Todd Gurley put together some more Heisman moments and wowed the world with a 285-yard, two-touchdown day. But it was two other plays — one on special teams and one by the defense — that proved to be the difference in another narrow Georgia win over Tennessee.
Josh Dawson, who was just inserted into the game at defensive end, recovered a fumble by Tennessee’s Jalen Hurd in the end zone for a Georgia touchdown with 4:27 to play. Dawson’s play became possible only after Collin Barber’s punt was saved from the end zone by Damian Swann and downed at the 1 by Kosta Vavlas. That proved to be the difference as the Bulldogs’ held on for a 35-32 win.
“The most important play of that game might’ve been that punt,” Georga coach Mark Richt said. “When Collin Barber punts one like that, you hope you get the right kind of bounce, and the guys can keep it from getting in the end zone. They did, downed it inside the 1, and it might’ve been the biggest play of the game.”
That notion was reinforced moments later when Tennessee roared back down the field for another score. A 6-yard touchdown pass to Marquez North from quarterback Justin Worley — who previously was out of the game — and a two-point conversion brought the Volunteers to within three points with 2:14 to play.
But Georgia’s Quayvon Hicks recovered Tennessee’s onside-kick attempt on the subsequent kickoff. Georgia was able to salt away the game on offense. Again, that came down to Gurley.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones decided to decline a holding penalty on Georgia with 52 seconds remaining in the game. That left the Bulldogs with fourth-and-3 at the Tennessee 26. Gurley took a toss sweep left around left end and got four yards for a first down. With 40 seconds remaining, the Vols were unable to get the ball back.
Those last four yards gave Gurley a career-best 208 yards rushing on 28 carries. The junior Heisman Trophy candidate also had 30 yards receiving, 47 yards on kickoff returns and scored on a 51-yard run in the fourth quarter. He also produced a “SportsCenter” highlight by hurdling a defender in full stride on another play. That moment came amid a 26-yard run that got the Bulldogs out of a hole from their own 14-yard line.
“I was just trying not to go out of bounds, man, just staying in play,” said Gurley, who moved into a tie for third with Garrison Hearst for career touchdowns (33). “It just came into my mind at the last second.”
Richt was impressed, and gave Gurley’s leap the edge as “more spectacular” over the one executed on the same field by Knowshon Moreno in 2008.
“Earlier in the year, I said he was at least one of the best players in the country,” Richt said after the game. “Now I’m saying he is the best player in America. I can’t imagine anyone being more talented, a guy who loves his team more or does more for his team.”
The victory gave Georgia its fifth consecutive win over Tennessee for first time since 1924, when the teams didn’t play annually. The No. 12-ranked Bulldogs (3-1 overall, 1-1 SEC) play host to Vanderbilt on Saturday.
The Vols fall to 2-2 and 0-1 in the SEC. They get Florida at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
“We showed some grit at the end,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “But it’s the small details that go into winning football. We need to move forward and continue to build this football program. But the culture has changed. I can tell you that.”
Once again, Gurley had a curious dearth of carries and overall touches entering the fourth quarter. But that changed when Georgia took over at its own 23 with 11:07 remaining to play. Holding a three-point lead, the Bulldogs made sure to get him the ball on this possession. Gurley carried on four of the Bulldogs’ five plays and ripped off a 51-yard touchdown run off left guard for a 28-17 lead with 9:31 to play.
But Gurley was called for an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty with a spike in the end zone at the end of the run. Georgia had to kick off from its 20, and Tennessee brought the ball back to its 48. The Vols scored in four plays to make it clear it wasn’t going away.
Georgia got to midfield on the ensuing possession but stalled. That’s when Barber boomed the punt that was downed at the Tennessee 1 and set up the clinching play for Georgia’s defense.
“At the end of the day, you can’t apologize for winning,” said senior quarterback Hutson Mason, who had 135 yards passing, but threw his first two interceptions of the season. “It’s a bottom-line business and we got the win.”
Said Richt: “Wild game. Depending on how you want to look at it, there were some really fantastic things happened on offense, on defense, on special teams. You can also look at some things and say that was awful. … Just really proud of how the guys finished the game. I’m happy for the victory.”
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