ATHENS, Ga. - Four touchdowns from redshirt freshman quarterback Aaron Murray, two through the air and two on the ground, highlighted a undoubtedly dominant Saturday for the Georgia Bulldogs in Sanford Stadium.
Georgia jumped on Tennessee early and didn't let up until the latter stages of a 41-14 win.
After UT opened the game with a short drive and a punt, Murray dropped back to pass but didn't find anyone open. He did, however, find tons or running room on the right side and galloped 35 yards for the score, capping a six-play, 73-yard drive that took just 2:26.
Georgia strong safety Bacarri Rambo intercepted a tipped Matt Simms pass near midfield on the next possession, and the Bulldogs used that short field to extend their lead. Blair Walsh's 42-yard field goal - with tons of leg - gave Georgia a 10-0 lead with 2:15 left in the quarter.
Vols redshirt freshman cornerback Eric Gordon fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Georgia recovered at the UT 41-yard line. A long pass to wide receiver A.J. Green on the next play set up Murray's first passing touchdown - a 9-yard lob to sophomore flanker Rantavious Wooten in the corner of the end zone - that gave the Bulldogs a 17-0 lead with 0:55 left in the first quarter.
Green returned a punt for the first time in his career midway through the first quarter, returning it 7 yards. He was later banged up after a vicious hit from UT sophomore safety Janzen Jackson but ultimately walked off the field without assistance.
The Vols finally responded early in the second quarter, thanks to a brilliant play by Simms. The quarterback alluded two Georgia defenders in the pocket, set his feet and threw a 38-yard touchdown to freshman receiver Justin Hunter with 12:58 left in the second quarter. Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin fumbled the ensuing kickoff but recovered it himself at the Bulldogs 25, narrowly avoiding a major momentum swing in UT's favor.
Another Gordon blunder midway through the second quarter gave Georgia another big boost. Cornerback Blake Sailors recovered Gordon's muffed punt at the Vols 37. Three plays later, Murray found Green over the middle for a 22-yard score that gave Georgia a 24-7 lead with 6:41 left in the half.
Walsh added another field goal - this one a 20-yard chip shot - that bumped the lead to 27-7 with 2:15 left in the half.
Georgia received the opening kickoff in the third quarter and promptly drove 64 yards for a touchdown. Murray capped the drive with a splendid, 5-yard touchdown scramble with 10:26 left in the period.
The Vols finally mustered a response three minutes later, when junior tailback Tauren Poole scored on a 2-yard run that cut the gap to 34-14. True freshman tailback Rajion Neal - like Poole, a Georgia native - set up the score with a 58-yard catch on a well-designed wheel route.
Georgia came right back, though, driving 66 yards for another touchdown. Fullback Shaun Chapas plowed in from 1-yard to make it 41-14 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
True freshman quarterback Tyler Bray entered the game early in the fourth quarter and quickly drove the Vols inside the Bulldogs 10, but an incomplete pass to senior wide receiver Gerald Jones on fourth-and-goal gave the ball back to Georgia at its own 3.
Contact Wes Rucker at wrucker@timesfreepress.com or 865-851-9739.
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