Late fumble upends Vols upset bid at Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. - Tennessee figures to spend plenty of time working on handoffs in practice this week.

Two fumbles, and plenty of Todd Gurley ultimately ended the Volunteers' bid for an upset on Saturday afternoon.

Gurley, Georgia's star tailback, ran for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns, and Tennessee botched two handoffs, including one Bulldogs defensive end Josh Dawson recovered in the end zone for a fourth-quarter touchdown, as 12th-ranked Georgia beat the Vols 35-32 at Sanford Stadium.

A high-scoring first half turned into a defensive struggle in the third quarter before a final frame of ups and downs.

Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley left the game in the third quarter with an elbow injury, only to return and lead the Vols (2-2, 0-1 SEC) on a scoring drive and ensuing two-point conversion that trimmed Georgia's lead to 28-25 with 8:07 left in the game.

Gurley, Georgia's Heisman Trophy candidate, hurdled Tennessee safety on a 26-yard run on the ensuing possession, but the Vols forced a stop, only to see Collin Barber's punt downed at the 1-yard line.

Two plays later, Worley and freshman tailback Jalen Hurd, who ran for 119 yards on 24 carries, couldn't execute the handoff and Dawson fell on the ball.

Worley led the Vols back down the field and hit Marquez North on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 2:14 left, but Georgia (4-1, 1-1) fullback Quayvon Hicks recovered Tennessee's onside kick and the Bulldogs ran out the clock after Gurley picked up a fourth-and-3.

Worley left the game after a hard hit from Georgia linebacker Jordan Jenkins midway through the third quarter, and Peterman, last seen orchestrating a turnover-filled first half last season at Florida, replaced him.

On the sideline, Worley looked to be having his right forearm/elbow iced, and he wore a black sleeve on his elbow when he returned to the game.

Tennessee drove to Georgia's 22-yard line on Peterman's first series after freshman receiver Josh Malone picked up a third-and-13 with a great effort following a short catch and ran for 20 yards on a double reverse.

That drive ended, though, when Peterman and tailback Marlin Lane botched a handoff.

It capped a third quarter of missed opportunities for the Vols, who failed to turn Cam Sutton's interception into any points and went three-and-out on another possession that began near midfield.

Georgia managed just 47 yards of offense in the third quarter.

While Tennessee's defense kept Georgia's powerful running game at bay, the Bulldogs were teeing off on Peterman, who completed 4 of his 9 passes for just 20 yards and was belted on multiple plays.

Gurley finally broke the Vols defensively by knifing through the line and making Randolph miss in open space on a 51-yard touchdown run that made it 28-17 with more than nine minutes left in the game.

Tennessee jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead with its first two possessions of the game.

Hurd had a 10-yard run out of the wildcat formation, Malone caught a 14-yard pass and freshman kicker Aaron Medley hit a 46-yard field goal to open the game for the Vols.

After a defensive stop, the Vols marched back down the field on Worley's arm, as the Tennessee senior hit tight end Ethan Wolf for 17 yards and Johnathon Johnson for another 24. Jason Croom converted a third-and-6 with a catch, and Hurd powered in from 1 yard out to send a hush over Sanford Stadium.

Georgia freshman Isaiah McKenzie gave the Bulldogs their first spark with a nice punt return into Tennessee territory that set up a touchdown on Huston Mason's 3-yard run. Gurley ran twice for 22 yards on the short drive.

The second quarter belonged to the hosts, as Georgia continued its run.

Before the Vols drove 83 yards for a Worley-to-Croom touchdown with 18 seconds left, Georgia held big advantages in yards (181-26), plays (25-8) and first downs (11-1).

The Bulldogs got freshman tailbacks Sony Michel and Nick Chubb more involved while finding its rhythm offensively after a skittish start. Georgia, which entered the game second in the SEC at 304 rushing yards per game, ran eight times for 49 yards on its second touchdown drive, capped by Gurley's dive over the top.

Chubb took a short pass, broke free from a tackler and scored from 20 yards out to give the Bulldogs at 21-10 lead before Tennessee's answer.

Gurley finished the first half with 75 yards on 12 carries and caught four passes for 30 yards, while Michel and Chubb combined for 36 yards on seven carries.

Hurd became the first true freshman to rush for 100 yards in a game since Bryce Brown did it in his debut against Western Kentucky in 2009, while Worley finished 23-of-35 passing for 264 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Michel did not play in the second half after suffering a shoulder injury.

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

Upcoming Events