No. 12 Georgia Wins 8th Straight Over No. 7 Tennessee 31-17

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Quarterback Carson Beck and the No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs (8-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) defeated the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers (8-2, 5-2) 31-17 on Nov. 16 in Athens, Ga. Beck was the star of the show as he completed 25-of-40 passes for 346 yards and 2 touchdowns. Running back Dylan Sampson was the highlight for the Volunteers as he finished with 19 carries for 101 yards and a touchdown.

Game Summary

This one started pretty well for the Volunteers as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead going into the second quarter. Tight end Miles Kitselman found the end zone from 1-yard out and kicker Max Gilbert converted a 52-yard field goal.

But the Bulldogs had the answer as they drove 7 plays, 75 yards for a touchdown as Beck found tight end Oscar Delp from 19 yards out, and suddenly it was 10-7 Volunteers.

On the ensuing drive, the Volunteers punted, and the Bulldogs drove 10 plays, 84 yards for the touchdown as Beck found Delp again from 4 yards out, and it was 14-10 Bulldogs.

But the Volunteers had an answer as they drove 10 plays, 75 yards for a touchdown as Sampson ran it in from 27 yards out, and it was 17-14 Volunteers.

The teams went into the half tied at 17 as Bulldogs kicker Peyton Woodring converted from 36 yards out.

The second half was all Bulldogs as they got 2 touchdowns, one from Beck and one from running back Nate Frazier. While the Volunteers had four second half drives and punted on three of them.

The Bulldogs took this one 31-17 at home.

Turning Point for Georgia

The true turning point in this game was when it was 24-17 and the Volunteers punted the ball away again. The Bulldogs were able to put this one away with an exhausting 12 play, 92-yard drive.

The drive was finished off by Frazier with a touchdown and put this one out of reach at 31-17.

What It Means for Each Team

For the Volunteers, this one is quite tricky. They had a 10-0 lead and then a 17-17 tie and could not do much else. They should expect to drop out of the College Football Playoff rankings after this one. Up next, the Volunteers host the UTEP Miners (2-8) at 1 p.m. EST on Nov. 23 on SECN+/ESPN+.

For the Bulldogs, this was a relatively nice win and should get them bumped back into the College Football Playoff rankings. Up next, the Bulldogs host the Massachusetts Minutemen (2-8) at 12:45 p.m. EST on Nov. 23 on SEC Network.