Dan Fleser

Carson Beck was supposed to take hits, not give them.

Georgia’s quarterback had other ideas, however, after going through two potential tackles in the backfield to start his second-quarter scramble. He punctuated the 14-yard run by bulldozing Tennessee safety Andre Turrentine before going down.

Beck didn’t turn into Bronko Nagurski on Saturday night. But he bounced back from this season’s beleaguered, turnover-prone semblance of a Manning Award finalist last year, throwing for 347 yards and two touchdowns and running for another in the Bulldogs’ 31- 17.

Conversely, the Vols’ defense — particularly the defensive line — was a shadow of its former self, recording zero sacks and zero quarterback hurries for Beck, who was sacked five times last week at Ole Miss. The Rebels’ front seven also collected nine tackles for lost yards. . UT’s defenders mustered just two, three yards worth.

With running time, Beck completed 25 of 40 pass attempts and averaged 13.9 yards per completion. His play helped overshadow the absence of Trevor Etienne due to injury and the loss of wide receiver Dillon Bell during the game to injury.

“How about Carson Beck tonight,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “All the criticism he gets. . .”

Not last night it wasn’t. Instead, the Vols were left to exercise a critical eye on themselves.

“We didn’t live up to our potential; we didn’t play (at) the level we’re capable of playing,” defensive tackle Jaxson Moi said. “This is a good Georgia team. We are capable, but we didn’t do it today. We take full responsibility for not wreaking havoc as we usually do.”

Here are some other notes and observations:

-While Josh Heupel credited Georgia and praised his team’s effort, Tennessee’s coach was clearly bothered by some of the officials’ penalties. He turned his microphone to reporters when asked about a face-masking penalty that helped set up the Bulldogs’ decisive third-quarter score. A television replay called the call into question.

Heupel did the same regarding an illegal substitution call for an extra man on the field earlier in that game. His actions served as commentary on the no-comment calls.

-After spending the week in the concussion protocol, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava started and survived five sacks to complete 20 of 33 passes for 167 yards. Rushed 12 times for a net gain of 40 yards.

“I felt great; I felt great there,” said Iamaleava. “I was happy to be able to go out there and wrestle with my brothers.”

-Ten of Beck’s completions went to tight ends. Ben Yorsek led with five receptions. Oscar Delp caught four passes, two for TDs.

On his first touchdown reception, Delp was matched with linebacker Arion Carter, who had good position but couldn’t get back in time to adjust to Beck’s throw. In the second, Delp ran against the flow of the play and got wide open in the back of the end zone.

“Obviously they had some plays for him,” Tennessee safety Will Brooks said. “We didn’t play smart enough, we didn’t get our eyes right and that got him open a couple of times.”

-Boo Carter kicked again as a returner. The former Bradley Central star’s 26-yard punt return set up Max Gilbert’s career-long 52-yard field goal late in the first quarter that gave UT a 10-0 lead at that time.

-The ripple effect from the loss will be felt on Tuesday when the latest playoff standings are announced. The Vols were ranked No. 7 last week, and No. 12 Georgia will likely move ahead of them now.

“We don’t control what we don’t control,” Heupel said, striking a grim, fatalistic tone.

Smart likely spoke for Tennessee as well as his team, addressing the playoff committee and the difficulty of playing on the road in the SEC: “I really don’t know what they’re looking for anymore. I would welcome anyone on that committee to come into this league and play in this environment. It’s a tough place to play.”

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Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri who has covered athletics at the University of Tennessee since 1988. He is a member of the Tennessee Sportswriters, US Basketball Writers and Greater Knoxville Sports Halls of Fame. He can be reached at [email protected].