The Georgia team that played Tennessee on Saturday once again looked like the team that the media and the coaches ranked No. 1 at the beginning of the season. The No. 10-ranked Bulldogs beat the Volunteers 26-14 on Saturday in Athens. After a painful loss to Alabama and a week off to think about it, the Bulldogs came out of the gates quickly.
Georgia found the end zone on its opening possession of the game, as fullback Brannan Southerland made his return to the offense with a 1-yard touchdown run. A Matthew Stafford 37-yard screen pass to fellow fullback Shaun Chapas set up the score. “It felt great just to be back with the guys,” Southerland, who didn’t play fullback over the first five games because of a broken foot, said.
Tennessee had success on their first offensive play, as quarterback Nick Stephens rolled out and found Gerald Jones for a 25-yard completion, much in the same way Alabama’s John Parker Wilson found holes in the Georgia defense. This time, however, the Bulldogs defense showcased an element it could not muster against the Crimson Tide: a fair amount of pressure. After getting a knockdown on a Stephens pass on second down, Georgia defensive end Jeremy Lomax pressured Stephens, forcing him to step into the arms of tackle Corvey Irvin, who got the sack. “Most of the time [Stephens] was feeling [pressure],” Bulldog head coach Mark Richt said. “That was good for us.”
Pressure from the Bulldogs’ defense would end the Volunteers’ second and third drives as well, as defensive end Demarcus Dobbs batted down a third-down pass on Tennessee’s second possession and Prince Miller blitzed from his cornerback spot to register a sack on the Volunteers’ third possession. Georgia finished with two quarterback sacks on the day.
Miller returned a punt 27 yards on the next play to set the Bulldogs up at Tennessee’s 36-yard line. Despite a 28-yard hookup between Stafford and Mohamed Massaquoi, Georgia had to settle for another field goal from Walsh, this time from 20 yards out, and the Bulldogs led 13-0. Walsh performed well on the field, making all four of his field goal attempts, but the freshman placekicker was suffering from headaches and nausea just a few hours before the game. “We had to take him out of the hotel and bring him to the health center and put some IV’s in him and give some medication for the migraine,” Richt said.
Up by two scores, Georgia did receive some bad news. Starting left tackle Vince Vance injured his right knee, causing the Bulldog offensive line to go through some more shuffling. Clint Boling moved from right guard to left tackle to replace Vance. Chris Davis moved from left guard to right guard to replace Boling, and true freshman Cordy Glenn was inserted into Davis’s spot in the lineup. “It’s not something I’m used to,” Boling said about his move from the right side of the line to the left. “But that really shouldn’t affect anything. [Offensive line coach Stacey] Searels expects us to be able to play the left and right side, […] I’ve just got to get used to it.”
It appeared that Georgia was going to add to its lead midway through the second quarter, as the Bulldogs penetrated the Volunteer red zone, but Tennessee defensive end Robert Ayers intercepted a Stafford wide receiver screen pass and regained possession for the Vols. Tennessee promptly went 77 yards in six plays and 3:08, much of it coming on a 60-yard Stephens pass to receiver Denarius Moore, as a Gerald Jones 2-yard touchdown reception cut the Bulldogs lead to 13-7.
After thoroughly outplaying the Volunteers for much of the first half, Georgia found itself in a one-possession game. Richard Samuel misplayed the subsequent kickoff and the Bulldogs had to start on their own 3-yard line. But a Stafford 14-yard pass to Moreno on third-and-8 from the 5 gave Georgia room to work. Thanks to more pinpoint passing by Stafford and a couple of Tennessee unnecessary roughness penalties, the Bulldogs answered with a scoring drive of their own, as a 9-yard Massaquoi touchdown reception from Stafford capped off the drive.
Stafford was sharp for much of the day, finishing the game with a career-high 310 yards passing and one touchdown, while completing 25 of 36 passes. The performance also marked the first time Stafford eclipsed the 300-yard mark in his college career. Richt credits that accomplishment to Stafford playing a safer game and resisting the urge to throw deep. “I, quite frankly, think that’s why he got over the 300-yard mark for the first time,” Richt said. “He did a better job of being willing to just dump it [off] and take the fullback out in the flat.”
Of those 310 yards, 211 came in the first half. But Stafford did have two interceptions. Tennessee (2-4, 0-3) made great plays in intercepting Stafford twice. The second interception ended a potential Georgia scoring drive, as Volunteer safety Eric Berry picked off a Stafford pass in the end zone and raced 54 yards to the Bulldog 46-yard line. That led to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Stephens to Lucas Taylor and Tennessee cut Georgia’s lead to 20-14 with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter.
Still, Stafford was able to bounce back and lead a Bulldog scoring drive that culminated in a 41-yard Walsh field goal. “Guys kept fighting,” Stafford said. “That’s what we need to be able to do, to close out games against good teams.”
Knowshon Moreno added 101 yards on 27 carries and, along with Caleb King, help set up Walsh’s fourth field goal, a 28-yarder, to clinch the game. “It started up front,” Moreno said. “The guys up front did a good job of blocking and opening up the holes.”
King came into the game after Berry delivered a punishing hit on Moreno (he would return later) and finished with 18 yards rushing after several negative yardage plays on the Bulldogs’ last possession of the game. Massaquoi led Georgia with 103 yards receiving on five catches. A.J. Green caught seven passes for 53 yards.
Until the fourth quarter, the running game ran much smoother when Vance was in the game. It looks as if the Bulldogs might have to get used to playing without the 6-foot-8, 325-pound junior, as his injury looks to be a serious one. “He probably won’t return for the season,” Richt said.
It is unclear whether or not the unit that the Bulldogs used in Vance’s absence on Saturday will be the new starting lineup as Glenn is also be able to play tackle, which would allow Boling to move back to the right side of the line. “How coach Searels spun it immediately after the injury probably gives you a pretty good indication on how he thinks it ought to be,” Richt said. “But with some time to reflect tonight and tomorrow, by tomorrow night we will have to decide how to line up on Monday.”
The staff will also make a decision on the status of tight end Bruce Figgins, who played against Tennessee with an injured shoulder that needs surgery. He plans to have a final decision on whether or not to have surgery on Sunday. “I felt pretty good. This game gave me a lot of confidence,” Figgins said. “I’ll sit down with the doctors and coaches tomorrow […] and weigh the pros and cons.”
Whether or not Kiante Tripp stays at tight end or moves back to tackle will depend on the coaches’ decisions regarding the offensive line and whether or not Figgins will have surgery. Aron White started the game at tight end for Georgia and shared reps with Figgins. Southerland and Chapas also saw time at tight end.
Montario Hardesty led Tennessee in rushing with 20 yards on six carries, while Stephens finished with 208 yards on 13-of-30 passing. Jones was the Vols’ leading receiver with four catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.
Georgia (5-1, 2-1), plays Vanderbilt next Saturday. The Commodores suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday to Mississippi State and will be looking for a bounce-back of their own.
Butler can be reached at jbutler@scoreatl.com.
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