Carson Beck silenced his critics by throwing for two touchdowns and running for another on a raucous Saturday night between the hedges, leading Georgia to a 31-17 victory over Tennessee that gave a huge boost to the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff hopes.
Georgia (8-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 12 CFP) bounced back from a 28-10 loss at Ole Miss that left the Bulldogs just outside the provisional 12-team postseason field.
Now, they are positioned for a likely playoff berth — and a shot at winning their third national title in four years — if they can close out the regular season with wins over UMass and Georgia Tech.
Tennessee (8-2, 5-2, No. 7 CFP) could have moved a big step closer to a berth in the SEC championship game, but the Vols’ postseason prospects are now a whole lot murkier after what had all the makings of a playoff elimination game.
In the midst of a disappointing season, Beck came up huge for the Bulldogs when they needed him most, guiding them to a 29th straight home victory in an FBS-leading streak that dates to 2019.
He connected on a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Oscar Delp in the first half and scrambled for the go-ahead score in the third quarter, darting 10 yards to the end zone for his first rushing TD of the season.
Georgia sealed the victory with a 92-yard drive — its longest of the season — in the closing minutes. Nate Frazier finished it off with a 2-yard touchdown run with 2:26 remaining.
Beck, who had thrown 12 interceptions in the previous six games, didn’t have any picks against the Volunteers. He completed 25 of 40 passes for 347 yards.
With quarterback Nico Iamaleava cleared to play after going through concussion protocol, Tennessee jumped to a 10-0 lead on Miles Kitselman’s 1-yard dive and Max Gilbert’s 52-yard field goal, dampening the mood of more than 93,000 at Sanford Stadium.
But the Bulldogs, after a sluggish start that has become their trademark, grabbed the lead as Beck connected with Delp on similar-looking scoring passes of 19 and 4 yards in the back of the end zone.
Dylan Sampson put the Vols back in front with his 21st rushing touchdown of the season, a 27-yard scamper through a huge hole right up the middle.
But Beck guided the Bulldogs into position for Peyton Woodring’s 36-yard field goal with 5 seconds remaining in the half, sending the teams to the locker room tied at 17.
The Vols defense had not allowed more than 19 points all season, but they couldn’t contain the Beck-led offense. Georgia piled up 453 yards and 24 first downs while converting eight of 14 third-down opportunities and continues to dominate the series with its rival to the north, winning for the eighth year in a row — all of them by margins of at least two touchdowns.
The Bulldogs played without top running back Trevor Etienne, who was sidelined by a rib issue, and the offense took another blow when receiver Dillon Bell went out with an ankle injury sustained on a hit along the sideline late in the first half. But Frazier rushed for 68 yards and London Humphreys stepped up to make three huge catches for 63 yards. Big kudos, as well, to the offensive line, which did not give up a sack after Beck was dumped five times the previous week by Ole Miss.
The Vols return home next Saturday to take on UTEP before wrapping up the regular season with a short trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt on Nov. 30.
With their SEC schedule complete, the Bulldogs close out the regular season with two non-conference games at home. UMass (2-8) shouldn’t present much of a problem next Saturday.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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