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Tennessee vs Georgia recap: 3 things we learned

By John Buhler

Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (C) is carried off the field by team mates after catching the game winning touchdown pass against the Georgia Bulldogs on the last play on the game during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (C) is carried off the field by team mates after catching the game winning touchdown pass against the Georgia Bulldogs on the last play on the game during the fourth quarter at Sanford Stadium. Tennessee defeated Georgia 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Tennessee Volunteers come from behind twice to beat the Georgia Bulldogs, 34-31. Here are the three biggest takeaways from this SEC East rivalry game.

The Tennessee Volunteers continue to prove that they need all 60 minutes of a football game to win. They come from behind twice to beat their SEC East rival in the Georgia Bulldogs, 34-31.

Tennessee hasn’t quite put it all together, but the pieces are there for a team that can make a College Football Playoff run. They are 2-0 in their brutal four game stretch by beating the Florida Gators last week and Georgia on Saturday.

Here are the three biggest takeaways from the Volunteers’ victory and the Bulldogs’ defeat on Saturday evening in Athens:

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1. Tennessee has won the SEC East on October 1st.

It’s only Week 5, but the Volunteers have essentially won the SEC East. They hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over their two biggest divisional adversaries in Florida and Georgia. Tennessee needs to split its next two games against the Texas A&M Aggies and the Alabama Crimson Tide to win the SEC East pretty much outright.

Florida won on Saturday over Vanderbilt, so the Gators can still win the SEC East at 7-1 if the Volunteers drop their next two games against stiff SEC West competition. Georgia needs to win out in SEC play to finish 6-2 and have Tennessee drop three conference games to make it to Atlanta. It’s over for the Bulldogs this season.

Tennessee’s 2016 slate becomes exponentially easier after its first seven games. The Volunteers will be favored in their last five games against teams like Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Kentucky. Vol Nation might want to start booking hotel rooms for the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. It’ll be the first time Tennessee will be in it since 2007.

2. Jacob Eason has the best arm college football has seen since Matthew Stafford.

The Bulldogs may have lost in heartbreaking fashion, but Dawg Nation clearly knows that its star freshman quarterback Jacob Eason is the real deal. He has the poise of a three-year starter in just four career starts. There is a great chance he can be the better pro prospect over former Bulldog great Matthew Stafford.

Stafford had the strongest arm in recent memory slinging the pigskin for the Bulldogs from 2006 to 2008. He left school after his junior year to enter the NFL Draft. Stafford went No. 1 overall to the Detroit Lions in 2009. Eason is further along that Stafford was at this same junction.

Eason still has to grow in making pro-style reads, but his arm is NFL ready as a true freshman in 2016. He can throw it through tight windows, as well as air it out on Hail Mary pass attempts. Eason and the Bulldogs may have come up short on Saturday, but the future is blinding bright in Athens for the Georgia program.

3. The Volunteers cannot lose in the second half. This feels like a team of destiny.

It hasn’t been pretty, but the Volunteers are 5-0 and might be the best second half team in the Power 5. Tennessee has looked straight awful at times in the first half. In-game execution in the first two quarters has to be driving head coach Butch Jones nuts.

That being said, Tennessee apparently can’t lose in the second half. The Volunteers come out of the locker room and play inspired football over and over again. They don’t start well, but this is clearly a great finishing team. Outscoring Georgia 20-7 in the fourth quarter in Athens cannot go unnoticed.

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It’s early, but the 2016 Volunteers are starting to feel like a team of destiny. They keep having miraculous win after miraculous win. It’s borderline ridiculous. Tennessee could have lost any of its five games this season, but finds itself at a perfect 5-0. Is it time to jump on the Tennessee bandwagon? Rocky Top momentum continues to grow and this team refuses to lose games. Maybe it is time for such things?

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