Former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge on Georgia crowd: I was wrong

For the first time this season, Tennessee was walking into a hostile road environment vs. Georgia. Head coach Kirby Smart called for the Sanford Stadium crowd to make an impact and they delivered in a big way. The Vols had trouble with false start penalties all afternoon, much like teams have when visiting Neyland Stadium this year.

Heading into the week, former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge took to Twitter to call out the Georgia home crowd. He said it’s “overrated” and was confident Josh Heupel would have his team confident for Saturday’s top-three matchup.

“Playing between the hedges is overrated,” Ainge said on Monday. “Not that loud and definitely not intimidating. It’s nothing like playing in Neyland. Vols will be just fine in Athens!”

Well, once Georgia took care of business, Ainge went back to Twitter to send out an apology. He admitted he was wrong about Sanford Stadium and credited the Bulldogs for getting the win.

“Stadium was lit,” said Ainge. “Georgia played lights out. Great win for them and their fans. I was wrong. Great win for UGA. Goodnight.”

While Sanford Stadium is used to having big-time SEC matchups take place, this one was quite different. A top-three game that was dubbed the Game of the Year in college football, the Georgia fans were up for the task. Making it tough for Hendon Hooker to get in sync was a critical factor in the result.

Unfortunately for Ainge, his original tweet did not age well. He was rightfully confident heading in, with Tennessee fresh off being ranked No. 1 in the country. Even with a big win against Alabama a few weeks prior, Heupel had proved he can do it in big games.

Now, Ainge and the Vols will have to see what the future holds for them. Georgia has the upper hand in the SEC East, while the College Football Playoff still remains a possibility.