The Tennessee Volunteers dropped their first game in the season on the road to the SEC East rival, the Georgia Bulldogs. In a matchup of the two teams ranked No. 1 in the country, Tennessee in the College Football Playoff rankings and Georgia in the AP top 25, the Bulldogs came out on top 27-13 thanks to their hardnosed physical defense. After the game, Volunteers star receiver Jalin Hyatt was asked about Georgia’s level of physicality in comparison to the Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Kirby Smart’s gameplan. And the junior receiver did not hold back, taking a swipe at Alabama in the process.
“Coach Kirby Smart, he did a good job with their defense as far as how they came and what their game plan was for us. They’re definitely physical. Way more physical than Alabama. But like I said, the mistakes was on us. We gotta do a better job, clean things up and just be ready for Missouri,” said Hyatt.
Saturday’s game certainly did feature a physical Bulldogs defense; Georgia’s defense held Tennessee to just 13 points and 289 yards of total offense. Volunteers star quarterback Hendon Hooker had a game to forget, completing 23 of his 33 pass attempts for 195 yards and an interception.
Former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge on Georgia crowd: I was wrong
Heading into the week, former Tennessee quarterback Erik Ainge took to Twitter to call out the Georgia home crowd. He said it’s “overrated” and was confident Josh Heupel would have his team confident for Saturday’s top-three matchup.
“Playing between the hedges is overrated,” Ainge said on Monday. “Not that loud and definitely not intimidating. It’s nothing like playing in Neyland. Vols will be just fine in Athens!”
Well, once Georgia took care of business, Ainge went back to Twitter to send out an apology. He admitted he was wrong about Sanford Stadium and credited the Bulldogs for getting the win.
“Stadium was lit,” said Ainge. “Georgia played lights out. Great win for them and their fans. I was wrong. Great win for UGA. Goodnight.”
Unfortunately for Ainge, his original tweet did not age well. He was rightfully confident heading in, with Tennessee fresh off being ranked No. 1 in the country. Even with a big win against Alabama a few weeks prior, Heupel had proved he can do it in big games.
