Tennessee quarterback Nathan Peterman (12) is sacked by Georgia linebackers Lorenzo Carter (7) and Jordan Jenkins (59) in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014, in Athens, Ga. Georgia won 35-32.ATHENS, Ga. -- Most Tennessee football fans would never admit this, at least not yet, but both the Big Orange Nation and Georgia's Bulldog Nation may have gotten exactly what they needed from the Dawgs' 35-32 win between the hedges Saturday afternoon.
For Georgia, the rewards are obvious. A Southeastern Conference win before the calendar turns to October. Another magical performance by running back Todd Gurley (208 rushing yards, two touchdowns) to further bolster his Heisman Trophy campaign. An occasional defensive stop of an SEC foe, especially when UT was forced to do without senior quarterback Justin Worley for a time in the second half.
But the Volunteers had their moments, too. Down 21-10 with 1:08 left in the opening half, they pulled within 21-17 at intermission. Down 35-25 with less than five minutes to play, they pulled within 35-32 with 2:14 to go. They allowed only one Georgia third-down conversion in 10 tries. They almost doubled the Dawgs in passing yards -- 284 to 147.
No wonder Georgia boss Mark Richt, now in his 14th season, said afterward, "I thought both teams played well. Both teams showed tremendous poise. Both teams had good things happen and capitalized; both teams had bad things and found a way to fight back."
No wonder, too, that UT coach Butch Jones, now in his second year, said, "We need to continue to move forward and continue to build this football program, but the culture has changed, I can tell you that."
What hasn't changed as much as Jones would hope, especially against Georgia, is the ability to quit self-destructing.
Much as the Vols blew a golden opportunity to win this matchup a year ago in overtime inside Neyland Stadium when Pig Howard fumbled the ball away at the goal line, the Vols were finished off this time when true freshman running back Jalen Hurd coughed up the pigskin in his own end zone, the ball recovered by Georgia for a touchdown and a 35-25 lead with 4:27 to go.
Thanks to Worley's savvy -- "Worley is a great competitor and he knew that we needed him," Hurd said -- UT almost pulled it out, pulling within the final score on a 6-yard toss from the QB to Marquez North with 2:14 to go. But the Gurley Man made sure the Vols never got the ball back, rushing six times for 22 yards to run out the clock.
So why should the Big Orange Nation feel better after this game than last year's 34-31, OT defeat? Why is this progress all Volniacs should believe in, given the fact that this was also the 10th straight season that the Vols have begun SEC play with a loss?
For starters, the entire SEC East is a muddled mess of mediocrity. Everyone in the division had at least one SEC loss except Missouri, which may have one by this morning after playing at South Carolina on Saturday night. And Mizzou has already suffered one of the league's more embarrassing nonconference defeats by falling to Indiana.
Point is, if UT can lose by three at Georgia and play respectably at Oklahoma, it can compete with anyone else in its division. Let the Bulldogs -- who already have lost at South Carolina -- fall to Auburn and Arkansas later in the season, Tennessee might even find a way to reach Atlanta for the SEC title game. It would need to win every other league game on its schedule except for Alabama, but no true Volniac could say with certainty after Saturday that it could not accomplish that.
"We're building from ground zero," Jones said. "But I see progress being made every week. A loss is a loss, but we're getting so close. Just a play here and a play there."
Added senior linebacker A.J. Johnson: "We'll get back together Sunday and get everything right for Florida."
The words have all been said before. From the close of the Fulmer era, to that single season under that guy whose name rhymes with "Iffin," to Coach Doolittle, to now.
But if this sounds different it might be because the Vols look different. There was the one-handed tackle of Gurley by Jalen Reeves-Maybin in the opening half. There were Worley's heroics in the closing half, after he banged his elbow on a Georgia helmet and was forced to leave the game. There were those two interceptions by Cam Sutton and Todd Kelly Jr. There was hope, but more important real reasons to hope, until the final seconds.
"We don't," Worley said emphatically, "give up."
At some point you need results. You need to catch the carrot, if only to know you can. Having lost 10 straight SEC openers, the Vols desperately need a win this weekend against Florida, which owns nine straight wins against the Vols.
But the Gators will arrive coming off an off week, and the only thing that could help Tennessee more than Florida coach Will Muschamp having two weeks to prepare for the Big Orange is if he had three.
"We are going to be a good football team and we are going to win a lot of football games," Jones said Saturday afternoon.
Having changed the culture, the Vols are about to turn the corner, beginning this weekend against the Gators.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.