This time one year ago, Georgia was chasing history, aiming to become the first FBS football team to win three consecutive national championships since Minnesota in the mid-1930s.
On Saturday, with several weeks still remaining in the 2024 season, the Bulldogs had to fight for their College Football Playoff life. In that battle, they came out on top.
Coming off a gutting 28-10 loss last Saturday at Ole Miss, coach Kirby Smart and his No. 10 Georgia team rebounded for a 31-17 victory against No. 4 Tennessee at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia in a crucial matchup in the race for a spot in the SEC championship game and, ultimately, the playoff.
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With the win, the Bulldogs avoided what would have been a costly third loss that could have seriously damaged their hopes for a spot in the expanded 12-team playoff. Georgia improved to 8-2 this season, with home games remaining against UMass and rival Georgia Tech. It’s now one of four teams, along with Tennessee, with two losses in SEC play this season, putting it behind Texas and Texas A&M, both of which are 5-1 in league competition.
After falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter, the Bulldogs’ offense rallied, scoring on five of their final six drives. During that stretch, they outscored the Vols by a 31-7 margin. Tennessee, conversely, was shut out and held to 124 total yards in the second half.
During what has been an uneven season leading an occasionally underwhelming offense, Carson Beck shined against one of the sport’s top defenses. The redshirt senior completed 25 of 40 passes for 346 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, along with 32 rushing yards and a touchdown.
For the Vols, it continued their misery against Georgia, which has now won eight consecutive games in the series.
Here is the score, updates, highlights and more from the Bulldogs’ victory over Tennessee:
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Georgia finishes off a second-half defensive masterclass by forcing a Nico Iamaleava fumble on a do-or-die fourth down for Tennessee. Chris Cole pounces on the ball with 1:19 remaining and that’ll do it for the Bulldogs.
Georgia running back Nate Frazier rumbles into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run, finishing off a 12-play, 92-yard scoring drive for the Bulldogs that doubles their lead to 31-17.
Most importantly, that possession took 6:21 off the clock, leaving just 2:26 left for Tennessee to try to mount a frantic 14-point comeback.
Georgia has a first-and-goal at the Tennessee 2-yard line and 2:29 left. Tennessee just burned the first of its three timeouts and also has the two-minute timeout, but the Bulldogs are in position for a chip-shot field goal, which would give them a two-possession lead and effectively end the game.
A 12-play drive doesn’t often end without points, or even a field-goal attempt, but it just did for Tennessee. The Vols go 36 yards in 12 plays, but end it with a punt. They had a fourth-and-5 at the Georgia 41-yard line and were going for it, but an offensive lineman flinched and Tennessee was flagged for a false start.
Georgia will take over at its own 8-yard line with 8:47 left and a chance to bleed some valuable clock.
The Bulldogs’ offensive hot streak ends. Georgia gets it down to the Tennessee 43-yard line, but isn’t able to advance any farther and has to punt, with Tennessee taking over at its own 18-yard line to open the fourth quarter.
Georgia had scored on four consecutive drives.
Just as the Georgia offense appears to have found its stride, the Tennessee offense is struggling to regain its mojo. The Vols have punted on four of their past six full drives, only one of which has gone for more than 34 yards.
Bulldogs take over at their own 19-yard line with a few minutes left in the quarter.
A back-and-forth game between two of the SEC’s best teams continues to be just that into the third quarter.
On a third-and-7, Carson Beck is flushed out of the pocket, but finds an opening and darts into the end zone himself to put Georgia up 24-17. The Bulldogs’ touchdown has snapped a streak of 10 consecutive games for Tennessee in which it held opponents under 19 points.
The touchdown finished off a 12-play, 87-yard drive. Georgia has scored on four consecutive possessions.
The Vols made their way up the field to open up the second half, but saw their drive stall in Georgia territory. It initially appeared as though Tennessee was going to go for a fourth-and-6 from the Georgia 36-yard line, but Josh Heupel’s team takes a delay of game penalty and punts. The Bulldogs will take over at their 13.
