No. 3 Georgia shuts down Hendon Hooker, No. 1 Tennessee

Stetson Bennett threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score and No. 3 Georgia shut down No. 1 Tennessee’s high-powered offense, dominating the Volunteers 27-13 Saturday in an SEC showdown of two of the nation’s top-ranked teams.

Georgia (9-0, 6-0 Southeastern Conference) turned the 25th regular-season matchup of the top two teams in the AP poll into a rout that made clear the defending national champions are still the team to beat. (Georgia is No. 1 in the AP poll. No. 3 in the CFP rankings. Tennessee is No. 2 in AP, and No. 1 in CFP).

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In a deafening and soggy Sanford Stadium, Georgia led 27-6 before Tennessee scored its first touchdown with 4:15 remaining.

Hendon Hooker, who entered as a Heisman Trophy front-runner after taking down Alabama last month, passed for only 195 yards for Tennessee (8-1, 4-1) and was sacked six times by star defensive tackle Jalen Carter and the Bulldogs’ defense.

Hooker threw an interception, lost a fumble that nearly resulted in a safety for Georgia, and didn’t throw a touchdown pass.

Tennessee’s final possession ended with Hooker dropped for no gain on a fourth-down run with less than three minutes remaining. The Volunteers came in averaging nearly 50 points per game.

The Volunteers rode that Alabama victory to the top spot in the first College Football Playoff ranking, but that will change on Tuesday. The Bulldogs also took control of the SEC’s East Division in the race and are set to cruise to another conference championship game.

Hooker and his potent top receivers, Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman, were contained by Georgia. The Vols were held to two first-half field goals as Georgia took a 24-6 halftime lead. Rain in the second half made it only more difficult to move against the Bulldogs’ defense.

Bennett threw scoring passes of 37 yards to Ladd McConkey and five yards to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint in the first half. Bennett also had a 13-yard scoring run.

There were more big plays in Georgia’s passing game. Bennett had completions of 52 yards to Arian Smith and 49 yards to running back Kenny McIntosh.

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THE TAKEAWAY

Tennessee: The Vols struggled in the big-game atmosphere, especially on offense where crowd noise contributed to a series of false starts and illegal procedure calls.

Tennessee’s playoff hopes are far from gone, but the Vols are now going to need some help.

Georgia: With all the focus on Tennessee’s Hooker, Bennett again showed he can step up in a game with major implications.

He was named offensive MVP in both playoff wins last season and excelled again against the Vols, including on his touchdown run when he escaped pressure near the 25 before running to his right and diving for the score.

Bennett passed for 257 yards, completing 17 of 25 passes.

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Reporting by The Associated Press.