Georgia owes Tennessee a big "thank you"

Georgia football somehow escaped with a 44-41 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday night. The Bulldogs did not have their best game, there’s no denying that, and it looked like Tennessee at times did have their best game, but that still wasn’t enough for the Volunteers to upset UGA.

The fact that Georgia was able to win this game is a good enough reason to be extremely thankful. Gunner Stockton also played a great game in a tough environment and UGA’s entire team never gave up either. All of these are great reasons for Georgia to be thankful after Saturday’s win, but there is a glaring “thank you” that Georgia owes to Tennessee.

Georgia owes the Volunteers a big “thank you” because they gave UGA the chance to win this game in overtime.

Thank you Tennessee for handing Georgia this win

Tennessee kicker Max Gilbert stepped up to a 43-yard field goal with a chance to give the Volunteers their first win over Georgia in nine tries. Thankfully for Georgia his kick sailed right which sent this game to overtime. If this kick goes in, Georgia loses to Tennessee and UGA fans are left wondering if the Bulldogs can recover this season. But that’s not what happened, Gilbert missed the kick which allowed Georgia to win in overtime. So for that reason alone, Georgia owes Tennessee and Gilbert a big “thank you.”

Georgia also needs to thank Tennessee for many other reasons as well. Tennessee’s false start right before this kick comes to mind and the fact that the Vols played Georgia so tough is another reason UGA should be thankful. It’s games like this that will prepare Georgia for the future when they find themselves trailing late in a game.

But the biggest reason why Georgia should be thankful is because of this missed kick, because without this miss Georgia would tumble down the rankings and have little hope remaining for the rest of the season. Georgia however is in control of their destiny when it comes to the race in the SEC, and they also have a great chance to make the College Football Playoff as well, all thanks to this missed kick.