Carson Beck silenced his critics by throwing two touchdowns and operating for one more on a turbulent Saturday evening between the hedges, main Georgia to a 31-17 victory over Tennessee that gave an enormous enhance to the Bulldogs’ faculty hopes Football Playoffs.
Georgia (8-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 12 CFP) bounced again from a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss that left the Bulldogs simply exterior the provisional subject of 12 postseason groups.
Now, they’re positioned for a probable playoff berth — and an opportunity to win their third nationwide title in 4 years — if they will shut out the common season with wins over UMass and Georgia Tech.
Tennessee (8-2, 5-2, No. 7 CFP) may have taken an enormous step towards a berth within the SEC championship sport, however the Vols’ postseason prospects are actually a lot darker after what all of them had the playing cards are so as a playoff elimination sport.
In the midst of a disappointing season, Beck was excellent for the Bulldogs once they wanted him most, main them to their twenty ninth consecutive house win in an FBS profitable streak that dates again to 2019.
He linked on a pair of landing passes to tight finish Oscar Delp within the first half and hustled for the go-ahead rating within the third quarter, darting 10 yards to the top zone for his first speeding landing of the season.
Georgia sealed the victory with a 92-yard drive, its longest of the season, within the remaining minutes. Nate Frazier completed with a 2-yard landing run with 2:26 remaining.
Beck, who had thrown 12 interceptions within the earlier six video games, had no choices in opposition to the Volunteers. He accomplished 25 of 40 passes for 347 yards.
With quarterback Nico Iamaleava cleared to play after going by concussion protocol, Tennessee jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Miles Kitselman’s 1-yard plunge and Max Gilbert’s 52-yard subject purpose, blunting the temper of over 93,000 spectators at Sanford Stadium.
But the Bulldogs, after a sluggish begin that has turn out to be their trademark, took the lead when Beck linked with Delp on comparable scoring passes of 19 and 4 yards at the back of the top zone.
Dylan Sampson put the Vols again in entrance along with his twenty first speeding landing of the season, a 27-yard run by an enormous gap proper down the center.
But Beck drove the Bulldogs into place for Peyton Woodring’s 36-yard subject purpose with 5 seconds remaining within the half, sending the groups to the locker room tied at 17.
The Vols protection hadn’t allowed greater than 19 factors all season, however could not include the Beck-led offense. Georgia amassed 454 yards and 24 first downs whereas changing eight of 13 third-down alternatives and continues to dominate the collection with its rival up north, profitable for the eighth consecutive 12 months, all by a margin of at the very least two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs performed with out high operating again Travis Etienne, who was sidelined with a rib harm, and the offense suffered one other blow when receiver Dillon Bell left with an ankle harm sustained on a success alongside the sideline at halftime. But Frazier rushed for 68 yards and London Humphreys stepped as much as make three large catches for 63 yards. Big kudos to the offensive line, which did not hand over a sack after Beck was dumped 5 instances the earlier week by Ole Miss.
The Vols return house subsequent Saturday to face UTEP earlier than wrapping up the common season with a fast journey to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Nov. 30.
With the SEC schedule full, the Bulldogs shut out the common season with two non-conference house video games. UMass (2-8) should not be a lot of an issue subsequent Saturday.
Associated Press reporting.
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