Some halftime stats, with Georgia and Tennessee tied at 17:
And some individual numbers:
Tennessee
Georgia
Georgia goes 57 yards in 12 plays and 1:49, with Peyton Woodring putting a bow on the drive with a 36-yard field goal with five seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Bulldogs and Vols are going to go into halftime tied at 17.
Only a couple of plays after injuring his shoulder, James Pearce Jr. is back on the field for Tennessee as the Vols look to hold off a potential Georgia scoring drive just before halftime.
As Georgia approaches midfield just before halftime, Tennessee has lost, if even temporarily, its top defensive player. Defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. stayed down on the turf after a play finished and headed back to the Vols’ sideline, where he was having his left shoulder looked at by team medical personnel.
In another injury update, Dillon Bell has gone back to Georgia’s locker room. A return appears unlikely for the Bulldogs wide receiver.
Just when it appeared as though the game was potentially slipping away from Tennessee, the Vols respond in a big way.
Trailing by four, Tennessee goes 75 yards in 10 plays. Dylan Sampson caps it off with a 24-yard rushing touchdown right up in the middle, virtually untouched.
It came two plays after Sampson got the Vols a first down with a 3-yard run on a fourth-and-2 from the Georgia 37-yard line. Just under two minutes remaining in the half.
After a sluggish start, the Georgia offense is rolling. Each of the Bulldogs’ past two drives have ended in the end zone, with its most recent possession going 84 yards in 10 plays. It’s finished off by yet another Carson Beck pass to Oscar Delp, this one for four yards.
The Bulldogs are on top 14-10 with 6:36 left in the first half.
On its first three drives, Georgia had 22 yards on 13 plays, an average of 1.7 yards per play. On its past two drives, it has 159 yards on 17 plays, an average of 9.4 yards per play.
Bulldogs wide receiver Dillon Bell is in the medical tent after a 5-yard rush that nearly got his team in the end zone for the go-ahead score. After being tackled near the pylon, Bell got up and tried walking on his own power, but hobbled and eventually went back down to the turf before being tended to by team medical personnel.
Georgia is able to build on the positive momentum of its touchdown drive, forcing a Tennessee punt on the ensuing possession. The key play came on a third-and-8, with Malaki Starks coming in to break up what would have been a first-down throw from Nico Iamaleava to Squirrel White.
Bulldogs take over at their own 16-yard line with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
Georgia gets some much-needed points, with its first sustained drive of the day. The Bulldogs respond to the Tennessee field goal with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that’s finished off by a 19-yard Oscar Delp touchdown on a beautiful pass down the middle from Carson Beck.
Beck looked much more comfortable and loose on that drive, which was keyed by a 38-yard completion to Dominic Lovett that got the Bulldogs into Tennessee territory. Beck threw for 57 yards on that possession and added a 14-yard scramble that got Georgia on the edge of the red zone.
Vols are up 10-7 with 13:30 left in the first half.
Boo Carter’s excellent return immediately put Tennessee in scoring position — so much so that the Vols mustered only three yards and still came away with points.
Max Gilbert boots a 52-yard field goal right down the middle, with enough distance to have likely been good from 60 yards. That’s a career long for the freshman from Memphis.
Vols are up 10-0 with about one minute left in the first quarter.
Three drives have resulted in three punts so far for Georgia, which goes three-and-out yet again. Carson Beck is struggling, completing only two of his first eight passes for 12 yards. There were already questions about what had been a constipated Bulldogs offense. Tonight isn’t easing those at all, at least through nearly a full quarter.
Worse yet for Georgia, Tennessee’s Boo Carter returns the ensuing punt 26 yards to the Georgia 37-yard line.
Looking to extend their lead, the Vols are stopped, with a 6-yard sack of Nico Iamaleava setting up a third-and-12 that Tennessee failed to convert. Tennessee punts for the first time and gets a beauty out of it, a 53-yard boomer that pins Georgia down at its own 6-yard line with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
The Bulldogs manage to get a first down this time around, but they’re forced to punt yet again after Dominic Lovett drops a screen from Carson Beck on third-and-10. Georgia has just 16 yards on its first two drives.
