After thriller, Georgia remains Tennessee’s bogeyman
KNOXVILLE, TN. – When Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert widely missed the would-be game winning field goal, Neyland Stadium was overcome with ghosts of games past.
Georgia – and coach Kirby Smart, especially – has tortured Tennessee fans enough that they know what’s coming. Neyland Stadium and its inhabitants exude their emotions; that makes their concern evident, too.
Saturday was a classic in a signature SEC rivalry. Tennessee went up two touchdowns early. Georgia took its first lead in the fourth quarter. The Volunteers had a one-point advantage entering the fourth. They relinquished a lead on a fourth-down touchdown. They surrendered their chance to end eight years of misery when Gilbert missed a 43-yarder.
The Bulldogs have the killer instinct of a championship-proven program. The Volunteers gave them one too many chances. And the brash supporters who proudly comprised the orange-and-white checkerboarded audience left decorated in despair.
Final: Georgia 44, Tennessee 41 in overtime.
“I feel almost like we have to apologize because I don’t think we should have won that game,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.
After so many hours of hoopla leading into Saturday afternoon, Josh Dobbs’ 2016 Hail Mary remains the Volunteers’ most recent grace in this series. Georgia has defeated Tennessee nine straight times, but this one might sting most.
This result means at least one more year of Vols fans being rendered mute in their arguments with Bulldogs faithful. If this matchup is removed from the schedule next year, a possibility as Georgia and Tennessee may no longer be annual rivals under the new SEC scheduling format, the Volunteers could be haunted by Saturday’s result even longer.
This has become that episode of Seinfeld or Friends that one can recite from memory. You’ve watched it for years, know the twists and turns, the punchlines – and for Georgia fans, this sitcom never gets old.
Georgia “owns” Tennessee, as the popular sports phrase goes. When Saturday’s madness resided, both fan bases were left reciting the same lines. Both teams were analyzing the same result.
“They were just a better team at the end,” Volunteers defensive lineman Dominique Bailey said.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel added: “We just needed a little bit more.”
Heupel has done a magnificent job turning around a moribund program. He’s 39-15 as Vols coach, accruing four consecutive winning seasons, two double-digit win seasons and a playoff appearance a year ago.
He’s twice defeated Alabama, which had a 16-game winning streak over Tennessee until 2022. He’s taken down hated Florida twice. He’s 8-0 against overmatched rivals Vanderbilt and Kentucky.
But he’s 0-5 against Georgia. It’s comparable to the nightmarish reality Georgia once faced against Nick Saban’s Alabama. Smart’s Bulldogs are Tennessee’s boogeyman. And Tennessee is left playing woulda, coulda, shoulda.
Heupel’s offense was perfect in the opening quarter. The Volunteers went 3-for-3 on converting possessions into touchdowns – a level of infamy that hadn’t happened to Georgia since it buried that early hole against Alabama last year.
An ESPN graphic highlighted the degree of unbelievability: Tennessee had averaged 210 passing yards per game against Georgia under Heupel. Joey Aguilar had 213 through one fourth of the game. His two passing touchdowns equaled the Vols’ team output over that same span.
If Tennessee was going to end its misery against the Bulldogs, this was the script. It couldn’t have unfolded more favorably for an offense that’d previously been humdrum against Smart’s defense.
Yet Tennessee’s defense couldn’t hold up against Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton, who showed plenty of guts on numerous throws throughout the afternoon, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Georgia came through with its timely plays, call it winning culture or good luck. And the Volunteers were simply one kick, catch or rabbit’s foot short.
Now, Smart can preach about how much his team needs to improve with a win in his back pocket. And when it comes to recruiting battles against Heupel, he’ll maintain his head-to-head success as a sales pitch.
The Volunteers spoke a lot about moving forward themselves, how this loss can propel them to better days. But Georgia kept its winning streak intact, and that’ll be celebrated in this state. It’s going to be a while – potentially a long while – until Tennessee gets another shot to end it.
About the Author
Gabriel Burns is a general assignment reporter and features writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. After four years on the Braves beat, he's expanded his horizons and covers all sports. You'll find him writing about MLB, NFL, NBA, college football and other Atlanta-centric happenings.
