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* Wiedmer: Vols and their coach both grew up against Dawgs * Tennessee rallies to stun Georgia, 38-31 * Tennessee holds off 19th-ranked Georgia, 38-31 * Michel, Davis take blame for defeat * Chubb injury disheartening for Bulldogs * Tennessee racks up record yardage on Pruitt’s defense * Dobbs leads Vols in ‘very, very gritty’ performance * Daniel’s late punt helps protect Vols’ big win
KNOXVILLE – Josh Dobbs now has a big-time performance in a signature win to add to his resume as Tennessee’s quarterback.
The sophomore threw for 312 yards, ran for 109 and accounted for five touchdowns as the Volunteers came back from 21 points down to beat 19th-ranked Georgia.
“I love watching him play,” Vols linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin said of Dobbs. “Whenever (the offense) got the ball, I could tell from the first half they were moving great. We didn’t punch it in a couple of times, but I could tell they were moving great. I knew they were going to have a big day. Whenever they got the ball in their hands, I’m expecting seven points every time.”
Dobbs is the only player in Tennessee history to throw for 300 yards and run for 100 yards in the same game, and he’s now done it twice.
The stage and ramifications Saturday were a little bigger than they were at South Carolina last season, though.
Tennessee coach Butch Jones called it a “very, very gritty performance” by his quarterback.
“It’s awesome, having that trust of my teammates,” Dobbs said. “I trust these guys with everything on and off the field. I love my teammates. I’ll do anything for them. I tell them that all the time. We did a great job of having each other’s back offense, defense, and special teams.”
A passing game that had struggled came to life Saturday, as the Vols, 11th in the SEC in passing going into the game, recorded 312 passing yards aided by nine completions of 15 yards or more.
“I felt like we had our confidence back, our swagger back,” wide receiver Josh Smith said. “I could just sense it on the sideline. We really were focusing on throwing it down the field. We needed it. We’ve got to take the break off the run game, and I felt like the receivers came to play and we made the plays we needed to win.”
Jones said the Vols didn’t change much on offense other than some “different wrinkles,” but Dobbs took more shots down field and Tennessee more often targeted the middle of the field.
“It was just execution,” Dobbs said. “(The line) protected me, and guys were getting open and making plays downfield. Obviously we have different stuff in the game plan for each team, and I think we did a great job of executing that tonight.”
Though he missed some throws early, Dobbs made plenty of key plays down the stretch of Tennessee’s win.
“He’s a great leader,” center Coleman Thomas said. “He’s been one. It was good to see him be successful and make some plays.”
‘Georgia’s Georgia’
The landscape of Saturday’s game changed on the very first play, when Nick Chubb, Georgia’s Heisman Trophy candidate running back, suffered a gruesome knee injury after Emmanuel Moseley and Reeves-Maybin combined to tackle him.
The Bulldogs lost running backs for the season in their previous two games against Tennessee. Sony Michel, who took over for Chubb and ran for 145 yards on 22 carries, hurt his shoulder last season. Keith Marshall suffered a knee injury in Knoxville in 2013.
“It’s kind of crazy, because the last three years they’ve lost a running back against us,” Reeves-Maybin said. “In football, that’s the type of things that happen. Sometimes it happens to us, sometimes it happens to them, but you’ve got to be able to move on to the next (one). You’ve got to prepare for the next back that they’re going to bring in.
“Georgia’s Georgia. You’ve got to stop the running backs to beat Georgia every year.”
Some Tennessee players offered words of encouragement for Chubb on Twitter after the game.
Injury updates
Tennessee played most of the game down three starters on its offensive line.
Starting right tackle Brett Kendrick (elbow) didn’t play after he was a game-time decision, and the Vols moved center Coleman Thomas out to Kendrick’s spot and inserted Mack Crowder into the starting lineup.
Crowder and left guard Jashon Robertson left the game with injuries in the first half and did not return, so Tennessee was forced to put freshmen Jack Jones and Chance Hall in at right guard and right tackle.
Receiver Marquez North (back) and defensive end Kyle Phillips (shoulder) did not play.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com