Gunner Stockton And UGA Football Offense Leads The Way Against Tennessee

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KNOXVILLE -  At the end of a back-and-forth game Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium, Georgia running back Josh McCray scored on a 1-yard run in overtime to lift No. 6 Georgia to a 44-41 win over No. 15 Tennessee.

The crowd of 101,915 saw both teams have the lead in the fourth quarter, and in overtime, after the Bulldog defense held the Volunteers to a field goal, Georgia was able to get into the end zone and beat UT for the ninth straight time.

The SEC opener for both teams featured nearly 1,000 yards of offense, with Georgia (3-0,1-0 SEC) gaining 502 and Tennessee 496. Bulldog quarterback Gunner Stockton finished 23 of 31 passing for 304 yards and two touchdowns, and the Georgia rushing attack piled up 198 yards on the ground. Nate Frazier, who had a 21-yard rush on the first play of overtime for Georgia, led the way with 14 carries for 73 yards.

Defensively, linebacker CJ had a team-high 11 tackles, with safety Kyron Jones adding 10. Defensive backs Joenel Aguero and KJ Bolden each had interceptions.

Tennessee (2-1, 0-1) took the opening kickoff and wasted no time driving down the field for the game’s first score. Quarterback Joey Aguilar was 5-for-5 passing for 62 yards on the drive, and capped it with a four-yard touchdown run, putting the Vols up 7-0 with 12:30 to go in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs answered with their own impressive drive, beginning with a 45-yard completion from Stockton to wide receiver Colbie Young. Stockton later hit Zachariah Branch for 10 yards, and capped the drive with a six-yard touchdown run. Stockton ran three times for 16 yards on the drive, tying the game 7-7 with 9:58 to go in the first.

The fast-paced offensive play continued on the Vols’ next drive, which ended after two plays on a 72-yard touchdown pass from Aguilar to Chris Brazzell II, making it 14-7 Tennessee 29 seconds after Georgia’s score. Tennessee later took a 21-7 lead on Aguilar’s 14-yard touchdown pass to Brazzell with 3:37 left in the first.

Georgia responded with a nine-play, 72-yard drive that included a Stockton pass to Branch for a first down on fourth-and-3 at the Bulldog 48. Three plays later, Stockton threw a screen pass left to Branch that the wideout turned into a 36-yard touchdown, cutting the UT lead to 21-14 with 14:52 to play in the half.

Both defenses forced punts on the next two possessions, and Georgia got the ball back at its 10 with 7:57 left in the half. The Bulldogs then drove all the way down to the Tennessee 2-yard line before having to settle for a Peyton Woodring 20-yard field goal, cutting the Vols’ lead to 21-17 with 1:42 to go in the half.

The Bulldogs stopped the Vols’ next drive on Aguero’s first career interception, at the Georgia 30. On the final play of the half, Tennessee intercepted a Ryan Puglisi Hail Mary pass near the goal line, and the teams headed to the locker room with the Vols up 21-17. At the break, Tennessee had a slight advantage in total offense, 259-255.

Georgia got the ball to start the second half and went on a 14-play drive to take a 24-21 lead, scoring on a 1-yard McCray touchdown with 7:19 to go in the third. Thirteen of the 14 plays on the drive were runs, including a 14-yarder by Stockton on third-and-4 at the Georgia 48. It was the first touchdown as a Bulldog for McCray, the Illinois transfer who had 15 career TDs with the Illini.

Late in the third, Georgia’s defense produced another interception, this time by Bolden, giving the offense the ball at the UT 37 with 3:48 left in the quarter. Woodring connected on a 48-yard field goal to make it 27-21 Bulldogs with 1:45 on the clock.

The Vols answered with their first big play since the opening quarter, a 56-yard touchdown pass from Aguilar to Brazzell, putting Tennessee back in front, 28-27, with 7 seconds left in the third.

Georgia opened its next drive with a 15-yard rush by Dwight Phillips Jr., and two plays later, Stockton hit wideout London Humphreys on the right side for 31 yards to the Tennessee 8. The Bulldogs weren’t able to get into the end zone, settling for a Woodring 24-yard field goal to regain the lead, 30-28, with 12:20 remaining in the game.

Tennessee responded with another touchdown drive, this one capped by a 32-yard pass from Aguilar to Braylon Staley for a 35-30 Volunteer lead with 11:01 to play. The Volunteers then sacked and stripped Stockton on third down of the ensuing drive, recovering the ball at the Georgia 34. Tennessee turned the turnover into 3 points on Gilbert’s 48-yard field goal, pushing its lead to 38-30 with 6:40 to play.

Georgia tied the game with 2:32 to go when, facing fourth-and-6, Stockton hit Humphreys for a 28-yard touchdown on the right side of the end zone. On the 2-point conversion attempt, Stockton found Branch on the left side, making it 38-38. Tennessee had enough time to drive down to the Georgia 25 and set Gilbert up for the game-winning score on the final play of the game, but he missed from 43 yards out, sending the game to overtime.

Tennessee got the ball first in overtime and had to settle for a 42-yard Gilbert field goal and a 41-38 lead. Frazier ran left for 21 yards down to the 4 on the Bulldogs’ first play of overtime, and McCray moved the ball to the 1 on the next. On second-and-goal at the 1, McCray was ruled short of the goal line, but the replay review showed that he extended the ball into the end zone for the game-winning score.

The Bulldogs are off next Saturday and return to action on Sept. 27, when they host No. 19 Alabama at Sanford Stadium.