Jake Fromm helps Bulldogs remain rulers of SEC East [photos]

Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Georgia junior quarterback Jake Fromm looks for a receiver during Saturday night's game against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Georgia junior quarterback Jake Fromm looks for a receiver during Saturday night's game against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.

KNOXVILLE - Tennessee got a first-half passing spark from freshman quarterback Brian Mauer.

Georgia got the same old show from Jake Fromm.

The junior completed 24 of 29 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night to guide the No. 3 Bulldogs to a 43-14 victory over the Volunteers before a Neyland Stadium crowd of 92,709. Fromm has now won all 14 of his career contests against Southeastern Conference Eastern Division competition by at least two touchdowns.

"He's Jake Fromm. What else can you say about him?'" graduate transfer receiver Lawrence Cager said after amassing a team-high five catches for 58 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown reception that put the Bulldogs ahead to stay at 20-14. "He's one of the best quarterbacks in the country, if not the best, and it's an honor to play with him.

"We're going to follow him every game."

Fromm guided an offense that racked up 526 yards and consumed 36 minutes and 28 seconds of possession time.

"You can always look at the film and wish we could have done a little bit better," Fromm said. "I think we could have been a little bit more disciplined, but right now I'm feeling pretty good about it. I wish we had scored a few more points a little earlier, but I'm thankful for a win in an SEC game on the road."

The Bulldogs (5-0, 2-0) grabbed command of a back-and-forth first half with 59 seconds left in the second quarter, when D'Andre Swift ran for 23 yards to Tennessee's 47-yard line and then hauled in a 15-yard catch from Fromm. A 21-yard connection from Fromm to Cager got the ball to Tennessee's 7, and Fromm finished the 70-yard, 50-second drive with a 7-yard touchdown toss to George Pickens.

That made it 26-14 at halftime and resulted in Fromm being 16-of-20 at the break for 195 yards and two scores.

"We work on those two-minute situations every day," Swift said. "It was just like practice out there, getting the call and executing and getting the ball to the playmakers."

Said Fromm: "I think the body blows were starting to add up. For us on offense, it's just a matter of time before we get going."

Georgia rushed 41 times for 238 yards, averaging 5.8 yards per carry, to complement Fromm's efficiency through the air. Brian Herrien led the Bulldogs with 88 yards on 11 carries, with Swift adding 72 on 17.

Herrien and Swift each had a rushing touchdown.

"We did a good job of playing four quarters," Swift said. "The defense got off to a slow start, and I don't think our offense did what it needed to do at first, but they're an SEC opponent over there and they did a great job of coming out and playing hard."

Georgia's defense outscored Tennessee's offense in the second half, thanks to Eric Stokes slamming into Mauer with 4:39 remaining in the game, causing a fumble that inside linebacker Tae Crowder returned 60 yards for a touchdown. The Bulldogs were burned for 205 first-half passing yards but held Mauer without any yards in the third quarter.

On offense, the Bulldogs were stout throughout in amassing a 15th consecutive overall win against SEC East foes and in taking a 24-23-2 series lead over Tennessee (1-4, 0-2).

"I am so proud of our offense," said Cager, who injured one of his shoulders during the game but came back in. "We came out fast and physical and kept our foot on their throat for the full 60 minutes. Can we clean up some stuff? Yes, but that's every week."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.

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