ATHENS, Ga. _ In a game only slightly closer than the oddsmakers had predicted, Georgia handily defeated Tennessee on Saturday in Sanford Stadium.
The No. 2-ranked Bulldogs led 24-0 early in the third quarter, then had the lead cut in half, but finished strong to defeat the Volunteers, 38-12.
Georgia had entered the game as a 31-point favorite.
After Tennessee trimmed the Bulldogs' lead to 24-12 with just over 11 minutes to play, Georgia sealed the win with a powerful 13-play, 75-yard drive that consumed seven minutes and 39 seconds of clock. Tailback D'Andre Swift completed the drive with a 14-yard touchdown run, restoring the Bulldogs' lead to 31-12.
Tennessee then fumbled on the first play of its next possession on its own 31-yard line, and Georgia quickly tacked on another touchdown on back-to-back runs of 16 and 15 yards by tailback Elijah Holyfield and quarterback Justin Fields.
The win, coming in Georgia's first home game of the season against an SEC opponent, improved the Bulldogs' record to 5-0 (3-0 SEC). The win also evened the all-time series between the Bulldogs and Vols at 23-23-2.
Georgia finished with 441 yards of offense and held Tennessee to 209. Quarterback Jake Fromm completed 16 of 22 passes for 185 yards, while Holyfield led the Bulldogs in rushing with 78 yards on 16 carries.
Early on, Georgia got a big break on its first possession.
Facing third-and-9 from the Tennessee 31-yard line, Fromm fumbled at the 40-yard line upon being sacked by Tennessee linebacker Darrell Taylor. But Georgia tight end Isaac Nauta scooped the loose ball and rumbled the distance for the game's first score _ officially a 31-yard fumble advance _ and a 7-0 lead.
Oddly, Nauta's score marked the third consecutive SEC game in which Georgia got its first touchdown on a return of a fumble. It also happened at South Carolina (by Juwan Taylor) and at Missouri (Tyson Campbell).
Georgia was less fortunate when Fromm again fumbled on a sack by Taylor early in the second quarter Saturday.
On third-and-6 from the Tennessee 16-yard line, Fromm fumbled for a loss of 9 yards. This time, the fumble was recovered, but not advanced, by Georgia center Lamont Gaillard at the 25-yard line.
From there, the Bulldogs settled for a 43-yard Rodrigo Blankenship field goal and a 10-0 lead. That made Blankenship 5-for-6 from 40-plus yards this season.
A 12-play, 70-yard, more-than-five-minute drive, on which freshman Justin Fields and sophomore Fromm split quarterback duties, expanded Georgia's lead to 17-0 late in the half.
The Bulldogs converted a fourth-and-1 play on the drive, tailback Brian Herrien running 6 yards to the Tennessee 26. Back-to-back 12-yard pass completions by Fromm, one to Riley Ridley and one to Jeremiah Holloman, then moved the Bulldogs to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, tailback D'Andre Swift scored on a 1-yard run.
Georgia's offense gained 238 yards in the first half, while its defense limited Tennessee to 68 yards (30 rushing and 38 passing), three first downs and no journeys inside the red zone in the half.
The second half began as the first ended, with Georgia driving 75 yards in 10 plays for another touchdown and a 24-0 lead.
Fields was in at quarterback for only one play of that drive _ the last one. He scored on a 12-yard run. Earlier in the drive, Fromm completed four of four passes to four different receivers.
Tennessee got on the board in the third quarter on a 37-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jarrett Guarantano to wide receiver Josh Palmer.
The Vols got closer early in the fourth quarter on a 35-yard touchdown pass from Guarantano to Ty Chandler.
Two-point conversion attempts failed after both of the Tennessee touchdowns, but the Vols had halved Georgia's lead from 24-0 to 24-12 with 11:10 remaining in the game.
