Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Tennesee stuns Georgia on Hail Mary
Jauan Jennings hauled in a 43-yard Hail Mary from Joshua Dobbs on the final play, giving No. 11 Tennessee a stunning 34-31 victory over No. 25 Georgia after the Bulldogs appeared to win it on a long TD pass of their own with 10 seconds remaining Saturday.
The Vols (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) rallied from a double-digit deficit for the fourth time in five games, but this was their most improbable comeback yet. The SEC East rivals packed a whole game’s worth of action into the closing minutes as Tennessee went ahead for the first time all afternoon by recovering a fumble by Georgia (3-2, 1-2) in the end zone with 2:56 to go.
Then, after the Bulldogs threw an interception but got the ball back one more time, Jacob Eason tossed a 47-yard touchdown pass to fellow freshman Riley Ridley. With the Sanford Stadium crowd in a frenzy, Tennessee took the kickoff into position to take one shot at the end zone.
Dobbs hurled a towering pass that the 6-foot-3 Jennings didn’t really have that much trouble bringing down. He leaped above the scrum to make the catch, and then landed on his back for the score that sent the Tennessee bench charging on the field to celebrate. touchdown passes to Calvin Ridley and Ronnie Harrison scored on a 55yard fumble return for No. 1 Alabama.
The Crimson Tide (5-0, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) overcame a week full of potential distractions and a slow start to run away from the Wildcats (2-3, 1-2).
The Hurt and Ridley Show took over the second half, hooking up on scoring passes of 10 and 19 yards and plenty in between. Hurts passed for 262 yards, including 173 in the third quarter.
Ridley gained 174 yards on 11 catches. Freshman tailback Joshua Jacobs rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown in his first start with Kentucky native Damien Harris playing a limited role after spraining his right ankle last week against Kent State.
The performance came two days after star linebacker Tim Williams’ arrest on a misdemeanor charge of carrying a pistol without a permit. Backup quarterback Blake Barnett left the team and withdrew from school this week, too.