Georgia falls to Tennessee

By Tim Tucker

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

KNOXVILLE -- Through the first five games of an erratic season, Georgia's football team had a way of playing well on offense when it played poorly on defense, and vice versa.

Saturday, the Bulldogs put it all together -- all bad.

Their offense did not muster a touchdown, and their defense was overwhelmed by a heretofore struggling quarterback in an uncompetitive 45-19 loss to Tennessee, which had entered the game with a losing record.

"We just got whipped -- pretty much in every phase of the game," Georgia quarterback Joe Cox said afterward. "I think it was a pretty embarrassing day for us as an offense and as a team. I really don't know what to say."

It was hard to say which was worse. The Georgia offense that turned the ball over three times, including twice on Cox-thrown interceptions? Or the defense that was no match for Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton, who had a career game by completing 20 of 27 passes for 310 yards and four touchdowns?

The loss dropped Georgia to .500 at 3-3, its worst record after six games since 1996. The Dogs are 2-2 in the SEC.

"We've got a long way to go to be a good football team," said UGA coach Mark Richt, who later added: "We haven't had a game this season where we played a real solid football game."

Saturday's game, though, was the worst, with Tennessee scoring first and scoring often and never trailing.

Georgia's offense accounted for only three points (a 52-yard Blair Walsh field goal), with the running game generating a mere 89 yards and Cox completing only 56 percent of his passes (19 of 34) for 146 yards. The Bulldogs' two touchdowns came on a 100-yard kickoff return by Brandon Boykin (his second length-of-the-field score of the season) and a 28-yard interception return by Bacarri Rambo. Plus, there was a safety that resulted from the UGA-record-tying third blocked punt of walk-on Zach Renner's career.

But on offense, there was next to nothing, with the unit never getting closer to the end zone than the Tennessee 34-yard line.

It's back to the drawing board this week, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo indicated after the game.

"Offensively, we've got to evaluate everything," he said. "We've got to evaluate everyone."

Asked if freshman quarterback Aaron Murray could be considered for playing time, Bobo said: "He could be. Both of those young guys [Murray and fellow freshman QB Zach Mettenberger] could be. Aaron missed three weeks [of practice with triceps tendinitis, so] it's difficult right now. ... [But] this football team offensively needs to find something that can give us a spark, so I wouldn't rule out anything right now."

The defense was similarly overwhelmed by Tennessee, which evened its record at 3-3 (1-2 SEC). The Dogs never stopped Crompton's "bootleg" passing game, and missed tackles once again proved costly.

"We made a lot of mistakes, and things got out of hand really fast," UGA linebacker Rennie Curran said. "We weren't as disciplined on defense as we need to be."

The Vols' 45 points were the most scored on Georgia this season but marked the third time in six games an opponent scored 37 or more.

"They outcoached us and outplayed us, bottom line," defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said. "We just got to play better and coach better."

"We're angry and disappointed at this loss," Boykin said, "but we've got to have a short memory. We've got tough games coming up."

The Dogs left Neyland Stadium well aware of the criticism they'll hear back in Georgia.

"That's just part of football and part of life," Richt said. "You have expectations that you set for yourself and that other people may have set for you. And there are going to be people who want to be critical.

"But if you're a leader, or if you're a player and you're brave enough to be in the arena, there's going to be people outside the arena who want to throw things at you and say things about you. But there's honor in being in the arena, and a lot of people don't understand that because they've never been in there. But we're going to get right back in and fight."