SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 27, 2014
No. 13 Georgia 35, Tennessee 32: Todd Gurley rushed for a career-high 208 yards and two touchdowns and the host Bulldogs held off the Volunteers.
Hutson Mason finished 16-of-25 for 147 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions and added 30 yards and a score on the ground for the Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1 SEC), who have won five straight meetings, matching their longest winning streak in the series. Gurley, who averaged 7.4 yards per carry, converted a fourth-and-3 in the final minute to seal it.
Justin Worley was 23-of-35 for 264 yards and three TDs despite missing three series with an elbow injury in the second half for Tennessee (2-2, 0-1). Jalen Hurd rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries but also lost a key fumble for the Volunteers, who have dropped 10 straight SEC openers.
The Volunteers jumped out to a 10-0 lead on Aaron Medley's 46-yard field goal and Hurd's 1-yard TD run, but the Bulldogs roared back with 21 straight points on touchdown runs from Mason and Gurley and Mason's 20-yard TD toss to Nick Chubb. Worley hit Jason Croom for a 23-yard scoring strike with 18 seconds left in the half to pull Tennessee within 21-17, and the defenses controlled a scoreless third quarter.
Gurley's 51-yard TD run put Georgia up by 11, but Worley returned from an elbow injury to hit Pig Howard for a 31-yard TD and converted the two-point conversion to make it 28-25. The Vols had the ball back, but Josh Dawson pounced on a botched handoff in the end zone to give the Bulldogs some breathing room, and Georgia recovered an onside kick following Worley's 6-yard strike to Marquez North to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Georgia RB Sony Michel had just 17 yards on three carries before leaving with a left shoulder contusion. … With 33 rushing touchdowns, Gurley passed 1946 Heisman Trophy runner-up Charley Trippi for the fourth-most in Georgia history. … Hurd's 119 rushing yards are the most by a Tennessee freshman since Jamal Lewis in the 1997 SEC championship game.