No. 1 Bulldogs roll over No. 18 Vols

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Carson Beck threw three touchdown passes, wide receiver Dillon Bell caught one and threw one, and the No. 1-ranked Georgia football team rolled to a 38-10 win over No. 18 Tennessee on Saturday night in front of a crowd of 101,915 at Neyland Stadium.

Georgia (11-0, 8-0 SEC) was behind 7-0 in the blink of an eye after the Volunteers (7-4, 3-4) scored on the first play from scrimmage. But the Bulldogs answered with 24 straight points to take control of the game. Georgia out-gained the Vols 472-277, with Beck completing 24 of 30 passes for 298 yards. Defensive back Tykee Smith led a strong defensive effort with 10 tackles — one of seven Bulldogs with at least three stops.

With the win, Georgia completes a third straight undefeated run through SEC play. It’s the first time that’s happened in the conference since the Bulldogs did it from 1980-82. Saturday’s win extended Georgia’s school-record win streak to 28 games, tying it for the longest streak in SEC history.

The Bulldog passing attack was effective throughout, with Bell, wideout Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and tight end Brock Bowers combining for 19 receptions. Rosemy-Jacksaint had career-highs with seven catches and two touchdowns; Bell tied a career-high with five receptions, for a career-best 90 yards and a score; and Bowers caught seven passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Tennessee jumped out to a 7-0 lead with a 75-yard touchdown run by Jaylen Wright on the first play of the game. The Bulldogs responded with an 11-play drive that ended in a 42-yard Peyton Woodring field goal, making it 7-3 with 10:01 to play in the first quarter.

After a quick defensive stop, Georgia took the lead on the ensuing drive when Beck pitched right to Bell, who lined up in the backfield, and Bell threw an 18-yard pass to Rosemy-Jacksaint all alone in the end zone. It was Georgia’s first touchdown pass by a non-quarterback since running back Kenny McIntosh threw one in 2021.

Georgia pushed its lead to 17-7 with 8:04 left in the first half on Beck’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Bell on the right side, capping a nine-play, 80-yard drive. The drive began with a 17-yard completion to Bell on the left side. A 21-yard Bowers reception later moved the ball down to the Tennessee 11.

After the defense forced a fourth straight punt, the Georgia offense went back to work late in the half. A 21-yard Bell reception on third-and-12 from the Georgia 27 kept the drive going. Later, Rosemy-Jacksaint had a 34-yard catch down to the UT 4. Two plays later, Beck found Bowers on a the right side for a 3-yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead with 1:31 left in the half.

Tennessee drew a little closer on the final play of the half with Charles Campbell’s 37-yard field goal as time expired, cutting the Bulldog lead to 24-10 at the break. Georgia out-gained the Vols 284-188 in the opening half, with Beck completing 17 of 20 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns.

On its second drive of the third quarter, Georgia found the end zone for the fourth time in the game. On the first play, wideout Arian Smith took an end-around run 33 yards to the Tennessee 37. Later, Beck hit a crossing Bell for a 24-yard gain to the 10. And two plays after that, Beck connected with Rosemy-Jacksaint for an eight-yard touchdown and a 31-10 lead with 9:24 left in the third.

A 15-yard Kendall Milton touchdown run with 1:03 left in the third pushed the Bulldog lead to 38-10. Milton had 66 yards on 14 carries, and Georgia finished with 156 yards on the ground.

The Bulldogs wrap up their regular season next Saturday night at Georgia Tech. After that, they head back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game against No. 8 Alabama on Dec. 2.

POST-GAME NOTES

Extending The Streaks: With today’s 38-10 win over No. 18 UT, Georgia (11-0, 8-0 SEC) extended its school record for consecutive victories to 28. The winning streak began during the 2021 season (Dec. 31) when the Bulldogs beat #2 Michigan 34-11 in a CFP semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. This streak now ties the mark for the longest in SEC history (UA won 28 in a row from 1978-80 and 1991-93).
*Georgia extended its school record with its 27th consecutive regular season SEC victory dating to a 31-24 win over Miss. State on Nov. 21, 2020. This streak now ties as the longest in SEC history (UA did it from 1976-80).
*Georgia became the first team in SEC history to go 8-0 in league play three straight seasons since it went to divisions and an eight-game slate in 1992.
*The Bulldogs extended their school record for consecutive regular season wins to 38 which leads all of FBS. This streak began during the 2020 season with a 31-24 win over Miss. State. on Nov. 21. Also, Georgia is now 7-2 when ESPN College GameDay Show in on campus.
*The Bulldogs are now 44-1 in their last 45 games including 14 straight wins in an opponent’s stadium. UT had won 14 in a row at home.
*Georgia improves to 11-0 for the third straight year as the Bulldogs under Kirby Smart are 92-15 overall. With the latest victory over UT, Georgia now holds a 28-23-2 edge in the series history including 7-1 in the Smart era.

