KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Kirby Smart knew Tennessee would provide a unique challenge, but the Georgia head coach also knew his Bulldogs would be up for it.
“I can’t say enough about the leaders on the team,” Smart said after Georgia capped a perfect SEC season with a 41-17 win over the Vols on Saturday night.
“After that game against Missouri, we won 43-6, to have three guys stand up in that locker room and say it wasn’t acceptable the way we approached the game or handled the game,” Smart said, “I knew right then we would be ok this week.”
Quarterback decision
Smart went with Stetson Bennett throughout the game, abandoning the rotation he used earlier in the season when he inserted Bennett for a healthy Daniels in the first quarter against South Carolina.
RELATED: Georgia football quarterback situation becomes clear with Stetson Bennett in win over Tennessee
“You go back to the South Carolina game and JT played pretty well, right? Stetson had the interception I guess in the first series and first time he was in,” Smart said. “Then Stetson got other opportunities to play after that and he’s done a tremendous job. I’m not going to overthink it with Stetson. We’re trying to go game by game to get him better.”
Daniels, who chose Smart and the Bulldogs after leaving Southern Cal via the transfer portal, missed five games this season on account of upper-body core injuries.
Daniels has been cleared to play and got limited work against Missouri last week and Smart complimented him on his “command of the offense.”
Smart, however, is enamored with Bennett’s underdog story of perseverance as well as his running ability.
Bennett transferred out of Georgia after the 2017 season for a year at junior college (2018) before transferring back, and Smart is most proud of how he’s risen from third-stringer in fall camp to start ahead of Daniels and former second-stringer Carson Beck.
“What does it say about his character that he stuck around and he kept working to get better?” Smart said. “That’s what you’re supposed to do in life overcome hurdles and obstacles, and he’s done that.”
Bennett was 17-of-29 passing for 213 yards with a TD against Tennessee’s defense, which entered the night ranked 95th in the nation. Bennett also rushed 6 times for 58 yards and was sacked twice for minus-18 yards.
Smart said he didn’t play Daniels because of “continuity” and because the game plan called for quarterback runs against the Vols.
“We make that decision each week on what gives us the best chance to win,” Smart said. “There’s a lot of runs that are packaged with reads off of it.”
Bruised but not beaten
The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs didn’t exactly limp into Neyland Stadium, but the team has had its fair share of attrition and adversity.
Offensive team captain and top offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer was still not quite healed up from his foot injury well enough to play.
Defensive team captain Adam Anderson remains suspended after his arrest on a rape charge earlier this week.
Defensive end Nolan Smith suffered an apparent elbow injury late in the game. Smith was among several defensive starters on the field fighting to keep the statistics among the best in history.
Devonte Wyatt may have also suffered a sprained knee in the fourth quarter, Smart said.
Starting offensive guard Warren Ericson and defense tackle Jalen Carter were among the handful of players dealing with flu-like symptoms, Carter to the extent he was pulled from the game after suffering more than a 100-degree fever.
But that team leadership “permeated,” as Smart said, and the resilience and ability to handle adversity was evident throughout the action as Tennessee forged to a 10-7 lead through the first quarter.
“We didn’t come up here to take shots, we came up here to throw them,” said Smart, who used a hunting analogy in the days leading up to the rivalry game.
Lockdown mode
“The better teams you play, the better you get,” Smart said. “Every week is a different test, and this was distinctly a different test.”
Tennessee scored a season-high 17 points on Georgia, a garbage score coming with 3:38 left and the Bulldogs up 31, and the Vols piled up a season-high 332 yards — 75 of them coming on the final TD drive.
But between the 159 yards UT gained in the first quarter, and the 75 yards on the final TD drive, Smart’s defense was in lockdown mode, allowing just 140 yards on 42 plays.
“To give up the first drive, and then to come back and really do a good job the rest of the second half .. and remember guys, they have four downs the entire second half,” Smart said.
“When you have four downs, it’s different. You’re not worried about third down, third down’s second down, then you’ve got fourth down to go for it because you need touchdowns. Yeah, I’m proud of the way our guys played defense.”
Offense Cooking
The offense, meanwhile, warmed up against the SEC’s nation’s 11th-best defense, with James Cook enjoying arguably the best night of his career.
The senior running back equaled his career-high with 104 yards rushing, punching in 2 rushing touchdowns while also catching 3 passes for 43 yards and another TD.
“James, man, you talk about a guy who wills himself to win,” Smart said. “I mean this guy wants to win bad. He doesn’t care what it takes. He’ll do anything you ask.
“He went out and played on a punt team he hasn’t played on in a couple of weeks. We didn’t have enough out there and he went out there and did that. The guy makes plays, and he’s getting better as the season progresses.
“I’m proud of what James has done for James, but I’m proud of what James has done for this team.”
Georgia plays host to Charleston Southern at noon next Saturday.
RELATED HEADLINES:
Georgia football instant observations after commanding win over Tennessee
