KNOXVILLE - The top 15 matchup between Georgia and Tennessee turned into an instant classic Sept. 13, as the No. 6 Bulldogs defeated the No. 15 Volunteers 44-41 in overtime.
It was a game that fans of each team won’t soon forget._ The contest featured late-game heroics from several Georgia players and a miraculous comeback, along with Tennessee missing a field goal at the end of regulation, allowing the Bulldogs to capitalize in overtime.
In his postgame press conference, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talked about how resilient his team was.
“When you do something like that, you have to make your own way. You have to absorb blows,” Smart said. “I don’t think I had any idea how many blows we would have to absorb, but we did, and we’ve got a resilient group.”
The Bulldogs were down 38-30 with 2:32 left, facing 4th-and-6. Quarterback Gunner Stockton threw a perfect pass to wide receiver London Humphreys in the corner of the end zone, making it a two-point game. They tied it when Stockton connected with wideout Zacariah Branch on the two-point conversion attempt.
Smart thought that sequence was among the most important in the game.
“There was no guarantee that we were going to get the two,” he said. “So, I was on the headphones the entire time saying, ‘Hey, we need to score quickly because we may have to get the ball back.’ We can’t assume it’s a tie. The two-point conversion was the play of the game because that actually gave us a chance.”
Tennessee got the ball back and marched down the field. The Vols reached the Georgia 23-yard line before a false start penalty moved them back five yards, and kicker Max Gilbert missed the 43-yard field goal attempt.
The Bulldog defense, which struggled for most of the game, forced a field goal in overtime. Gilbert’s next field goal attempt put Tennessee back in the driver’s seat, leading 41-38 as Georgia’s offense took back over.
Georgia running back Nate Frazier broke off a 21-yard run to the Vols’ 4-yard line before fellow tailback Josh McCray pushed his way toward the end zone. It looked like the ball crossed the goal line, but McCray was called down at the 1-yard line. Upon review, officials overturned the call, signaling the Bulldogs’ victory.
Tennessee led 21-7 at the end of the first quarter after scoring on its first three drives. The Bulldogs then dominated the second, as Stockton tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to Branch on the first play from scrimmage.
The Georgia defense slowed down Vols quarterback Joey Agular, who completed all 14 of his attempts in the first quarter, which included two touchdown passes. The Bulldogs went into the half trailing only 21-17.
Georgia started the second half by receiving the ball and dominating Tennessee’s defense. The 14-play, 75-yard drive included the Bulldogs running the ball 13 times and ended with a 1-yard touchdown rush by McCray.
It was a back-and-forth effort until the end, as Aguilar and the Vols’ offense heated back up. However, Georgia proved it was a resilient group and never wavered when faced with adversity in front of 101,915 people.
Smart was proud of his team for fighting back and winning, but also suggested it was a fortunate outcome for the Bulldogs.
“Just all in all a great game, but I feel almost like we have to apologize to (Tennessee). I don’t think we should have won that game,” Smart said. “They outplayed us in a lot of ways, but that’s the way it goes.”
Georgia will have a bye this week before returning home to face Alabama on Sept. 27.