Once again, the Tennessee Volunteers rallied to win in the fourth quarter. This time, they seized control over the SEC East, and proved that they’re a contender to win the national championship.
Let’s be honest: it looked like the Vols were going to lose this contest. After all, Georgia had the ball up three points with just 3:35 remaining. With a couple of first downs, the Dawgs could have simply run down the clock and won the contest.
The Tennessee defense wasn’t going to allow that to happen. The Volunteer D stuffed Brian Herrien for a one-yard loss on first down. On the following play, Derek Barnett fought off a double-team to force a fumble, which Corey Vereen recovered for the go-ahead touchdown. The UT defense came up big on the following drive as well, picking off Jacob Eason for what appeared to be a game-clinching stop.
Only it wasn’t. Georgia would force a three-and-out to get the ball back. Eason would connect with Riley Ridley for a 47-yard strike four plays later to give Georgia a 31-28 lead.
While this disappointing turn of events would sink most teams, Tennessee did its best Tom Highway impersonation by improvising, adapting, and overcoming it. The Volunteers returned the ensuing kickoff to the Dawgs’ 43 with one final chance to win the contest.
That’s all they would need. Joshua Dobbs took the snap from center and connected with Jauan Jennings for the game-winning score.
This thrilling victory is huge for the Volunteers in the long run. By defeating Georgia, the Volunteers now own wins over the top two teams in the SEC East. The only way that UT would fail to capture the division championship is if it were to lose two games down the stretch.
Although that’s certainly possible with both Texas A&M and Alabama remaining on the schedule, it does not seem very likely. Just as they’ve done all season, the Volunteers played like the best team in America in the second half. No matter what the situation was or how impossible it seemed, the Tennessee made the plays it needed to, and won the contest.
That’s the quality of a championship team. Although they still have a lot of work to do, the Volunteers have shown they have what it takes to win the SEC by continually overcoming adversity in the second half.
If that doesn’t make them a national championship contender I don’t know what does.
