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No. 19 Georgia Bulldogs lose Chubb, game, confidence against Tennessee

By Michael Collins

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The No. 19 Georgia Bulldogs went from being the No. 8 team in the nation two weeks ago, to trying to gather their tattered remains in Knoxville after their second straight loss.

RELATED: Gurley, Lattimore React to Nick Chubb Injury

This wasn’t a game about two teams who badly needed a win. This was two teams and two head coaches who simply couldn’t afford to lose, and after a distraction filled week the Volunteers pulled out a huge comeback victory to beat Georgia 38-31 at Neyland Stadium.

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From the first play from scrimmage, Georgia fans knew this wasn’t going to be a good day in Knoxville (not that they ever have many of those). Nick Chubb came down awkwardly and injured his knee, sending a collective gasp from the Bulldog Nation and giving the downtrodden Vols a glimmer of hope (although Sony Michel did have a nice day, rushing for 145 yards).

Things looked gloomy for the Vols as halftime approached, down 24-3 and having given up a 70-yard punt return and 96-yard fumble return for touchdowns, but 37 seconds changed the face of this game for both teams.

After a 39-yard touchdown pass from Joshua Dobbs to Josh Smith, Georgia’s Sony Michel fumbled the ensuing kickoff return, and the Vols scored nearly immediately to make the halftime score 24-17. From that point on, the Volunteers had all the confidence in the world, and the Bulldogs looked like a team just waiting for the excuse to lose.

Zero confidence coming from the Georgia side of the field in the second half.

It came down to quarterback play. Joshua Dobbs (25/42, 312 yards, 3 TD, 118 rush yds, 2 rush TD) carried his team and made plays, Greyson Lambert, with more poor passes than good ones, was spotty and barely looking efficient at times, finishing just 15 of 32 for 279 yards and two touchdowns.

Georgia’s defense, which was supposed to be one of the strengths this season, gave up 38 points for the second straight week, but the story wasn’t about how badly their defense played, it was about how many snaps they had to take due to the inefficiency of the Bulldogs offense – much of it falling on Lambert.

The Volunteer offense was on the field for 90 plays, and 34 minutes, as compared to just 62 plays and 26 minutes for the Georgia offense.

Oct 10, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt before the game between the Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

That Bulldog defense was gassed, and the Volunteers kept their foot on the pedal.

Georgia had a shot to tie or possibly take the lead late in the 4th quarter when Lambert threw what may have been the most accurate deep pass of his career for a sure touchdown that was bobbled and dropped by Reggie Davis.

The win by Tennessee snaps a streak of five straight wins by Georgia in the series, and while it probably doesn’t re-enter them into the SEC East discussion, it all but eliminated the Bulldogs, which was an extra bonus for Vol fans.

Depending on the prognosis for Nick Chubb, Georgia may have to look at life without their Heisman hopeful running back, and now has no room for error in the SEC for the remainder of the season.

Of course, following the loss, Mark Richt was fired by the internet once again.

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