How it happened: Tennessee falls at Georgia, 27-13
Tennessee fell 27-13 at Georgia on Saturday afternoon, dropping its first game of the season. Here’s how it happened:
First Quarter
Tennessee 3, Georgia 0 (10:05): The Vols forced a fumble on Georgia’s opening possession, recovering at the Bulldog 47, and went 17 yards over six plays before settling for a 47-yard field goal from Chase McGrath. Tennessee was called for two false starts on the drive. Jalin Hyatt caught three passes for 16 yards, while Cedric Tillman (6 yards) and Princeton Fant (5 yards) had one catch each. Hendon Hooker went 5-for-5 on the drive. Tennessee didn’t have a rush attempt on its opening possession.
Georgia 7, Tennessee 3 (8:40): Stetson Bennett scrambled right for a 12-yard touchdown on third-and-10 to open the scoring for the Bulldogs. Bennett started the five-play, 80-yard touchdown drive with a 52-yard pass deep down the middle to Arian Smith. Kenny McIntosh ran for 15 yards on the second snap and just like that the Bulldogs were in business at the Tennessee 13-yard line.
Georgia 14, Tennessee 3 (3:32): Paxton Brooks had to punt from the back of the end zone, helping Georgia start its third drive from the Tennessee 37-yard line. The Bulldogs only needed one snap from there. Stetson Bennett threw 37 yards to Ladd McConkey, who was wide open down the sideline after an out-and-up route.
Second Quarter
Georgia 21, Tennessee 3 (14:17): Kenny McIntosh ran a wheel route and streaked wide open down the field, gaining 49 yards on another big play for Georgia. On second-and-goal from the five, Bennett threw a touchdown in the back of the end zone to a leaping Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint as the Bulldogs continued their explosive start.
Georgia 21, Tennessee 6 (9:36): Tennessee finally found some rhythm, thanks to a couple Georgia penalties, but stalled again after more penalties from the Vols. The 11-play, 56-yard drive ended with a 36-yard Chase McGrath field goal. Tennessee drove to the Georgia 9-yard line before but back-to-back false starts — the fourth and fifth false starts of the first half for Tennessee — turned a third-and-2 into a third-and-12 at the 19-yard line. Georgia was twice called for defensive holding to keep the drive alive. A 16-yard pass from Hendon Hooker to Cedric Tillman on the drive was Tennessee’s longest completion of the game to that point.
Georgia 24, Tennessee 6 (0:00): Kirby Smart got the ball back — Kelee Ringo picked off Hooker on an end-zone shot intended for Cedric Tillman — and milked the clock as Georgia’s offense kept moving methodically down the field. Jack Podlesny kicked a 19-yard field goal to end the lopsided first half, capping a drive that went 78 yards over 12 plays, taking the final 4:52 off the clock as the second quarter came to a close.
“We’ve got to do the little things right,” second-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel told CBS coming off the field at halftime. “Obviously, a bunch of self-inflicted wounds early in the football game … we’ve got to be more precise in what we’re doing, communication. We’ve got to clean some things up to get the ball moving.”
Third Quarter
Georgia 27, Tennessee 6 (1:09): Georgia continued running the clock with a 15-play, 67-yard drive that took eight minutes, 44 seconds. Jack Podlesny kicked a 38-yard field goal to give the Bulldogs a 21-point lead. Tennessee got the ball to start the second half, but the drive stalled at midfield, after Hendon Hooker was sacked for a loss of six on third-and-13.
Fourth Quarter
Georgia 27, Tennessee 6 (9:07): Tennessee drove to the Georgia 17, but self-inflicted wounds move the Vols back — a sack, a false start, then another sack, then another false start, leaving the Vols facing a fourth-and-28 at the Georgia 38. Georgia bailed Tennessee out with a facemask on fourth down, though. The Vols got back down to the 23, but Hendon Hooker threw incomplete on fourth-and-10.
Georgia 27, Tennessee 13 (4:15): The Vols finally got in the end zone on a 5-yard touchdown run from Jaylen Wright, capping an eight-play, 61-yard drive to cut the deficit to two touchdowns. Hendon Hooker found Jalin Hyatt over the middle for a 28-yard gain on fourth-and-8 to set up the touchdown.
Final Stats
Tennessee was held to just 289 total yards, passing for 195 yards while held to 94 yards on the ground.
Hendon Hooker completed 23 of 33 passes for 195 yards. He missed three deep balls and was sacked six times on the day.
Jaylen Wright ran 21 times for 76 yards and Tennessee’s only touchdown. Hooker ran 18 times for 47 yards and Jabari Small had three carries for eight yards early in the game before leaving with an upper body injury.
Cedric Tillman caught seven passes for 68 yards to lead the team in receiving. Jalin Hyatt had six catches for 63 yards and Bru McCoy caught six passes for 38 yards. Jacob Warren caught three passes for 21 yards and Princeton Fant had one catch for five yards.
Tennessee committed nine penalties for 55 yards, went 2-for-14 on third down and 3-for-5 on fourth down. The Vols fumbled twice, losing one, and recovered two fumbles defensively.
Up Next
Tennessee (8-1, 4-1 SEC) hosts Missouri (4-5, 2-4) for a Noon Eastern Time kickoff on Saturday at Neyland Stadium. The game will be broadcast on either CBS or ESPN, with the designation yet to be determined. Missouri lost to Kentucky 21-17 at Faurot Field in Columbia Saturday afternoon.
