No. 18 Tennessee football visited Georgia Tech for a week two matchup in Atlanta. The Vols used a dominant night on the ground, where they rushed for 299 yards and three touchdowns on 45 carries. DeSean Bishop had two touchdowns with 147 yards on 20 carries. Tennessee rolled to a 45-24 win and improved to 2-0.
The Yellow Jackets took the ball first and went three-and-out. Alberto Mendoza tried to extend the drive with a run on third-and-three, but Xavier Gilliam recorded a tackle for loss to stop the drive.
Tennessee came into the game with an emphasis on the run game starting better than it did in the win over Furman. Bishop popped a 33-yard run to begin the drive. A couple of plays later, Faizon Brandon completed a 25-yard pass to Ethan Davis for the touchdown. The Vols’ drive took just three plays.
Mendoza faced big pressure from Tennessee’s front on the next drive and quickly got into a third-and-10. Then, he completed a 22-yard pass to Kevin Roche Jr. to keep the drive alive. On the next play, Tennessee defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs went down and exited the game. He was able to walk off the field.
Georgia Tech was able to get into the red zone before the Vols’ defense buckled down to give up only three. Mariyon Dye recorded the first sack of the game later in the drive to put the Yellow Jackets behind the sticks.
The Yellow Jackets defense responded on the next series and forced a three-and-out. That set up a special teams miscue, as punter Jackson Ross was slow getting his rugby-style punt off. That gave Trae Stevenson Jr. time to block the punt, and Elgin Sessions recovered for the touchdown to put Georgia Tech up 10-7.
On Tennessee’s next drive, Georgia Tech’s defensive line quickly made an adjustment and forced the Vols into a third-and-long situation. But Brandon hit Rondarious Jackson for a 45-yard pass. Brandon showed the ability to endure pressure and keep the drive moving. Heupel trusted him on a fourth-and-two, and he used his legs to get the first down.
This drive saw a heavy dose of Javin Gordon. He carried it seven times for 24 yards. However, the drive stalled, and Tennessee had to settle for a Cooper Ranvier 32-yard field goal to tie the game at 10.
Then, with 11:32 to go in the first half, Dejuan Lane came up with a huge interception that he returned 41 yards for a touchdown to take a 17-10 lead. The Vols brought pressure on Mendoza and read the screen.
Later in the second quarter, Tennessee continued to use its running back room. After the Vols were bailed out by a pass interference call on third down, Daune Morris ripped a 16-yard run. Then he added a five-yard and an eight-yard carry before Brandon tossed his second touchdown of the game. Braylon Staley released down the sideline for a 20-yard touchdown reception. Tennessee extended its lead to 24-10.
Just when Georgia Tech thought things were moving well, Jeremiah Telander stopped it in its tracks. The Yellow Jackets moved the ball down the field and burned almost four minutes off the clock. Then, Mendoza threw his second interception to Telander. The Vols took their 24-10 lead into the half.
Tennessee’s first half was not pretty, but big defensive plays gave it the ability to carry that 14-point lead. The Yellow Jackets were able to hold their own in the trenches better than they did against Colorado the prior week. But also alike from week one, they couldn’t finish drives and still had not scored an offensive touchdown in six quarters of play.
Shortly after halftime, Georgia Tech lost two defensive players on the same play in Jaylen Mbakwe and Jordan Walker. Mbakwe got the worst of it and was stabilized and transported to Grady Memorial Hospital.
Tennessee went right to the run game, and the offensive line opened holes for Bishop in that opening drive out of the half. Bishop carried the ball six times for 50 yards, with a 17-yard touchdown run to put the Vols up 31-10.
Mendoza and Georgia Tech finally put together a complete drive to pull the Yellow Jackets within 14. Mendoza went 6-for-6 for 70 yards and a touchdown to running back Justice Haynes. That was the first offensive touchdown for Georgia Tech this season.
After the Yellow Jackets got Tennessee’s offense off the field, their offensive line went to work. Mendoza continued to have time, and the run game picked up as well. Haynes popped a 27-yard run, but a holding call down the field took 10 yards of that away.
But Georgia Tech continued to handle the line of scrimmage, and Trelain Maddox pushed it inside the Vols’ 5-yard line. However, Telander came up with a seven-yard sack and pushed it back, and the drive ultimately ended on downs. That was a bold call, and in return, Tennessee burned just over seven minutes off the clock, but came away empty. The time burned was just as important.
Then, Tennessee’s defensive front stepped up in a huge way with two sacks on the Yellow Jackets’ drive. Dye dropped Mendoza for nine yards. Then, on fourth down, Jordan Norman added a seven-yard sack to turn Georgia Tech over on downs.
The run game for the Vols did its job. Bishop added a 29-yard touchdown run to put Tennessee up 38-17. Following that, Georgia Tech took advantage of a penalty-aided drive that ended with a Haynes two-yard touchdown to make the score 38-24 Vols.
Tennessee wasn’t done just yet. Morris exploded with a one-play, 47-yard touchdown run to put the exclamation point on the game. Tennessee went on to win 45-24.
