The No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs defeated the No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers in an SEC matchup on Saturday night, 31-17. A crowd of 93,033 fans dressed in all black and brought the noise in Sanford Stadium to turn up the energy and support the Bulldogs.
Tight end Oscar Delp led the offense with two touchdown passes against the Volunteers. In a heated first half where the Bulldogs were down, Delp scored a 19-yard touchdown, putting the Bulldogs on the scoreboard, 6-10. Quarterback Carson Beck fed Delp another pass, complete for 25 yards for another touchdown in the second quarter. Delp held up the receiving line with 56 yards in the first half.
Delp on his offensive success: “It was a great feeling. I want the passes to come my way, but I also had to step up and do my job. The atmosphere tonight with the fan energy was also just insane.”
Kicker Peyton Woodring tied the Georgia Bulldogs up with the Vols with a 36-yard field goal, 17-17. At halftime, Georgia led with 238 yards, while Tennessee only had 193. Both teams made 12 first downs in the first half.
Georgia defense buckled down in the second half and prevented the Volunteers from adding any more points to the scoreboard. Linebacker Jalon Walker totaled nine tackles and sacked Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava twice. Linebacker Chaz Chambliss also sacked Iamaleava, creating more pressure for Tennessee’s offense to make any drives.
The offense was working just as hard in the second half of the game. On a third-down, Beck pulls through and runs through the middle 10 yards to score another touchdown for the Bulldogs. Georgia was now up 24-17 with five minutes left of the game. Nate Frazier secured the win when he scored the final touchdown of the game on a 2-yard run with just 2:26 left on the clock. Frazier’s touchdown brought the Bulldogs a victory of 31-17.
After taking a step back in rankings, the Georgia Bulldogs proved that they continue to play competitively against an SEC team after their loss against Ole Miss. Head Coach Kirby Smart spoke on how the team’s loss against Ole Miss impacted them.
“It’s challenging, but it got their attention,” Smart said. “I think it’s more about morale and how you lead, how you handle losses. I’m proud of the way they stuck together and bonded. It made them come out and play well.”
The Georgia Bulldogs have finished their SEC slate with a win. They are back in Sanford Stadium next Saturday at 12:45p.m where they will face off against UMass (2-8).
Final Stats
