HARD KNOX: Against Georgia, Tennessee Resurges At Home

Tennessee was sitting at 2-2 with neither of their wins coming against a halfway decent team. It could’ve been that Phillip Fulmer had lost his edge as a coach. Or maybe it simply could’ve been that Tennessee was the victim of facing two of the best teams in the country both on the road.

Winning at Berkeley and Gainesville are two of the toughest tasks in college football. With Tennessee getting a lesser opponent at home, the Vols put on a vintage Tennessee beatdown at the expense of Georgia.

Whether it was Arian Foster or Montario Hardesty gashing through a number of open holes, or LeMarcus Coker catching 56 yard touchdown receptions on reverse passes, it was clear right from the start that Tennessee was going to have a very varied offense.

In fact, it was surprising how easily the Vols grinded out yards against a very stingy Georgia defense. Tennessee put on a 9 minute drive on their first possession filled with nothing but runs and short passes. 12 runs and short passes later and the Vols had a 7-0 lead.

With Georgia forced to step up into the box, Fulmer called a reverse for Lucas Taylor---only it wasn’t a reverse. Taylor stopped and LeMarcus Coker was unguarded running up the left sideline. 14-0. A blocked punt on the next possession made it 21-0, and a 21 yard Arian Foster run on the following possession made it 28-0. From there, the Vols could coast to a victory.

As impressive as the offense was, Tennessee allowed two first downs in the entire first half. One came on the Bulldogs second possession, and the other came on their last possession before the half. With the Bulldogs unable to move the chains and reverse field position, it was easy for the Vols offense to dominate.

How did a 2-2 team find a way to make beating Georgia look so easy? Maybe Fulmer conjured up some magic from his past. Or maybe it’s simply the fact that facing Georgia at home is a tad bit easier than winning at California and at Florida.

—E. Blasco