As time expired, and Jauan Jennings came down with the ball, Sanford Stadium was shrouded in influx and consternation. Short-lived euphoria transformed into 12 months of dread in a matter of six seconds.
The Bulldogs lost their second consecutive game, this one in unprecedented heart-shattering fashion. After their chosen freshman hero engineered a comeback for the ages, the Bulldogs watched the Volunteers rip their script to shreds.
It was the low point of a lackluster 8-5 debut season for coach Kirby Smart, a scar forever etched on the Georgia faithful.
This redemption opportunity comes around once a year. Georgia visits Tennessee for a rematch 364 days in the making. The Bulldogs have lost two in a row to their northern rivals, giving the Volunteers a 23-21-2 advantage in the all-time series.
But the record that matters for this group is 0-1, even if Smart won’t admit it.
“I think you have to be careful psychologically with that,” Smart said. “We don't use that as motivation. Our motivation is about us and trying to get better.”
Oh, how a season changes things: Jennings is sidelined with a wrist injury, and former Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs is a Pittsburgh Steeler.
Georgia quarterback Jacob Eason provided the temporary hope with his go-ahead touchdown pass at the 10-second mark, but has since circumstantially relinquished his up-and-comer status to freshman Jake Fromm. Riley Ridley, who caught the score, has only three catches in two games this season.
But the ample players remaining recognize how emblematic Saturday will be. Nine of Georgia’s 11 defenders from that play return, and they’ve had to relive the pain enough that it’s personal.
“I've seen it more than I like,” linebacker Lorenzo Carter said.
“It plays back in my head every day just because Tennessee, I don't like losing to them,” center Lamont Gaillard said. “It's something we have to deal with and move forward from.”
Games with one team an apparent title contender and the other floundering with coaching questions aren’t often put on a pedestal, but the trepidation factor makes this an exception.
“There is a little ‘ummph’ to this game because of, I don’t want to put emphasis on last year because that’s behind us, but it’s no lie that we did lose in a heartbreaking way,” linebacker Davin Bellamy said. “We definitely want to come out and put on a better performance than we did last year.”
It will be some Bulldogs’ first taste of Neyland Stadium. The last time Georgia went to Knoxville, it lost 38-31 and running back Nick Chubb’s season ended with a knee injury.
“They (the older players) haven’t said too much, but you can see this week, it’s a big place,” cornerback Tyrique McGhee said. “We’re mostly just focused on what we can do, the things we can handle right now.”
The Vols may have exhausted their magic in that win between the hedges. Tennessee ultimately ruined its favorable position in the SEC East. It’s behind the curve this season after losing to Florida in an eerily similar miracle manner two weeks ago.
Tennessee remains a threat nonetheless. Bowling-ball back John Kelly leads the SEC with 450 rushing yards, 141 of which came against the vaunted Gators defense. He reminds Georgia defenders of their own stable of backs, Bellamy attests.
“He’s one of the best backs I’ve seen, really in a long time,” Smart said. “He’s extremely physical. He’s violent in his blow delivery. …The more carries he gets, the more physical he runs. Some of those runs he had at the end of the game against Florida were really impressive. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a competitor.’’
Smart also praised Tennessee’s defensive front, alluding to them as a tougher challenge than Mississippi State.
“They’ve got great athletes up there,” he said. “They’ve got size. To me they have more size than Mississippi State had when it comes to weight in the inside guys. Really good speed on the outside. … You have to find a way to negate it.”
That’s not all UGA must negate. Players know how ravaging that atmosphere can be for visiting teams. If Georgia is going to avenge past disappointment, it’ll need to overcome that first.
“Once momentum gets going in that place, you can definitely feel it on the away sideline,” Bellamy said. “The fans are so close to the benches, so that adds a whole other aspect to it. … When momentum gets going up there, it’s hard to swing it the other way.”
But if motivation is a momentum catalyst, the Bulldogs are off to a fine start.
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