Georgia scores 21 off Vols' turnovers while vaulting to No. 1 in the division standings.
By Associated Press
Published October 12, 2003
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - David Greene was 22-of-27 for 228 yards and one touchdown as Georgia moved closer to defending its SEC championship with a 41-14 victory over Tennessee on Saturday night.
The Bulldogs moved atop the East standings by winning their fourth straight over the Vols, who had their worst loss home loss since Florida's 31-0 win in 1994.
Greene improved to 3-0 against Tennessee as Georgia led from the beginning and scored 21 off three turnovers.
Emotions were high as evidenced by many strong hits, an ejection and scuffle between players after Georgia intercepted a pass in the third quarter.
Trailing 13-7 in the second quarter, the Vols' chances for a rally started to vanish after Casey Clausen fumbled trying to hand off near the goal line. Georgia's Sean Jones picked it up and ran 92 yards for a touchdown as time ran out in the half.
Odell Thurman intercepted Clausen's pass midway through the third and returned it 26 yards to the Tennessee 5. Tyson Browning ran 8 yards for a touchdown three plays later.
After David Pollack sacked Clausen on the Vols' ensuing possession, Kedric Golston batted Clausen's pass, which was intercepted by Robert Geathers. The teams were called for offsetting penalties for pushing and shoving.
Georgia's Derrick White was ejected, and Kregg Lumpkin ran 22 yards on the next play for a Bulldogs touchdown.
By earning the head-to-head advantage over the Vols, Georgia could lose another conference game and still lock up a berth in the SEC championship game.
This rivalry has gotten more intense since Georgia ended Tennessee's nine-game win streak in 2000.
Clausen, who did not play in last year's game at Athens because of a shoulder injury, made himself a target this year. He told reporters a few days after the 2001 game the outcome would have been different even if he had played on one arm.
Both arms were not enough this year. He finished 11-of-21 for 165 yards.
Georgia did not need a thrilling comeback like the 2001 game here.
Two years ago, the Vols had taken the lead with 44 seconds left, but Georgia came back to score on Verron Haynes 6-yard TD catch with five seconds remaining.
Tennessee had a spark Saturday in the second quarter when Clausen's pass around midfield appeared to be intercepted by Georgia's Decory Bryant. The Tennessee player he was defending, Mark Jones, reached over his back, grabbed the ball and ran to the end zone for a 90-yard scoring play, the longest pass play in Tennessee history.
The Vols scored their second touchdown on C.J. Leak's 15-yard throw to Bret Smith with less than a minute left. By then, almost all of the Tennessee faithful among the 107,517 fans had left.
Georgia's Billy Bennett made field goals of 32 and 44 yards.
Michael Johnson caught Greene's only touchdown pass, an 11-yard floater, at the beginning of the second quarter.
