UGA keeps pace in SEC, tops Vols

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Georgia coach Mark Richt didn’t talk this week about getting a shot at his 100th career victory, but his players sure did.

“All the players were talking about it in the locker room during the week,” quarterback Aaron Murray said. “We wanted to win this because it was a big SEC game, but also wanted to win this for coach Richt too.”

Richt, who seemed to be fighting for his job after an 0-2 start, has coached Georgia into a two-way tie with South Carolina for first place in the Southeastern Conference East Division. The Bulldogs (4-2, 3-1) appear to be in the better position to make a run starting next week at Vanderbilt.

“We are definitely in the race,” Richt said. “It is exciting for me, the fans and the team. The SEC is a great league. If you can win the East, it’s big. If you win the SEC, it’s huge. I have my first SEC ring from 2002. I’ve never been much on rings, but it is significant for what it stands for. I’m just glad we’re in the race.”

The game also broke a string of wins by the home team in the series. Richt got his first big win in 2001 in Knoxville against a sixth-ranked Tennessee squad, but the Vols managed to log lopsided victories in the Bulldogs’ two most recent trips to Neyland Stadium.

Not this time.

The teams played to a draw in the first half. Each had a pair of field goals, and Tennessee had just 30 more yards of offense and held the ball just 18 seconds longer than the Bulldogs.

The Vols (3-2, 0-2) started the second half with the ball but came out cold and never seemed to recover, while Georgia took advantage. James Stone snapped the ball over Tyler Bray’s head for a 15-yard loss, and Matt Darr’s 31-yard punt gave Georgia a short field with the ball at the Vols 38.

Tennessee appeared to have the Bulldogs stopped at the 9-yard line when Murray missed Orson Charles on a pass near the end zone, but the Vols’ Daryl Vereen was called for pass interference, giving Georgia a fresh set of downs at the 2-yard line.

Crowell ran the ball three straight times and punched the ball in the end zone on a 1-yard run that gave the Bulldogs a 13-6 lead with 8:19 left in the third quarter.

The Vols appeared to have an answer on the next drive with a 66-yard touchdown on a pass from Bray to Marlin Lane on third down, a play that saw Lane roll over the back of Michael Gilliard. A review of the play showed Lane’s knee touched the ground 3 yards shy of the first-down line.

Georgia started the subsequent drive on its own 7-yard line, but it didn’t matter. Murray launched a pass to Malcolm Mitchell, and Mitchell was 71 yards downfield by the time Marsalis Teague caught up to him. Two plays later, Crowell ran 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Bulldogs a 20-6 lead with 4:51 to go in the third quarter.

“We came out in the third quarter and had a little meltdown for a couple of possessions,” Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said. “We lost our composure a little bit. We pressed, got anxious and frustrated, and that was disappointing.”

Georgia relied on a balance of running and passing to keep Tennessee at bay. Murray finished 15-for-25 for 227 yards, Mitchell