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A defense that had held up Tennessee football the entire season gave way on Saturday night and Georgia came roaring in a 31-17 win that put the Vols’ Hope for the College Football Playoff in danger.
Seventh-ranked Tennessee (8-2, 5-2 SEC) could have all but assured itself a spot in the 12-team playoff with a win at Sanford Stadium. With only two defeats it still has a chance of the play-off, but that is not certain.
Georgia (8-2, 6-2) was almost certainly eliminated with a loss, but is now one of the favorites in the silly SEC battle for major spots.
Two things stood out in Georgia’s victory.
First, quarterback Carson Beck was coming off a six-game stretch in which he had thrown 12 interceptions and lost two fumbles. After Tennessee took an early 10-0 lead, Beck played like the Heisman Trophy candidate he should have been in the preseason. With little help from a running game, he completed 15 of 29 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns in the first half. He lost four more completions due to missed passes.
Second, an elite UT defense, which was the biggest reason the Vols won eight of their first nine games, chose a terrible time to deliver its worst performance of the season.
Tennessee’s renowned defensive front rarely pressured Beck. In fact, it rarely made him uncomfortable. Georgia receivers also repeatedly found holes in the UT secondary, which fell victim to the lack of a pass rush.
On the occasions when Beck couldn’t find an open receiver, he still managed to punish UT’s fading defense by running a significant distance. For example, he drove into the end zone on a 10-yard run to break a 17-17 tie early in the second half.
Georgia’s attacking success was a sharp contrast to its previous performance. Ole ma’am overwhelmed Georgia’s offensive line in a 28-10 win.
The Bulldogs blockers came back with a vengeance against UT. And that matchup proved decisive.
Tennessee matched the Bulldogs’ offense by forging the tie in the first half. The Vols opened the game with a 78-yard touchdown drive by striking an effective balance with runs and passes. Their third drive produced a field goal, and Dylan Sampson set up another first-half score on a 27-yard run.
That success did not continue in the second half. The longer the game went on, the less skilled the Vols became. In the fourth quarter, their offense looked almost as overmatched as the defense. Almost, but not quite.
The game was still within reach when Tennessee punted the ball to Georgia’s 8-yard line with 8:38 to play. But UT’s defense was once again not up to the challenge, as the Bulldogs advanced all the way to the Vols’ 2-yard line. Freshman running back Nate Frazier then scored a final touchdown.
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In a conversation of offensive gurus, no one ever mentions Georgia coordinator Mike Bobo. But in this match he defeated UT’s Josh Heupel, whose reputation as an offensive coach is well established. Bobo also outwitted Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks, whose defense often looked a step behind or a step out of position.
The combination left UT’s playoff fate in the hands of others. The Vols are still playoff contenders, but it didn’t show in the way they played Saturday.
Instead, they did everything they could to make the Bulldogs look like a threat to win their third national championship in four years.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He can be reached at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him on: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee’s defense chooses a terrible time to deliver a terrible performance