*Summary Of The Offense: Georgia finished with 472 yards of total offense on 71 plays in a 38-10 win. The Bulldogs were 5-for-5 in the Red Zone with 5 TDs. In the first half, Georgia posted 284 yards of total offense on 39 plays to build a 24-10 advantage.
*Junior QB Carson Beck posted another solid showing, going 24-for-30 (80%) for 298 yards and 3 TDs. He moved up to 5th for Most Completions in a Season for a Bulldog now with 255. For the year, he is on pace for a school mark for Completion Percentage now at 72.9% as he’s 255-for-350. The mark was set by Stetson Bennett last year at 68.3%
*Also for the game, Georgia was 9-for-13 or 62% on 3rd Downs as the Bulldogs came in leading the nation in that mark at 56 percent.
*After trailing 7-0, Georgia scored 24 unanswered points on four of its five possessions in the first half. Down 7-0, Georgia’s first drive went 51 yards on 11 plays, ending with a 42-yard field goal by Peyton Woodring to make it 7-3. On its second possession, Georgia took a 10-7 lead, going 65 yards on nine plays in 5:04. The drive was capped by Dillon Bell with an 18-yard TD pass to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. It was the first TD pass by a Bulldog WR since Terry Godwin to Malcolm Mitchell for 44 yards in the 2016 Taxslayer Bowl. It marked the first TD pass by a non-QB since Kenny McIntosh to AD Mitchell for 18 yards in the 2021 Orange Bowl vs Michigan.
*In the first half, sophomore WR Dillon Bell threw an 18-yard TD pass and had a 9-yard TD catch to help build an early advantage.
*Bell finished today with one rush for 4 yards plus had five catches for 90 yards, both career highs. In the 2nd half, Bell had a 25-yard kickoff return.
*Junior TE Brock Bowers tallied seven catches for 60 yards and a TD. His TD made it 24-7. For his career, he has moved up to fourth in school history with 170 catches while his 2,485 yards checks in at fifth. His 26 career TD catches ranks second in school history.
*Senior RB Kendall Milton was the leading rusher with 66 yards on 14 attempts including a 15-yard score to make it 38-10. Senior Daijun Edwards had 34 yards on 11 carries. Junior WR Arian Smith had a career-long 33-yard rush.
*Jacksaint had a career-high 7 catches for 91 yards and a career-high 2 TDs.

*Defensive Review: UT ended the game with 277 yards of total offense on 55 plays. UT finished 2-for-11 on 3rd Downs and 1-for-2 on 4th down. In the first half, the Vols tallied 10 points, finishing with 188 yards of total offense on 26 plays. UT finished the half 1-for-5 on 3rd down.
*On the first play from scrimmage, Jaylen Wright went 75 yards for a TD for a 7-0 lead. UT ended the game with 130 rushing yards.
*UT went three-and-out for 7 yards on its second and third possessions and ultimately punted on their next four before finishing with a field goal.
*Up 38-10 with 8:52 left in the contest. the Bulldogs had a goal-line stand at the UT 4.
*The leading tacklers today were senior Tykee Smith with a career-high 10 while junior Javon Bullard had six.
*Sophomore Mykel Williams registered a sack, his fifth of the year.

*A Look At The Special Teams: Freshman PK Peyton Woodring went 1-for-1 on FG and was 5-for-5 on PATs for eight points. He is now 19-for-22 in FG and 55-for-55 on PATs. He leads the team with 112 points.
Sophomore P Brett Thorson had one punt for 47 yards and it was downed inside the 20. Jared Zirkel handled the kickoffs.

*Captains, Coin Toss and For Starters: Junior Ladd McConkey (WR), redshirt-sophomore Tate Ratledge (RG), junior Smael Mondon (ILB) and senior Zion Logue (DL) served as the game captains. UGA won the toss and elected to defer the football. Van Pran made his team-leading 41st career start. There were no first-time starters.

*Honoring #77 Devin Willock: Junior Amarius Mims (RT), normally #65, wore #77 today in honor of his late teammate Devin Willock. A different Bulldog offensive lineman will be wearing #77 each game this season.

*Up Next: Georgia (11-0) concludes the regular season at Ga. Tech (5-5) Sat., Nov. 25 at 7:30 pm (ABC). Tech plays host to Syracuse tonight.