Despite an injured right elbow, Tennessee quarterback Justin Worley almost rallied the Vols to an upset of 12th-ranked Georgia with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes. The Bulldogs held on for a 35-32 SEC victory.
photo by Tennessee Athletics
ATHENS, Ga. – Once again Tennessee proved its depth at quarterback is apparently non-existent.
When starter Justin Worley went to the sidelines with a right elbow injury in the third quarter and the Vols trailing 12th-ranked Georgia, 21-17, sophomore Nathan Peterman came on and proved ineffective and overwhelmed. Again.
Worley went to the locker room for treatment, came back with his elbow covered with a black wrap and re-entered the game in the fourth period.
“(The hit) caused my arm to go numb for a bit,” said Worley, who added that X-rays were negative and he should play next week.
Just before Worley returned to action, Georgia’s Todd Gurley had raced 51 yards for his second touchdown that stretched the Bulldogs’ lead to 28-17.
Gurley rushed for a career-high 208 yards – the Bulldogs had a total of 289 yards – and two touchdowns.
“Earlier in the year, I said (Gurley) is at least one of the best players in the country,” said Georgia coach Mark Richt, now 10-4 against the Vols. “Now, I’m saying he’s the best player in America. I can’t imagine anyone being more talented.”
Worley tossed two touchdown passes in the final eight minutes, but Georgia defensive end Josh Dawson’s fumble recovery in the end zone proved to be a difference-maker for the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) in a 35-32 Southeastern Conference victory Saturday before 92,746 at Sanford Stadium.
“Gritty, confident, very prideful,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said of Worley’s gutty performance. “He was itching to get back and I think that sparks volumes about his competitive character.”
The defeat marked the 10th consecutive season Tennessee has opened SEC play with a first-game loss. Florida had the previous nine wins dating to 2005.
"Obviously, this was very disappointing," Jones said.
Tennessee hosts Florida on Saturday at Neyland Stadium and the game will be televised on the SEC Network. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
It was the second straight scare Tennessee put into Georgia, following last season’s 34-31 overtime loss in Knoxville.
Tennessee (2-2, 0-1) trailed 21-17 in the third quarter when, while trying to throw, his right elbow struck a blitzing Georgia defensive lineman’s helmet.
Peterman, who had thrown just one pass this season and went 10-for-23 for 45 yards in 2013, came on and was unproductive, fumbling an exchange with tailback Marlin Lane as the Vols drove for a potential go-ahead touchdown and also was called for intentional grounding.
Gurley’s 51-yard burst extended the Bulldogs’ lead to 28-17 – he also scored midway through the second quarter on a leap over the line from a yard out and average 7.4 yards per carry.
After a few three-and-outs early, Gurley helped the Bulldogs get their vaunted running game on track.
“When you run against a team you just have to keep going at them,” he said. “You have to keep taking it at them and wear them down. Once that happens you get some opportunities.”
Said Jones, “We knew we were going to be challenged with the run game. I thought we contained it well except for the one long run for Gurley.”
Tennessee’s defense, led by linebackers A.J. Johnson (17 tackles) and Jalen Reeves-Maybin (10 tackles), held Georgia to 1-of-10 on third down. Todd Kelly Jr. and Cameron Sutton each had an interception.
But the Vols failed to keep Georgia from getting a first down when it was running out the clock to end the game.
“It was hard,” Reeves-Maybin said. “Every time we go out there we’re determined to get a three-and-out. (Gurley) is one of the best backs in the country and we needed to do a great job getting him on the ground. We gave up a lot of points, so we didn’t do a good enough job.”
Following Gurley’s long burst – he went virtually untouched over half the field – it turned out that Worley wasn’t finished.
The Rock Hill, S.C., senior hit Alton Howard with a 31-yard scoring strike to cap a 52-yard, four-play drive and cut Georgia’s lead with 8:07 left in the game. He then fired a strike to tight end Daniel Helm for the two-point conversion, pulling the Vols within 28-25.
“Justin is a great competitor, we needed him and he came through at a good time,” freshman tailback Jalen Hurd said. “He played his butt off.”
Hurd, who has assumed the lion’s share of the rushing attack early in his rookie season, figured into a key play that went against the Vols.
