forced fumble. Todd
Kelly Jr. added 10 tackles while Barnett finished with five tackles,
two sacks and a forced fumble. Eason
finished 17-of-27 for 211 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Sony Michel had 16 carries for 91 yards and Brian Herrien had 74 yards
on 15 carries. Georgia
scored the first 10 points of the game as Michel took a draw play up
the middle and into the end zone from 14 yards out late in the first
quarter. Rodrigo Blankenship added a 27-yard field goal in the second
after Georgia recovered an Alvin Kamara fumble. The Vols were about
to respond on their ensuing possession as Jalen Hurd caught a 23-yard
pass out of the backfield, but the junior was hit from behind and
fumbled the ball just as he was about to cross the goal line. Georgia
recovered the ball and capped an 80-yard drive with touchdown after
Eason recovered a fumble by Michel in the end zone to put the Bulldogs
up 17-0. The Vols grabbed some momentum just before halftime as
Berry put Tennessee in good field position with a 34-yard return on the
kickoff. Dobbs hit Josh Smith on a 31-yard strike up the seam on the
first play of the drive to move the Vols into Georgia territory. A few
plays later, Dobbs finished the drive himself with a four-yard rushing
touchdown after scrambling out of a sack and heading to the left pylon.
He got there just before a hoard of Georgia defenders pushed him
out-of-bounds to bring Tennessee within 17-7 at halftime. The Vols
came out of the halftime break and put together a 10-play, 65-yard
drive capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass from Dobbs to Hurd. Dobbs
rolled right out of the pocket and found Hurd in stride to bring UT
within three, 17-14. Georgia added another score to reestablish a
10-point margin as Eason found Isaac Nauta over the middle on a 50-yard
catch-and-run score. Tennessee responded with a touchdown on the
first play of the fourth quarter as Dobbs hit Kamara in the flat on a
crucial third down. Kamara spun out of a tackle and ran the rest of the
way for a 16-yard touchdown pass to bring the Vols to within 24-21. With
3:43 left in the game and Tennessee down 24-21, Trevor Daniel booted a
37-yard punt and Riley Lovingood downed the ball at the 3-yard line to
back Georgia up. The resulting UGA possession resulted in Barnett's
forced fumble and Vereen's recovery in the end zone which sparked the
UT comeback. Georgia tried to answer on the next drive, but the Vols
defensive line was in the backfield, forcing Eason to try to throw the
ball to Terry Godwin on the left sideline. Malik Foreman undercut
Godwin and got his left foot down just inbounds to intercept the ball. The final 2:10 featured two lead changes and two game-turning touchdown passes down the field. The
Vols next head to College Station, Texas, to play Texas A&M on Oct.
8. The game will feature a 3:30 p.m. broadcast on CBS, marking the
third-straight week that Tennessee will be featured in the CBS SEC Game
of the Week.
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