Georgia coach Kirby Smart didn’t waste time heaping a compliment in the direction of Tennessee football.
“Tennessee deserved to win this game,” Smart said shortly after his No. 6/3 Bulldogs survived a 44-41 overtime victory over No. 15 Tennessee at jam-packed Neyland Stadium on Saturday. “I got a lot of respect for the way they played.”
It took a rare missed field goal from inside 45 yards by Vols kicker Max Gilbert to force overtime and a replay review to confirm Josh McCray’s game-winning one-yard touchdown run.
Georgia has now won a record nine in a row over UT. And it marked only the second time in series history that the Vols lost to Georgia after scoring 40 points.
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Tennessee’s defeat spoiled a brilliant performance by transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar, who completed 24 of 36 passes for 371 yards and four touchdowns with two picks (although one came when his receiver fell).
Aguilar started the game 14 of 14, the most consecutive completions in any quarter by an SEC quarterback in 20 years. That helped stake UT to a 21-7 first quarter lead against one of the SEC’s premier defenses.
“We started off with a groove,” said Aguilar, who accounted for three touchdowns in the opening period.
Aguilar had a two-quarter lull, then hit a 56-yard bomb to Chris Brazzell II to give the reeling Vols a 28-27 lead late in the third quarter. Brazzell, who transferred from Tulane last season only to have a subpar year, had a career night: six catches, 177 yards, three scores.
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In the fourth quarter, Aguilar put Tennessee football ahead again – this time 35-30 — with a 32-yard scoring pass to Braylen Staley to cap UT’s fifth drive of at least 75 yards.
Tennessee had a chance to extend its lead to double digits in the fourth quarter after Joshua Josephs caused a sack-fumble of Gunner Stockton and Bryson Eason recovered at the Georgia 34.
But the Vols went conservate with play calling and settled for a field goal and a 38-30 lead.
“You can definitely say that,” UT coach Josh Heupel said when asked if he wished he’d been more aggressive.
Georgia tied the game at 38 when Stockton hit Landon Humphreys (the Vanderbilt transfer) on a perfectly thrown fade route on fourth-and-6 with 2:32 left. Stockton was an impressive 23 of 31 for 304 yards and accounted for three touchdowns in his first road start.
Not deterred, Tennessee marched into field goal range, driving to the Georgia 20. With 7 seconds left, UT was guilty of a false start. Not wanting to risk another penalty, Heupel called on the usually reliable Gilbert to hit from 43 yards.
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It was reminiscent of Tennessee’s 52-49 victory over Alabama in 2022 when Chase McGrath knuckleballed a 40-yard field for the win. The stage was set.
Staring at the same South end zone uprights, Gilbert, who had never attempted a game winner and had missed just once in his career inside 45 yards, pushed the kick right.
He did nail a 42-yarder in overtime for a brief lead before Georgia ripped off a 21-yard run and punched in the game-winning score two plays later.
“Give Georgia credit for finishing it the way you need to to win that game,” Heupel said.
But Heupel knew his team blew a golden opportunity to upset a top-notch team in the SEC opener for both schools.
“In the end, the coaches and players need to be a little bit better to win that game,” Heupel said.
“I told them after the game I loved the competitive part of it. I’m sorry and disappointed we didn’t finish it out … Losses never feel good or taste good. That (coming close) is not the expectation in our locker room.”
Georgia hadn’t rallied from 14 points down to win an SEC game since 2004.
“Soak this baby in and let it hurt,” Heupel told his team postgame. “Whether you win or lose, it’s about how you get better.”
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Tennessee football racked up 496 yards against Georgia – 371 through the air. UT’s top two running backs had 24 carries for 114 yards. Brazzell had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns. Staley added nine catches for 97 yards, and Miike Matthews five for 59 as the Vols wideouts combined for 20 catches and 333 yards – by far the best output against Smart’s team.
“We can get so much better (on offense),” Aguilar said. “I don’t think there’s a limit. It’s exciting to know we’re not at our best yet.”
