Georgia 19, Tennessee 45

1234T
UGA (3-3)0127019
TENN (3-3)02117745

Final

12:21 PM ET, October 10, 2009
Neyland Stadium
KNOXVILLE, TN

Crompton's career-high 310 passing yards, 4 TDs power Tennessee

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Team Stat Comparison
 
1st Downs1324
Total Yards241472
Passing152310
Rushing89162
Penalties9-797-47
3rd Down Conversions3-135-11
4th Down Conversions0-20-0
Turnovers31
Possession25:5534:05
Air/Ground Leaders
Georgia Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Cox19/3414602
Gray1/4600
Tennessee Passing
 C/ATTYDSTDINT
Crompton20/2731041
Georgia Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Thomas330013
Samuel525017
Tennessee Rushing
 CARYDSTDLG
Hardesty2097139
Brown92119
Georgia Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Green860021
Moore649014
Tennessee Receiving
 RECYDSTDLG
Jones5105251
Moore473133
Scoring Summary
SECOND QUARTERUGATENN
TD13:10Gerald Jones 6 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 07
TD12:56Brandon Boykin 100 Yd Kickoff Return (Blair Walsh Kick) 77
TD11:29Denarius Moore 33 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 714
FG05:36Blair Walsh 52 Yd 1014
TD02:40Marsalis Teague 5 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 1021
SF00:23Ball Through End Zone 1221
THIRD QUARTERUGATENN
FG10:15Daniel Lincoln 30 Yd 1224
TD08:21Bacarri Rambo 28 Yd Interception Return (Blair Walsh Kick) 1924
TD04:06Montario Hardesty 39 Yd Run (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 1931
TD00:59Gerald Jones 51 Yd Pass From Jonathan Crompton (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 1938
FOURTH QUARTERUGATENN
TD07:48Bryce Brown 1 Yd Run (Daniel Lincoln Kick) 1945
Associated Press

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin didn't defeat Florida as promised. He did deliver on another guarantee with a 45-19 win over the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday.

"[Kiffin] basically made a promise to us that we wouldn't lose to them anymore, forever or until he leaves," Volunteers safety Eric Berry said. "He's not going to let Georgia beat us."

The first-year coach got some help from Jonathan Crompton, who passed for a career-high 310 yards and threw for four touchdowns.

Kiffin had emphasized the Georgia game to his players due to its importance in recruiting. Because the state of Tennessee doesn't produce many elite prospects, coaches traditionally have recruited in Georgia, and 12 current Vols hail from the bordering state -- including Berry.

"I told the guys last night, I don't know all the Tennessee history or tradition of all the matchups," Kiffin said. "There are a lot of great teams in this conference. But I told them, to me, this is the biggest matchup."

It was his first Southeastern Conference victory and kept the Volunteers (3-3, 1-2) from going 0-3 in the league for a second season in a row. Georgia (3-3, 2-2) dropped to 3-3 for the first time under coach Mark Richt.

"They played better. They coached better. It's very obvious their team was a better team by a long shot," Richt said.

The Vols' passing game had faltered at times this season, with Crompton struggling with his accuracy and his receivers often dropping passes when he was on target.

But by halftime Saturday, Crompton had already thrown for 205 yards and three touchdowns. He finished 20-for-27.

Georgia's offense never reached the red zone, and the Tennessee defense held it to 241 yards compared with the Vols' 472.

The Bulldogs found other ways to put up points. Brandon Boykin scored on his second 100-yard kickoff return of the season, and Bacarri Rambo returned Crompton's interception 28 yards for a TD.

Blair Walsh kicked a 52-yard field goal, and Zach Renner blocked a punt by Chad Cunningham that sailed through the end zone for a safety.

"I don't know that I've ever been involved in a game where the defense didn't let a team into the red zone one time," Kiffin said.

Crompton was a perfect 4-for-4 for 67 yards on a drive late in the first half, finding Marsalis Teague on a 5-yard touchdown pass for a 21-10 lead with 2:40 left. He also connected with Gerald Jones on a 51-yard score, the Vols' longest pass of the season.

Despite being Tennessee's most productive receiver returning from last season, Jones had struggled with drops and mistakes while recovering from an ankle injury and wrist surgery. He had a season-best 105 yards receiving and two touchdowns.

It was Georgia's Joe Cox who played the role of struggling quarterback. Cox finished 19-for-34 with 146 yards and no touchdowns.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Cox fumbled a snap, recovered and threw to Tennessee's Dennis Rogan while under pressure. The interception set up a 30-yard field goal by Daniel Lincoln to give the Vols a 24-12 lead.

"It's so frustrating to come out and have so many things go wrong," Cox said. "It's embarrassing. We are not doing the things we need to do as players."

The SEC's leading receiver, Georgia's A.J. Green, finished with only 60 yards on eight catches. Its leading rusher, Tennessee's Montario Hardesty, had 97 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

Richt opened his career by winning four out of his first five meetings with Tennessee, but the Vols have won three of the last four.

The game has often been one of the SEC East's premier matchups, but for the first time in 38 meetings neither team was ranked coming in.

"We've got a long way to go to become a good football team," Richt said.

College Football Scores

Other Scores:

Saturday, October 10th
1 Florida 13 Final
4 LSU 3
3 Alabama 22 Final
20 Mississippi 3
17 Auburn 23 Final
Arkansas 44
Kentucky 26 Final
25 South Carolina 28
Vanderbilt 13 Final
Army 16 OT
Georgia 19 Final
Tennessee 45
Houston 31 Final
Mississippi State 24