Tennessee 12 Georgia 38
Photo Credit: Maury Neipris/Tennessee Athletics
Tennessee lost to Georgia by a score of 38-12 in Jeremy Pruitt's first true road game with the Vols. The final score does not indicate how close the game really was. The Vols were still in the game in the fourth quarter, but the Bulldogs pulled away in the final minutes. Overall, I was extremely pleased with how Tennessee battled. They went into a hostile environment and were not scared of the No. 2 team in the nation. This assures fans that the program is headed in the right direction and may get back to national prominence faster than expected. Here's how the game transpired.
Tennessee received the opening kickoff and Ty Chandler ran the ball for 17 yards on the first play of the game. Tennessee was forced to punt and Georgia scored a touchdown on their opening possession. The 8-play, 86-yard drive ended in odd, and for Vol fans, frustrating fashion. Darrell Taylor knocked the ball out of Jake Fromm's hand, it took one hop and Isaac Nauta scooped it up and ran 31 yards for a score. This was frustrating because the Vols did nothing wrong and still gave up a score. Tennessee had back-to-back punts, including the time that they had not 1, but 2 illegal formation penalties for having 5 men in the backfield. Then, late in the first quarter, Georgia took a 10-0 lead after the Vols' defense held the Bulldogs to a field goal attempt. With just 30 seconds remaining in the first half, a 1-yard touchdown run by Georgia's D'Andre Swift gave the Bulldogs a 17-0 halftime advantage.
Georgia scored another touchdown on the first drive of the second half. After the Bulldogs executed a 10-play, 75-yard drive, Tennessee responded with a drive of equal yardage and plays. Facing a 4th-and-5 from the Georgia 40-yard line, the Vols went for it and Josh Palmer drew defensive pass interference, giving the Vols a first down. Just 2 plays later, Jarrett Guarantano found Palmer for a 37-yard touchdown pass, the first touchdown of Palmer’s career. Later, a 41-yard punt set the Vols up with great field position, at their own 43-yard line. On the first play, Dominick Wood-Anderson hauled in a 10-yard pass, before Tim Jordan ran for 10 plays a couple of plays later. On the fifth play of the drive, Ty Chandler caught a short pass and took it 35 yards to the end zone. Tennessee trailed 24-12 at that point. With 11:10 left in the game, Tennessee was in good position. Unfortunately for the Vols, they would have just 4 more offensive plays in the game. Georgia took a 31-12 lead with 3:31 left in the game. Jeremy Banks fumbled on Tennessee's next play, and it took the Bulldogs just 2 plays to go 31 yards and score again, taking a 38-12. This would end up being the final score.
Ty Chandler ran the ball 5 times for 27 yards and caught 4 passes for 53 yards and 1 touchdown. Josh Palmer's lone reception came on a 37-yard touchdown.
5 Takeaways
1. Same margin of loss, but a different feel: When Jeremy Pruitt was hired last December, he became the 26th coach of the Vols' storied history. In the season's first game, Tennessee lost to West Virginia by 26 points. Last week, the loss to Florida was also by 26 points. After the Florida game, Vol fans felt miserable and somewhat hopeless about the season. Tennessee lost to Georgia by 26 points, again, on Saturday, but it seemed much more positive than the 2 previous losses. The Vols trailed by just 12 points with 4 minutes left in the game. The Bulldogs scored twice late, inflating their margin of victory. Tennessee should be proud that they were still completely in the game in the fourth quarter on the road against the nation's No. 2 team.
2. Jarrett Guarantano is not losing the starting job: Guarantano is one tough dude. After the Florida loss, I expressed my support for him, but suggested that Keller Chryst may receive an opportunity to play if the Vols struggle in this tough stretch of SEC games. After Saturday's performance, I am even more impressed with Guarantano's toughness. He showed poise that is needed in big road games. He completed 13-21 passes for 143 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. I would like for him to take more shots down the field, but my confidence in him grew immensely on Saturday.
3. Tennessee protected the ball: Unlike last week, when the Vols turned the ball over 6 times against Florida, Jeremy Banks' fumble late in the fourth quarter was the only turnover committed by Tennessee on the day. This is important because, although they still lost, Tennessee did not beat themselves. Along with not being careless with the ball, they only committed 5 penalties. Georgia is the No. 2 team in the nation for a reason, but it was encouraging to see the Vols not shoot themselves in the foot over and over
4. Darrell Taylor led an impressive showing by the Vols' defense: Taylor recorded 6 tackles, including 3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles against the Bulldogs. Daniel Bituli posted 8 tackles, while Kyle Phillips and Alexis Johnson each made 7 tackles. Bryce Thompson finished the game with 6 tackles and Quart'e Sapp, Nigel Warrior, Baylen Buchanan and Jonathan Kongbo each posted 5 tackles. The Vols held Georgia to just 17 points in the first half and became the first team all season to hold them to under 40 points in a game.
5. Vols will use their bye week to prepare for Auburn: Tennessee played like they knew they could win on Saturday. This was extremely encouraging, especially since the schedule does not get any easier. The offensive still has flaws, but that is to be expected this season. The fight in this team says a lot about how they will fare throughout the rest of the season. There was absolutely no quit in the Vols. After this bye week, Tennessee will go on the road to play Auburn. The Tigers beat Southern Miss 24-13 on Saturday, failing to reach 100 rushing yards. There was a lengthy lighting delay, but there is no excuse for this type of performance from a top-10 team. After the Vols’ performance against Georgia, I believe that the Vols have a good shot of upsetting Auburn on October 13.
