Vols win wild one at Georgia

Offense starts clicking in second half, pulls away from vaunted ‘Dogs defense By Chris Silcox chris@theheraldnewspapers.com The Tennessee offense kept the pressure turned on the nation’s ‘top defense’ all night and the Vols came from behind to blast 10-th ranked Georgia 51-33 in Athens, Georgia Saturday night. Trailing 24-14 at halftime, Erik Ainge, who enjoyed one of the biggest games of his college career two years ago in a 19-14 Tennessee upset of the Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium, came out of the locker room with a score to settle. All week the Vols offensive players had heard the stories about how the ‘Dogs defense is the best they will have faced and maybe the best in America. Ainge and the offense had a short field to work on after a Jonathan Wade interception at the 19 yard line early in the third quarter. Ainge used four plays before calling his own number and scoring on a one-yard sneak. Georgia’s Andy Bailey and Tennessee’s James Wilhoit exchanged field goals in the last six minutes of the third quarter before Ainge hooked up with receiver Robert Meachem on a 15-yard to give Tennessee its first lead, at 31-27, since the first quarter. Georgia’s Mickey Henderson had already returned a Tennessee punt 86 yards for a Georgia score and the first big special teams play of the night in the second quarter. With Tennessee leading 31-27, sophomore Antonio Wardlow gave the Vols a boost when he laid out parallel to the ground to block a Georgia punt inside the Bulldogs’ 10. Wardlow alertly jumped to his feet and ran to recover the loose ball in the end zone for a UT touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff Georgia’s Thomas Brown broke off a 99-yard kickoff return through the middle of the Tennessee defense for a score that cut the Bulldogs deficit to 38-33. The Vols defense forced another Georgia turnover and Vols tailback Arian Foster scored his second and third touchdowns of the night, each from one-yard, over the final eight minutes as the Vols held on for the wild 51-33 win. “It was an all-around team effort tonight,” Ainge said. “Our defense played well and our special teams came up with a few big plays. Offensively we were balanced.” Ainge was quick to credit the big guys up front that kept the highly touted Georgia rush defense out of his face all game. “I can’t say enough about our offensive line and the great job they did,” said Ainge. “Half of them didn’t practice this week and yet they didn’t miss a step. The offensive line’s effort made everything possible.” The Vols’ junior quarterback said the Vols’ offensive success did not come as a big surprise against the Georgia defense. “We knew we could make plays and move the ball on Georgia,” said Ainge. “After our defense put up a few stops, we knew we were going to win. I’m not surprised we put up 51 points. We practiced and prepared hard for this and we knew what to do. The coaches did a good job putting in the game plan and we executed.” From the looks of things to begin with, it looked like the Bulldogs would have the best chance at hanging half-a-hundred on the board. Athens, Tennessee native Andy Bailey is Georgia’s backup kicker. He got the start against he Vols and put his team up 3-0 early in the first with a 22-yard field goal. Ainge hit senior Bret Smith on a crossing route for a 16-yard touchdown on the ensuing possession to give the Vols a 7-3 lead following the Wilhoit extra point. Georgia later produced a one-yard touchdown run to cap a long drive and Henderson broke away from the pack for the 86-yard punt return for a touchdown, giving the ‘Dogs a 17-7 advantage. Georgia starting quarterback Joe Tereshinski threw an eight-yard TD strike and Foster scored his first one-yard touchdown of the night late in the second quarter to send the contest to halftime with the Bulldogs up 24-24.