Tennessee continued its run of strong starts Saturday as the Vols jumped out to a 7-0 and 10-7 lead in the first quarter before falling to No. 1 Georgia, 41-17.
Here are four quick takeaways.
Vols’ Offense Starts Fast Again
Tennessee has been one of the best first quarter teams in the country all season in large part due to excellent offensive starts. Josh Heupel has proved himself as one of the best scripted play callers in the country and it happened again Saturday.
On the second play from scrimmage, Hendon Hooker just overshot a wide open Velus Jones Jr. for what would have been a walk in touchdown. It seemed like a massive missed opportunity against the nation’s best defense, but Tennessee went back to work.
The Vols did what seemed improbable all week. They drove down the field for a touchdown without a chunk play.
Tennessee went 77 yards on 10 plays capped off by a third-and-three touchdown connection from Hooker to Jones.
UT went three-and-out on its following drive after getting stuffed on a third down run up the middle. However, the Vols got one more chance on offense in the first quarter and made it count.
Once again, Tennessee moved the ball down the field and into the Georgia red zone before settling for a 24-yard field goal. The Vols did have one chunk play on the drive when a 29-yard Cedric Tillman completion moved the sticks on third down.
Tennessee not punching it into the end zone was a blow, but the drive gave the Vols the lead at the end of the first quarter.
Hooker Makes Uncharacteristic Mistakes
Hendon Hooker has completely rejuvenated Tennessee’s offense this season and has been efficient both in the underneath passing and taking shots down field.
The Virginia Tech transfer made some uncharacteristic mistakes and misses that plagued Tennessee in a game it couldn’t afford to make many mistakes in.
I already hit on the missed touchdown pass to Jones that the Vols overcame to still find the end zone. The rest of Hooker’s mistakes proved more costly.
First, with the game tied and 10-10, Hooker way overthrew Jones on a quick out route. The ball sailed right into the arms of Derion Kendrick. Hooker’s third interception proved costly as Georgia went 40 yards in five plays to take the lead.
With Tennessee needing to eat some clock and get its defense a rest on the following drive, Hooker had another uncharacteristic miss. Heupel schemed Jones wide open on a third-and-four out route and the veteran quarterback wildly overthrew the slot receiver.
The dual threat quarterback was inaccurate on a handful of other third down throws but most were on tight coverage.
It was also one of Hooker’s worst games of downfield accuracy. Besides the miss to Jones on the opening drive he didn’t miss any wide open receiver, but he couldn’t connect with a pair of receivers who had a step on a defender.
Hooker fumbled late in the game too, though the game was long decided at that point.
Still, Hooker wasn’t awful by any means. The quarterback completed 24-of-37 passes for 244 yards, a touchdown and interception. It just wasn’t the consistency we are used to from the signal caller and it wasn’t enough against a stout defense.
Georgia Opens Game Up At End Of First Half
Tennessee and Georgia were tied at 10 a quarter of the way into the second frame when the Bulldogs took their first lead of the game on a Stetson Bennett nine-yard touchdown scramble.
From there, it was crucial for Tennessee’s upset chances to stay within one score of the top ranked Bulldogs.
After Tennessee’s offense faltered the entire second quarter, Georgia reclaimed possession at its own 10-yard line with 3:42 left in the half. The Bulldogs went slow to start the drive, with the clock getting under two minutes before they reached their own 35-yard line.
However, Georgia turned it on when they needed to and its no huddle offense gave the Vols troubles. The Bulldogs converted a pair of third downs on the drive, overcoming a second-and-20 at one point to get deep into Tennessee territory.
Georgia extended its lead to 14 with 37 seconds left in the half when running back James Cook split out wide, ran right past Solon Page III and hauled in a 23-yard touchdown.
With the Bulldogs receiving the ball to start the second half, the touchdown made an upset bid over the nation’s best team and defense very unlikely.
Georgia Takes The Air Out Of The Ball In Second Half
After using balanced offense in the first half in the first half, Georgia turned to its offensive identity in the second half. The Bulldogs kept the ball on the ground and controlled the clock and line of scrimmage.
After totaling 121 yards on 18 attempts in the first half, Georgia totaled 153 yards on 23 attempts in the second.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett attempted just eight passes in the second half as the Bulldogs leaned on the ground game.
James Cook totaled 26 yards on four carries, Kenny McIntosh totaled 48 yards on five carries and Zahmir White totaled 42 yards on seven carries.
After being the strength of the defense most of the season, the Vols’ run defense has struggled the last two weeks.
