Georgia 44. Tennessee 41.
Nothing comes easy in this league. And it’s even harder to come by on the road in a rabid environment. All the while, Georgia somehow, someway headed into an open week in about the best way a team can ask, winning an absolute barn-burner to begin SEC play despite not putting forth its best effort.
1. If this was the last time these two teams will play for a while in the looming SEC schedule alignment, then both teams served up an instant classic to remember. With the new nine-game
league schedule, this is a rivalry that may not be an annual one, which would be a shame. That’s why Saturday was quintessential SEC football on both sides. This game had everything, from big leads, comebacks, teams adjusting, the ups and downs, late special teams drama, a raucous stadium, and even overtime.
As heated as this rivalry is, it’s of note that Georgia and Tennessee didn’t play annually each year until the early 1990s, so it’s not as time-ingrained as the Auburn or South Carolina game. But with all the build-up of the past couple of seasons, this game has had its share of emotion, and that’s an element that’ll be missed each year more than likely. If this is indeed the final year of these teams playing each year, it means something that Georgia, not Tennessee, got the upper-hand.
2. Few things are greater than beating a rival when you feel like you stole a win. It’s a drilling down of misery, without question. Georgia has had its share of thrilling games over its history that it should have won, only to come up short. Kirby Smart said as much in his post-game interview when he pointed out that Tennessee deserved to win. But much like the Nick Saban-era Alabama teams, this and last year’s Georgia Tech game stand as examples of teams on the cusp of ending a long losing streak, only to have the Dawgs rise from the dead and somehow, someway find a win. As a fan, few things beat being able to beat a rival when you know that they should have beaten you,
3. If this team is indeed more tight-knit, then Saturday showed it. You don’t get yourself nearly run out of the building in the first 15 minutes, and also barely hang on in the fourth quarter on a fluke. In truth, you can make the case that last year’s team would not have been able to go blow-for-blow. In fact, the first quarter to a degree felt like Ole Miss a season ago. The bottom line is winning, no matter how you do it.
4. It’s hard not to be happy for Bo Hughley. Let’s put it right out there. With Juan Gaston and Earnest Green sidelined more or less, Georgia had to dig deep to find not just linemen who could play, but ones that could get the job done against a ferocious Volunteers defensive front. The second half was hardly perfect as UT found a way to slow down Georgia’s run-blocking, but the Dawgs were able to get enough out of this group to win. Was it this group’s best effort? No. But it was enough to get an overtime win.
5. Here and in other places, there was lots of hand-wringing coming into this game on what Gunner Stockton could actually do against elite opponents. Well…those concerns can be buried in the Tennessee River. Even if Georgia would have lost on Saturday, it would have still been a coming-out party for Stockton, whose mobility did indeed help overcome some offensive line inconsistencies. Yes, the late touchdown throw to London Humphries was huge, but I’m not sure there was any bigger play in terms of setting the tone than Mike Bobo dialing up an early deep ball to Colbie Young. It showed that there was an intent to push the field deep, which ended up being critical in the game’s early track meet.
6. I think we know who the bell cow of this defense is. That would be none other than Joenel Aguero. Georgia’s defense struggled to hold on against Tennessee’s offense for a good part of the game, but the fact that the Dawgs were able to slow down the Volunteers’ offense had a whole lot to do with the mentality being set by the play of Aguero, who had seven tackles, two breakups and an interception.
7. Georgia was darn lucky to sneak out of this one with a win. In fact, if it would have been a loss, it could have been pinned not on the defense, but on the offense for not closing the game out in the second half. Between the end of the season half and into the second, there were three solid chances to get into the end zone, including both an interception and three and out in the third quarter. The result of those three chances? Three Peyton Woodring field goals, two of which were chip shots.
There’s an illustration of needing to kill a poisonous rattlesnake when you have a chance, and Georgia playing like it could shut down a Tennessee offense that had earlier in the game torched it was perplexing. The Bulldogs got off the hook in this case, but it may not be able to down the line.
8. Has Georgia fixed its goal-line ills? Not yet, but it may be on the way there with Josh McCray. You saw what McCray’s role is. He’s a straight-ahead bruiser well-suited for short-yardage. The running back room has lots of running backs who can do things differently. McCray may not have the slashing ability of a Nate Frazier or Dwight Phillips, but he is, however, the apparent best straight-ahead option in short-yardage.
9. One prevailing thought until Tennessee missed a late field goal was that fans were going to rush the field. You can’t blame them for celebrating something that rarely happens, but it should be flattering to know that any time you lose on the road, a field rushing is coming. But it also should be a point of pride if you are a UGA graduate, as other than a regrettable end of the 2000 Tennessee game, rushing the field is beneath Georgia fans, and that is something to be proud of.
10. This team is hardly a finished product, and Coach Smart’s post-game comments indicate as much. Saturday was anything but perfect. Lots of things about it were not things you want on a highlight reel. The defense looked lost in the secondary at times, the offensive line had a hard time getting a push, and trailing by two scores early was tums-inducing, as well. That’s the challenge of playing an early SEC game, that you are not going to be at your best. You learn about your team early on in a season, and you hope that you are able to avoid a loss.
It wasn’t perfect. But Saturday was a win. And to quote Eddie Calvin Nuke Laloosh, “I love winning. It’s better than losing.”
Go Dawgs!
