Report Card: Georgia handles Tennessee 27-13

Georgia won its 24th straight regular-season game and its sixth in a row over top-ranked Tennessee on Saturday. The Bulldogs got stifling defense and big-play offense to grab an early lead and control the game throughout.

That captures the gist of it but there’s more to the story. DawgsHQ is offering a position-by-position look at how the Bulldogs played in our weekly report card.

Georgia quarterbacks

It was all Stetson Bennett and he was spectacular. The 13-yard run got Georgia the lead in the first quarter. He followed that with a couple of touchdowns through the air. The stats don’t even tell the entire story because if not for a third-quarter downpour of rain, Bennett would have probably kept throwing it at will on the Tennessee secondary. Grade: A

UGA running backs

Daijun Edwards and Branson Robinson had forgettable days. Edwards bounced back to rip of some big gains but fumbled on Georgia’s opening drive. Robinson put the ball on the ground in the third quarter, giving it back to Tennessee just one play after the Vols had just done the same for Georgia. Kenny McIntosh had a great day, leading Georgia in rushing and picking up 109 yards from scrimmage on 12 touches. Grade: B+

Georgia receivers and tight ends

Tennessee managed to keep the tight ends, Darnell Washington and Brock Bowers, in check. Those guys were nasty in the run game but the Volunteers held Washington to no catches and Bowers to three grabs for 27 yards. The receivers picked up the slack. Ladd McConkey hauled in five passes for 94 yards and a score. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint had three catches for 20 yards and a score. Arian Smith hauled in a 52-yard bomb to help set up Georgia’s first score. Grade: A

UGA offensive line

Tennessee has an active, athletic defensive front but Georgia’s offensive line didn’t really have a problem with it. The Bulldogs pass protected extremely well throughout the day. The run blocking was tremendous for most of the first half and into the third quarter before Tennessee began selling out to stop it. Grade: A

Georgia defensive line

Tray Scott’s defensive front accomplished the same thing as Stacy Searels offensive line. It was physical dominance. Georgia’s defensive line, led by Jalen Carter, controlled the Volunteers up front. The defensive line affected the quarterback with Carter, Warren Brinson and Tramel Walthour all picking up sacks. Georgia held its gaps in the run game and kept Tennessee from gaining more than 11 yards in a single chunk on the ground. Grade: A

UGA linebackers

The outside linebackers faced more adversity with Robert Beal leaving the game with a neck injury. That thrust Chaz Chambliss into a bigger role and he played more consistently than last week. Marvin Jones Jr. got involved some and provided some fresh legs late in the game.

The inside linebackers combined for three sacks. Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Rian Davis, and Trezmen Marshall all got in there and took Hendon Hooker to the ground. They covered well. They played well in space. Grade: A-

Georgia defensive backs

Plenty of the talk coming into this game was about how Georgia was set to get exposed by a really talented group of Tennessee receivers. It didn’t play out that way. The UGA secondary got physical with the Vol wide receivers. The Bulldogs made them uncomfortable and maintained consistently tight coverage. Javon Bullard had a huge game with two sacks and a pass breakup. Malaki Starks led the team in tackles and Kelee Ringo had a huge interception in the second quarter. Grade: A+

Georgia special teams

Maybe the biggest play of the entire game was a 75-yard punt by Brett Thorson that pinned Tennessee at its own one-yard line. It happened in the first quarter and Georgia ended up getting a short field and a long touchdown out of it. Jack Podlesny did everything asked of him and the coverage on kicks and punts was outstanding. Georgia also got a nice play out of its “hands” kickoff return team when Darnell Washington recovered an attempt by Tennessee. Grade: A

Overall

Georgia could have threatened 50 points in that game if the third-quarter rain didn’t give Kirby Smart the excuse he needed to let the air out of the ball. The Bulldogs gifted Tennessee a turnover on their opening drive and still dominated the football game. The home crowd definitely helped but Georgia had a tremendous plan and executed it really well. Grade: A