No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs take care of business vs. Tennessee

With the win, the Bulldogs (8-2, 6-2 SEC) extended their win streak over Tennessee to eight games, extended their home win streak to 29 games and completed one of the tougher SEC schedules in school history. The Vols fall to 8-2, 5-2.

“Our kids showed resiliency, and I’m proud of them,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “A week ago, for a couple of hours, we were dead and gone. People had written us off. It’s hard to play in this league week in and week out on the road. We’ve accumulated a tremendous amount of injuries due to the schedule we’ve had, and it’s not going to get any easier. When you play the gauntlet we’ve played, it takes its toll.”

With the Texas Longhorns’ win over Arkansas on Saturday, Georgia’s hopes for a fourth consecutive appearance in the SEC Championship game effectively is over. However, if the Bulldogs can take care of business in their final two games against Massachusetts on Saturday and Georgia Tech on Nov. 29, they should be one of the teams to make the first 12-team playoff.

Georgia rolled up 453 yards offense. Quarterback Carson Beck completed 25 of 40 passes for 347 yards and two touchdowns, ran in for a 10-yard TD, was 8-of-14 on third-down conversions and — for the first time in six games — did not turn the ball over. Along with a blue-collar defensive effort, that was all the Bulldogs needed to extend their win streak to eight over the Volunteers and keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive.

“I didn’t feel any pressure, to be honest,” said Beck, who improved to 21-3 as Georgia’s starting quarterback. “I stood up in front of the team on Monday and just kind of told them how I felt about how our season has gone. I told then all we can control is what we can control moving forward because we don’t know when our last game is going to come. That’s the way we approached this weekend and it was unbelievable to bounce back that way.”

In the second half, Georgia used up 13:43 of game clock — nearly an entire quarter — on only two offensive possessions. Both of them ended in touchdowns as the Bulldogs pulled away after a 17-17 score at the half. Georgia ran 52 offensive plays on their five scoring drives, including 35 on their last three.

Georgia put the game away on a 12-play, 92-yard drive that consumed 6:21 of the fourth quarter and ended in a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman Nate Frazier with 2:26 remaining. Two third-down conversions kept the drive alive, including a 28-yard pass from Beck to London Humphreys.

The Bulldogs kept the ball for half the third quarter on the way to a touchdown that gave them a 24-17 lead. A pair of defensive penalties and two third-down conversions allowed Georgia to possess the football for 7:22.

Keying the drive was a facemask penalty on Tennessee’s Ricky Gibson on a 17-yard reception by Georgia freshman Nitro Tuggle. That turned a second-and-24 situation at the Bulldogs’ 15-yard line into a first down at the 47.

Led by tight end Oscar Delp’s two touchdowns and 56 yards on four receptions, five receivers would end up with 50 or more yards. Tight end Ben Yurosek had five receptions for 51 yards, Humphreys had three for 63, Arian Smith had three for 50 and Dominic Lovett hauled in three for 59, including the long play of night at 38 yards.

After trailing time of possession significantly at halftime, Georgia ended up edging the Vols 30:29 to 29:31 by keeping the ball for most of the second half.

Georgia linebackers Jalon Walker and Smael Mondon and safety KJ Bolden each finished with eight tackles, and Chaz Chambliss collected two of the Bulldogs’ five sacks. Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava came off concussion protocol to start the game and play the whole way. But he finished with only 167 yards on 23-of-33 passing and 18 yards rushing. Running back Dylan Sampson managed 101 yards rushing on 19 carries and a touchdown.

“Us executing the rush plan was big,” Walker said. “That’s what we’ve been working on all year long. Nico is a great quarterback and able to use his legs as well. We were trying to limit his legs and make him play quarterback in the pocket.”

The play of the game was when Beck connected with Humphreys for a 16-yard completion on third-and-10, and Beck scored seven plays later to give Georgia 24-17 lead at the 5:32 mark of the third quarter. Beck’s TD run also was a third-down conversion, giving him three on that possession. He ended with eight on the night.

As the teams played to a 17-17 tie in the first half, the Bulldogs got a 36-yard field goal from Peyton Woodring with five seconds remaining in the second quarter to knot the score. The kick capped a 12-play, 57-yard drive in which Beck threw the ball away on third-and-15 from the 18-yard line. The Bulldogs were called for the delay-of-game penalty on the previous play.

Georgia outgained the Vols 239 to 189 in the opening half, but were outrushed 96 to 55. Sampson’s 27-yard touchdown on the previous possession staked Tennessee to a 17-14 lead. Tennessee’s star running back had 68 yards at that point.

The Bulldogs fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter. On the season, they’ve now been outscored 50-48 in the opening 15 minutes. But Georgia outscored the Vols 24-7 over the final three periods.

Smart wasn’t sure if the CFP selection committee fully appreciates what the Bulldogs have endured this season. Georgia’s schedule is considered the toughest in the nation. Every time Georgia has taken the field this season, home and away, its games have been sellouts.

“I don’t know what they’re looking for; I really don’t,” Smart said of his team being dropped nine places last week. “I wish they would define their criteria. I wish they could do the eyeball test and just come down here and look at the people we’re playing against and these environments. You can’t see that stuff on TV. But that’s for somebody else to decide. I’m just worried about our team.”