Tennessee Runs Away from Georgia Tech After Early Deficit
Georgia Tech led this game. For a little while, 10-7, thanks to a 3-yard return of a blocked punt. Then Tennessee outscored the Yellow Jackets 38-14 the rest of the way and won 45-24.
The turn came early in the second quarter. A Cooper Ranvier field goal tied it at 10-10, and Dejuan Lane's 41-yard interception return made it 17-10. Faizon Brandon found Braylon Staley from 20 yards out to make it 24-10, and DeSean Bishop's 17-yard run early in the third quarter made it 31-10. Georgia Tech answered with Justice Haynes catching a 2-yard pass from Alberto Mendoza, but Bishop added a 29-yard run, Haynes scored again on the ground with 1:39 left, and Daune Morris answered nine seconds of game clock later with a 47-yard run.
The ground game did the work. Tennessee ran 45 times for 299 yards and threw for only 148 (10 of 21 for Brandon), with no turnovers and no sacks allowed. Morris needed only 10 carries for 98 yards and the last touchdown. Georgia Tech gained 356 yards and threw two interceptions, and Tennessee's defense sacked it four times. Take away Lane's pick-six and it is still a 38-24 game, so do not hang this one on a single play.
Tennessee is 2-0. Georgia Tech is 0-2 with a 21-point loss at home to show for it.
The fantasy lesson is a strange one: the top scorer on the field was Haynes, from the losing team, with 29.7 points. Bishop was a hair behind at 29.2. Sometimes you get a big night from a team that does not win.