Bennett turned the corner and broke the pylon. It was 0: 36.
The video was posted on social media. It was taken across the street from the practice fields. It wasn't possible for viewers to see what was happening behind the brick wall, but they could hear Smart screaming.
Anyone in Atlanta could have heard him.
Smart yelled at his defense. You know what the other teams in America do. They said it was his fault. He is to blame for it! He's the one who's at fault. They are given free layups. They don't concentrate.
The defense was going to face a challenge against Tennessee. The Volunteers scored 49.4 points a game. Hooker was not the favorite to win the trophy. Jalin Hyatt caught 14 touchdown passes.
If the Volunteers were the same team as the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Smart wanted to make sure his defense played the same way. It was going to be a physical game. The Volunteers were going to be punched in the mouth.
What were we going to do before the game? "We are not giving layups." We're not going to let them go in for a layup. We didn't give layups and stayed away from them. No disrespect to the other teams. You can't do it fast if you make it hard and complex.
There is no place to hide. Our theme was that. We told them we wanted to put them in our box.
It might have been the most one-sided two-touchdown game in the sport's recent history, as the Bulldogs didn't give up a lot of layups in a 27-13 victory.
The Volunteers didn't get into the end zone until Georgia stopped them in the fourth quarter. They sacked Hooker six times. He averaged only 5.9 yards per throw. Like almost everything else for the Volunteers on a miserable day, Georgia's defenders let Tennessee's receiver get behind them only a couple of times.
The plan included not rushing up the field, not running past the quarterback's level, and pushing the pocket. Our kids did that because we wanted him to be uncomfortable.
Smart said defensive players almost doubled their reps in practice this week to get used to facing Tennessee's fast pace. Georgia's defenders could have gone 35 or 40 plays instead of the 24 they played.
The knockout blow in the first round is when Tennessee plays you. I don't like being alive. We would like to attack it, but we have to survive that knockout blow.
Georgia delivered a couple of early blows to the Volunteers on quarterback Stetson Bennett's 13-yard scramble for a score and a pair of touchdown throws to Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. A field goal that took nearly nine minutes off the clock in the third quarter was the result of a 15-play, 67-yard drive by the Dogs. If the offense wasn't on the field, it couldn't score.
The noise of the crowd made it hard for the Volunteers to communicate. The stadium has been loud for 93 years. Every time Tennessee had the ball, the crowd roared. The Volunteers were fined for false starts seven times. They were forced to kick a field goal when they reached the red zone.
The crowd noise made a difference. We couldn't hear the play call from Hooker. The fans are given credit by me. That would be the most important thing we had today.
The defense teed off on Hooker after Georgia took a 21-point lead in the third quarter. A fourth sack was wiped out by a face-mask penalty, as he was sacked three times in the fourth quarter.
Hooker said that they play hard. They looked at us very nicely. There were some miscommunications up front. I had a good feeling in the pocket. I spent a bit more time there than I usually do.
Georgia received a gift from the College Football Playoff selection committee on Tuesday when it was ranked third in the initial rankings, behind Tennessee and Ohio State.
Georgia lost 15 players to the draft after winning the first national championship in 41 years. In their opener, the bulldogs dominated Oregon, but almost seemed bored in close wins over Kent State and Missouri In last week's win against Florida, there was a sloppy third quarter. Tennessee was the favorite SEC flavor.
The offense is fast and fun. The ragtag bunch of transfers and their second-year coach, Josh Heupel, ended a 15-game losing streak to Alabama in October. The Vols were able to beat the No. 1 team. Last week, Kentucky scored 44-6.
The majority of the money was placed on Tennessee. As usual, oddsmakers know more about the game than the public. The outcome reminds us of why Las Vegas casinos are made of marble.
The Georgia players were sick and tired of hearing how good the Volunteers were.
Bennett said that the team felt like they were the reigning champion. I believe we played well. This week was sweet for us.
In the past six seasons, the bulldogs have reached the SEC championship game five times. They will need to win at least one of their next two games, at Mississippi State and Kentucky, to win the SEC East. They play Georgia Tech in the last game of the season.
There was no question which team should be the top team. It is the same one that finished the season at the top.
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