Georgia steals one from the Vols, and Kirby Smart likes what he sees

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – What else was there to think but that Tennessee finally had Georgia’s number?

After eight consecutive defeats to their despised neighbors to the south, the Volunteers looked like they were going to exorcize their red-and-black demons when they streaked out to a 21-7 first-quarter lead and were so hot that the Bulldogs went for it on a fourth-and-3 at midfield in an attempt to hold onto the ball and avoid giving Tennessee a chance to go up three scores. (Georgia made it and then finished the drive with a touchdown.)

They had the Neyland Stadium faithful believing when, after losing the lead on a dispiriting UGA touchdown drive to open the third quarter, they took it back on a 56-yard touchdown pass with seconds remaining in the third.

And they certainly looked like it when Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton was swallowed whole on a strip/sack that resulted in a turnover and gave Tennessee the ball well into Georgia territory midway through the fourth quarter with a 35-30 lead and a chance to put the game out of reach.

And, finally, it really was everything but over when Tennessee lined up for the game-winning field-goal try from 43 yards out with six seconds left in regulation, so over that the Volunteers fans behind the goalpost started cheering as the kick was on its way and the stadium lights started flashing in celebration.

And yet…

In overtime, No. 6 Georgia 44, No. 15 Tennessee 41.

“They never say die,” Smart said of his players. “We told them coming in, it was going to be blow by blow – how many could we sustain and could we keep throwing back – and we did. But we also cut it way too close.”

His veins surely coursing with adrenaline, Smart issued a communiqué for all of the SEC and college football to hear. Forget the unimpressive performances from the first two weeks. Smart believes in his team.

“I think we know who we are,” he said in a cramped interview room beneath the Neyland stands.

He spoke of people “whistling by the graveyard” about his team, a comment that could be interpreted to describe the pundits who, based on the two lackluster wins over Marshall and Austin Peay and the team’s question marks, projected a loss to the Volunteers and perhaps a decline from its elite standards.

“But we feel like our team is a certain identity,” he said. “And we’re not going to go down without a fight.”

It’s nowhere near invincible like his national championship teams of 2021 and 2022. The Bulldogs gave up 41 points on Saturday (the last three in overtime), tied for the second most they’ve surrendered in an SEC game in his tenure. The right side of the offensive line is a revolving door of guards and tackles. His quarterback is probably not a future first-round pick.

But Smart sees the flaws and can envision answers. While the defense surrendered touchdown pass plays of 72, 56 and 32 yards to Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar, the defensive backs weren’t beaten on the plays but had just misplayed the ball, Smart said, calling them correctable mistakes.

While the standard on the offensive line is to stick with one starting fivesome and offensive line coach Stacy Searels was shuffling in players like a hockey coach, Smart said he thought “we’re going to have to find a rhythm of playing guys.”

And he sees in Stockton a quarterback he can win with, a player who is an effective ball carrier and made an absolutely bananas clutch throw in the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-6 from the Tennessee 28 with Georgia down 38-30 with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter – when an incompletion probably would have been the game – Stockton dropped in a ridiculously precise over-the-shoulder touchdown pass to London Humphreys that cut the lead to 38-36. He followed through with a two-point conversion pass to Zachariah Branch.

“He’s growing up,” Smart said of Stockton. “I’m going to tell you what he did now. There’s a lot of information coach (Mike) Bobo put on him. ‘Check this, do this.’ They had a great plan, I felt like, put together and lot of it was check system for him. And this crowd noise, he did a really good job with that.”

If Georgia can go on the road and beat a top-15 team and a fan base that was absolutely aching for a win, what game remains on the schedule that the Bulldogs can’t like their chances in?

Alabama is a bogeyman, even at Sanford Stadium, but the Tide got waxed by Florida State. Texas also comes to Athens, but quarterback Arch Manning was 11-for-25 for 114 yards on Saturday – against UTEP.

And what must be of some comfort for Georgia, having pocketed a win Saturday to advance to 3-0, is that it still probably has two losses to play with to make the College Football Playoff, although the Georgia Tech game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Nov. 28 just got much, much more interesting.

It will undoubtedly be a fight. But, in a fight, Smart will take his chances.

Georgia has a long way to go, he acknowledged, “but, boy, we’ve got some kids that aren’t afraid to fight.”