A 43-yard punt gives Tennessee the ball at its own 18-yard line.
Tennessee wasted little time showing off the potency of its offense, going 78 yards in 12 plays on its first drive of the night. The Vols cap it off in style, too, with tight end Miles Kitselman lining up as a fullback on third-and-goal from the Georgia 1-yard line, getting the carry and diving over the lines for a touchdown.
Kitselman was Tennessee’s leading receiver that possession, too, with two catches for 21 yards. It’s the first career rushing touchdown for the Alabama transfer.
Georgia received the opening kickoff, but isn’t able to mount any kind of sustained drive, going three and out. Carson Beck threw deep balls on first and third down, but was unable to connect on either. The first one was particularly painful, as he appeared to link up with Arian Smith at the Tennessee 31-yard line for a first down, but Smith wasn’t able to hang on.
Bulldogs punt and the Vols take over at their 22.
While his absence on the SEC availability report signaled that he was almost certainly playing against Georgia, Nico Iamaleava has removed any remaining doubt, with the Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback warming up for the Vols.
The final SEC availability report before kickoff features no changes for Tennessee, but several for Georgia. The Bulldogs will be without linebacker Joseph Jonah-Ajonye, who was previously listed as questionable, as well as running backs Trevor Etienne, Roderick Robinson II and Brandon Robinson.
However, wide receiver Anthony Evans III, running back Cash Jones and offensive lineman Micah Morris, all of whom were previously deemed questionable, are no longer on the injury report and ostensibly available for Georgia.
While playing away from Neyland Stadium, Tennessee will go with its traditional road uniform — white helmets, white jerseys and white pants.
With “College GameDay” broadcasting from Athens, Georgia on Saturday, the show’s panel made predictions for the game that brought everyone there.
Each of the show’s analysts — excluding Kirk Herbstreit, who is calling the game for ABC and thus abstained from making a prediction — went with the Bulldogs.
The game between the Vols and Bulldogs will air on ABC. Chris Fowler (play-by-play) and Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) will be on the call while Holly Rowe and Laura Rutledge serve as sideline reporters.
Streaming options for the game include the ESPN app, ESPN+ and Fubo, the last of which offers a free trial to potential subscribers.
Adam Sparks, Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee 23, Georgia 21
“There are no certainties in this game. Will Nico Iamaleava play well after being cleared from concussion protocol? Will Carson Beck stop turning the ball over? Can Georgia be the first team to score 20 on Tennessee’s defense? Can the Vols overcome their road woes and an unfriendly raucous crowd? It’s been a crazy college football season. Let’s add this game to the list of eye-opening outcomes.”
Mike Wilson, Knoxville News Sentinel: Georgia 24, Tennessee 20
“Tennessee’s offense is looking better lately, but the Vols haven’t played a road game since Arkansas in early October. Georgia was a house of horrors in 2022 for Tennessee and its CFP hopes. It will be that again.”
John Adams, Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee 23, Georgia 20
“If Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is out because of injury, don’t hold me to this prediction. Iamaleava didn’t play in the second half of UT’s 33-14 victory over Mississippi State because of an “upper-body” injury. However, Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after the game and again Monday that he expected Iamaleava to be in “great shape for Saturday.” As anyone who follows college football knows, if a coach tells you something about injuries, you can bank on it. Or bet on it.“
Marc Weiszer, Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia 24, Tennessee 21
“Georgia needs this game in a big way and that should produce a fiery squad who should play more loose than tight at home. Tennessee’s defense is one of the best in the nation, but this is not one of Heupel’s top offenses. Tennessee is 1-1 in true road games including a loss at Arkansas. Bulldogs ride home crowd to win.”
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Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Saturday, Nov. 16
According to the SEC’s official availability report.
Tennessee
Georgia
According to the forecast from The Weather Channel, there will be a few passing clouds Saturday night in Athens, Georgia, with a low of 41 degrees and light winds.
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* Denotes SEC game
* Denotes SEC game
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