Grading Georgia's performance against Tennessee

Georgia defeated Tennessee 44-21 with a dominant first half. The Bulldogs outscored the Volunteers 27-0 in the last 30 minutes.

Georgia football's top 25 game with Tennessee was a roller-coaster ride from start to finish. The No. 3 ranked Bulldogs avoided the upset with a 44-21 final score, but they trailed 21-17 at halftime.

Georgia's offense was sloppy in the first half, and the group put the defense in some bad spots. But once the offense cleaned up the critical errors, the night belonged to the Bulldogs.

Offense: B

Stetson Bennett and co. were a mixed bag for much of the night. On the scoring drives, Georgia's offense looked amazing. Bennett even led a 95-yard touchdown drive in the first half, a drive he finished with a nifty quarterback draw for a score.

In the second half, the Bennett/Kearis Jackson connection produced numerous big plays, including a 21-yard touchdown pass and a 33-yard sideline catch to set up a first-and-goal. Bennett found defensive tackle Jalen Carter a few plays later for his third touchdown of the night.

Bennett ended his night 16-of-27 with 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He completed passes to nine different receivers. On the ground, the Bulldogs gained 223 yards, led by Kendall Milton's 56 yards.

On the flip side, Georgia's offense was a big reason why Tennessee led 21-17 at halftime. On the second play of the game, Trey Hill slung a snap above Bennett's head. Tennessee recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Georgia failed on 4th-and-inches at its own 36-yard-line, Tennessee scored a play later. Then, on an excellent defensive play to run Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano out of bounds, George Pickens squirted water on the QB, causing a 15-yard penalty. The Volunteers needed five more plays to find the end zone.

Also, Georgia failed to get White into the end zone on a pair of goal-line runs before halftime and settled for field goals after two turnovers in Tennessee territory in the second half. For a while, Georgia struggled on the ground. White ended the game with 50 yards on 22 carries.

Defense: A+

Besides the two first-half touchdowns, Georgia's defense was fantastic. Even Tennessee's two scores weren't bad plays by the Bulldogs. Guarantano found Josh Palmer in one-on-one coverage, and Palmer just made great catches against solid coverage.

Take away those two plays, Georgia's defense dominated the game. The Bulldogs created three turnovers in the second half, with one resulting in a touchdown by Monty Rice. Azeez Ojulari set the tone in the second half with a sack-fumble on the Vols' first possession, and Eric Stokes picked off a pass on their second.

Tennessee ended the game with 215 passing yards and -1 rushing yards. Georgia racked up five sacks and six tackles for a loss.

Special Teams: A+

Once again, Georgia's special teams didn't do anything wrong. Jack Podlesney made three field goals. Jake Camarda pinned Tennessee inside the 10-yard-line on his only punt in the first half and clobbered a 64-yarder from the end zone in the second half. Kenny McIntosh had a long kickoff return late in the first half. The coverage team also made a few tackles inside the Volunteers' 25-yard-line.

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