Josh McCray ran in the game-winning 1-yard touchdown in overtime to give visiting No. 6 Georgia a 44-41 win over No. 15 Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday.
Gunner Stockton threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns, adding another on the ground for Georgia (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference), which won its ninth straight game against the Volunteers.
Joey Aguilar threw for 371 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions for Tennessee (2-1, 0-1), which had its best chance to score its first win over Georgia since 2016. Chris Brazzell II had six catches for 177 yards and three touchdowns in the loss.
After Max Gilbert – who had missed a potential go-ahead 43-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation – made a 42-yard field goal to begin overtime, Nate Frazier ran for 21 yards to begin Georgia’s possession. Two plays later, McCray broke the plane of the end zone to win the game.
Trailing by four, Georgia scored on McCray’s first touchdown of the season, a 1-yard rush to help the Bulldogs take a 24-21 edge. After K.J. Bolden picked off Aguilar, Peyton Woodring’s 48-yard field goal pushed Georgia’s lead to 27-21.
Tennessee answered with Aguilar’s 56-yard touchdown pass to Brazzell with seven seconds left in the third.
Woodring’s 23-yard field goal put Georgia back on top, but Aguilar connected with a wide open Brandon Staley for 32 yards, giving the Volunteers a 35-30 advantage with 11:01 remaining in the fourth.
After Stockton’s fumble, Gilbert’s 48-yard field goal then put the Volunteers up 38-30 with 6:40 left in the final quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Georgia faced a fourth-and-6 from Tennessee’s 28, where Stockton threw a perfect back-shoulder touchdown to London Humphreys, before finding Zachariah Branch for the game-tying two-point conversion with 2:32 remaining.
Aguilar ran in a 4-yard score on the game’s opening drive, before Stockton’s 6-yard rushing touchdown knotted the score.
Two plays later, the offensive onslaught continued, as Aguilar hit Brazzell for a 72-yard score to put the Volunteers ahead 14-7 with 9:29 left in the first.
Tennessee tacked on as Aguilar connected with Brazell for another score – this time from 14 yards out – extending the margin to 21-7 with 3:37 left in the first quarter.
Georgia cut its deficit in half on the ensuing drive, as Stockton hit Branch for a 36-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter. Woodring’s 20-yard field goal trimmed Tennessee’s lead to 21-17 entering halftime.
