Georgia football: Top five matchups against Tennessee
By Joey Shiver
#3. 2013– No.6 Georgia 34 – Tennessee 31 OT
If 2012 wasn’t enough on my heart, 2013 was there to finish it off. Georgia lost the season opener to Clemson 38-35 but rallied to beat South Carolina and LSU to bring a 3-1 record into the game.
Tennessee came in 3-2 with losses to Oregon and Florida.
Even with the loss, Georgia came in ranked No. 6 in the nation, with all of their goals still intact. But Todd Gurley suffered a high ankle sprain the week before against LSU so they came in a little banged up.
Things got worse when Keith Marshall was carted to the locker room in the first quarter with a knee injury. Justin Scott-Wesley and Michael Bennett would be lost to injury during the game as well.
It was during this game that JJ Green became a known quantity at RBU. He was thrust into action and responded with 17 carries for 129 yards.
But even with Green running on fire, the game rested on the arm of Aaron Murray, who threw 3 touchdowns on the afternoon, and the leg of Marshall Morgan, who hit 4 extra points and a game-winning 42-yard field goal in overtime while battling a knee injury of his own.
Georgia would blow a 17-3 lead at halftime, watching Tennessee storm back to take a 31-24 lead with less than 2 minutes remaining on a Raijon Neal 7 yard touchdown run. Aaron Murray would respond though, hitting Rantavious Wooten on a 2-yard score with .5 seconds remaining in regulation.
Even with the lead, blown lead, injuries, and a last-second touchdown, the most memorable moment of the game would come in the first overtime.
Tennessee had possession first and Alton “Pig” Howard took a sweep from the 7 yard line towards the end zone. As he approached, he stretched for the goal line and replay would show that he lost control of the ball just before breaking the plane. It was ruled a touchback and the rest is history.
That was a tough way to lose a ball game and there was a small part of me that felt bad for Howard when it happened.
But not longer after that, Marshall Morgan hit his 42 yard game winner and I was celebrating again!
This matchup was yet another instant classic that had Georgia fans sweating throughout the entire game. Instead of handling buisness as a top-10 team, the Dawgs let the Vols hang around. It’s one of the better showdowns between the two.