Tennessee wide receiver Jason Croom, who caught four passes for 60 yards and a 23-yard touchdown toss from Worley to close out the second-quarter scoring, thought the Vols’ starting quarterback gave the team a lift when he returned to the action.
“He’s always a tough leader,” Croom said. “He’s never going to back down and he can play through anything because he’s good at handling adversity.”
Backed up to their own 1 after a Georgia punt, freshman tailback Jalen Hurd fumbled and Dawson pounced on the ball – it was his second fumble recovery – for a touchdown that put the Vols in a 35-25 hole with 4:27 to go.
“I take full responsibility for that and it’s something that won’t happen again,” Hurd said. “We’re definitely not happy about this loss. We have to keep our heads up and focus on things we did wrong heading into the Florida game.”
For Dawson, a 6-foot-4-inch, 266-pound junior, smothering Hurd’s fumble was his second recovery of the game.
“I just try to make the most of my opportunities,” Dawson said, “and the opportunities came today.”
Yet, Worley responded again, hooking up with Marquez North on a 6-yard TD strike with 2:14 remaining. Aaron Medley’s point-after kick pulled Tennessee within 35-32.
On the ensuing kickoff after Dawson’s recovery in the end zone, the Vols loaded the left side and, in what appeared to be a huge special team’s blunder, Medley tried an onside kick to the left and Georgia easily recovered the ball.
With a heroic effort, Worley wound up competing 23-of-35 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman tight end Ethan Wolf was the Vols’ leading receiver with five catches for 69 yards.
Hurd, another of the Vols’ talented freshmen, turned in a superlative effort, picking up 119 yards on 24 carries, and he scored on a 1-yard run that gave Tennessee an early 10-0 lead.
Hurd’s rushing total was the best for a UT freshman since Jamal Lewis gained 127 in the 1997 SEC championship game against Auburn. He is also the first freshman to gain 100 yards since Bryce Brown picked up 104 against Western Kentucky in 2009.
But, in the end, none of that was enough to prevent the Vols from losing their 21st consecutive road game against a nationally ranked team. The last time Tennessee pulled off that feat was a 51-33 rout of the Bulldogs in 2006.
Scoring Summary
Tennessee 10 7 0 15 – 32
Georgia 7 14 0 14 – 35
First Quarter
UT – FG Aaron Medley 46, 11:39
UT – Jalen Hurd 1 run (Medley kick), 5:04
GA – Hutson Mason 3 run (Marshall Morgan kick), 1:07
Second Quarter
GA — Todd Gurley 1 run (Morgan kick), 8:45
GA – Nick Chub 20 pass from Mason (Morgan kick), 1:17
UT – Jason Croom 23 pass from Justin Worley (Medley kick), 0:18
Fourth Quarter
GA – Gurley 51 run (Morgan kick), 9:31
UT – Alton Howard 31 pass from Worley (Daniel Helm pass from Worley), 8:07
GA – Josh Dawson fumble recovery in end zone (Morgan kick), 4:27
UT – Marquez North 6 pass from Worley (Medley kick), 2:14
YARDSTICK
UT GA
First Downs 22 25
Rushes-Yards 34-117 53-289
Passing Yards 284 147
Att-Com-Int 27-44-0 16-25-2
Total Yards 78-401 78-436
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-0
Punts.-Avg. 8-44.6 7-42.0
Penalties-Yds. 7-49 7-57
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Tennessee: Jalen Hurd 24-119, Josh Malone 1-20, Alton Howard 1-8, Marlin Lane 5-1, Nathan Peterman 1-minus 14, Justin Worley 2-minus 17; Georgia: Todd Gurley 28-208, Nick Chubb 11-32, Hutson Mason 10-30, Sony Michel 3-17, Quayvon Hicks 1-2.
PASSING — Tennessee: Worley 23-35-0 264, Peterman 4-9-0 20; Georgia: Mason 16-25-2 147.
RECEIVING — Tennessee: Ethan Wolf 5-69, Jason Croom 4-60, Howard 4-46, Malone 5-43, Johnathon Johnson 1-24, Hurd 3-19, Marquez North 3-15, Devrin Young 1-6, Jashon Robertson 1-2; Georgia: Michael Bennett 4-31, Gurley 4-30, Chris Conley 3-30, Chubb 1-20, Michel 1-16, Reggie Davis 2-14, Taylor Maxey 1-6.
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)