Tennessee’s offense sensed Brian Maurer would start Saturday night’s game against No. 3 Georgia.
Each day that passed, Maurer’s reps increased, as did the attention shown to the true freshman by UT’s coaches. There seemed to be a concerted effort from the coaches to have Maurer prepared to take the first snap against the Bulldogs. When head coach Jeremy Pruitt told the team late in the week that Maurer would be making his first career start, those thoughts from members of the offense were confirmed.
“There are lots of things that kind of went into that,” Pruitt said when asked about the decision to start Maurer following Tennessee’s 43-14 loss to Georgia. “We just felt like it gave us the best opportunity moving forward for this game. I thought it worked well.”
It worked well for at least the first half of the game. Led by Maurer, Tennessee went toe-to-toe with the third-best team in the country over the course of the first 30 minutes.
Georgia jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead, scoring on its first possession of the game. It took the Bulldogs 12 plays to drive 84 yards to score their first touchdown. But two plays later, Tennessee tied the game thanks to a 73-yard touchdown pass from Maurer to Marquez Callaway.
“That was a receiver’s dream; catching the ball and scoring in stride,” Callaway said following the game. “Brian (Maurer) did a great job of moving the pocket.”
It was the first of two touchdown passes on the night for Maurer. After Georgia reclaimed the lead once again on a 50-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blakenship, Maurer led the Vols down the field on a 10-play, 75-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jauan Jennings.
“He stood in there and made some throws down the field in the first half,” Pruitt said when asked about what he liked from Maurer. “He kind of went through his progressions, he kept his poise, kept his eyes down the field. (He) made some nice throws, and it enabled us to create some explosive plays that softened them up a little bit so we could run the ball some.”
Maurer impressed early in the game and flashed signs of serious promise. Following the touchdown pass to Jennings, the freshman began to cool off, though. In the first quarter, Maurer led Tennessee to touchdowns on two of its three drives. The second quarter wasn’t as successful, as the Vols punted the ball on two of their four possessions to go along with a missed Brent Cimaglia field goal from 47 yards out.
Then, in the second half, the Vols failed to put any points on the board. Tennessee had five offensive possessions over the course of the final two quarters. Those possessions resulted in two punts, an interception, a fumble and a turnover on downs.
“There is probably, I don’t know, eight to 15 plays in the game that he’s going to learn from and learn a lot of lessons from,” Pruitt explained. “That maybe we had an opportunity somewhere else, or maybe worked the wrong side of the field. That’s part of maturing, and it will be interesting to see moving forward how much he learns from this game and makes adjustments, because that’s important to do.
“First half was much better than the second half, right?”
Maurer ultimately finished the game 14-of-28 for 259 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. He was sacked three times and fumbled once which resulted in a 60-yard touchdown return for a Georgia that put a bow on the game.
“I think this Georgia team is probably a little better than the one this time last year,” Pruitt said. “Those guys made us strain. They did.”
Tennessee’s defense strained in multiple ways. Pruitt’s group put forth effort, but it also allowed Georgia to put up 526 yards of offense. Due to a lack of pass rush, Jake Fromm was able to throw for 288 yards and two touchdowns without throwing an interception. Tennessee didn’t tally a sack or even a quarterback hurry in the game. In the running game, because of poor angles, missed tackles, and a lack of push up front, the Bulldogs rushed for 238 yards and two touchdowns.
“We just have to learn from it,” Pruitt said. “Hey, nobody is looking for a pat on the back for playing hard. I’m not.”
The Vols now turn their attention to Mississippi State, who come to town next weekend. With the Bulldogs coming off of a bye week, the two teams will kick-off at 12 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
