KNOXVILLE — Tennessee owned the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon inside Neyland Stadium.
For 11 seconds.
A game that had Peyton Manning and Dolly Parton as spectators could not have started any better for the No. 21 Volunteers, as junior running back Jaylen Wright blew past the vaunted defense of the Bulldogs for a 75-yard touchdown. Wright’s lengthy scamper marked the fifth time under third-year head coach Josh Heupel that Tennessee had scored on the opening play, and it was the second such occasion this year, with quarterback Joe Milton III having raced 81 yards on the opening snap against the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Wright also had a 82-yard touchdown run on the second play against Connecticut earlier this month.
“I knew that play was going to be called two days ago,” Wright said. “I just trusted my linemen and thanked God that it happened like that. I hit the seam, and the thing was not to get caught.”