Dawg Daze: Vols take down No. 12 Georgia, 35-14

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee reminded Georgia who owns Neyland Stadium.

Arian Foster rushed for 98 yards and three touchdowns, Lucas Taylor made the most of his very short time as a quarterback and Tennessee put an emphatic end to No. 12 Georgia's winning streak in Knoxville with a 35-14 victory Saturday.

It was Georgia's worst loss since the 2003 Southeastern Conference championship, a 34-13 loss to LSU, and coach Mark Richt's first loss at Tennessee. The Bulldogs had won their last three games at Neyland.

It also was the most points allowed this year by Georgia (4-2, 2-2 SEC).

Tennessee (3-2, 1-1) began this year with high hopes, only to find itself struggling after a tough loss to California and a rout by Florida. The running game was patchy and the defense wasn't much better, and the grumbling about coach Phil Fulmer had already started.

But a bye last weekend worked wonders for the Vols. They went after the Bulldogs from the opening kick, and never let up. Tennessee scored on four of its first five possessions, showed it really did have a running game and made the Bulldogs look more like a work in progress than a top-15 team.

Montario Hardesty rushed for 68 yards and a score, and Erik Ainge was 17-of-22 for 165 yards. Taylor threw for a touchdown on his second career pass, and added six catches.

Georgia managed only two first downs in the first half, and didn't cross midfield until after halftime. The Vols shut down elusive running back Knowshon Moreno, holding him to only 30 yards - more than 50 below his average. Thomas Brown ran for 20 yards before an injured shoulder sidelined him for the second half.

Matthew Stafford threw for two touchdowns and 174 yards, but was under pressure much of the day. He finished 16-of-33, and threw one interception.

Though Tennessee has several different backs to choose from, the Vols had struggled to get their running game going early in the season. Not this day.

Alternating between Foster and LaMarcus Coker, Tennessee ground its way down the field on its first possession before Foster scored on a 9-yard run to give Tennessee the early lead.

The Bulldogs nearly picked Ainge off on Tennessee's second series, forcing the Vols to punt. But they came right back and showed they've got a few things in their offense that could make the SEC East race interesting.

On the first play of the second quarter, Ainge took the snap and faked a handoff before giving the ball to Taylor. With the Georgia defense collapsing to stop the run, Taylor - who also threw a pass last season - launched a long throw that Coker hauled in down the left sideline. There wasn't anybody close to him, and he scampered into the end zone to put Tennessee up 14-0.

Georgia's defense had been solid against the run, but they looked out of synch Saturday. When Hardesty barreled into a pile of defenders in the red zone, he simply spun off of them, veered right and ran into the end zone.

Foster gave Tennessee a 28-0 lead at halftime with a 22-yard run.

The Vols weren't quite as aggressive in the second half, but they didn't need to be with Georgia struggling.

The Bulldogs are starting three freshmen on the offensive line, and they'd held OK so far. But there was little room for Moreno and Brown to run Saturday.

When Stafford did have time to throw, somebody was on his receivers. He did find Kris Durham for a 24-yard catch early in the second half that got Georgia across midfield, and found Demiko Goodman two plays later for a 26-yard touchdown.

Tripp Chandler caught a 2-yard scoring pass with 6 minutes to play, but any hope Georgia had of rallying ended on the next series, when Stafford was intercepted.

Source: ncaafootball; Photo Credit: SEC Sports Media