Adams: Vanderbilt gave Vols just enough opening to win : govolsxtra.com

Georgia was done in by one of its own Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium.

Go ahead and ask: "What does Georgia have to do with Tennessee's 25-24 victory over Vanderbilt?"

Answer: Everything.

The Bulldogs had taken care of their SEC East business with a victory over Kentucky earlier in the afternoon. But they still needed help in their quest for a division championship.

And Vanderbilt was providing plenty of it against the Vols, the only team that could finish ahead of Georgia in the East.

Leading by 15 points, the Commodores seemingly had forced the Vols to punt late in the third quarter. Hope was building in Athens, where Bulldogs fans were chanting "Let's go, Vandy" in the final minutes of their team's 24-13 victory at Sanford Stadium.

Broderick Stewart of Newnan, Ga., didn't get the message. The Vanderbilt defensive end delivered the biggest hit of the game. Unfortunately for Georgia and Vanderbilt, the hit came after UT's Britton Colquitt had punted.

The roughing-the-punter penalty gave the Vols a second chance. And you know what this team does with second chances.

The Vols have been bouncing back all season. They were left for dead in The Swamp in September and a month later in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

You count them out, and they play their way back in. You knock them down but you don't knock them out.

They took a flurry of punches from the Commodores. Then, they took the game.

Stewart's boneheaded play didn't give them the game. It just gave them an opportunity.

The Vols took it from there with as much teamwork as they have exhibited all season. The offense produced scoring drives on three of its last four possessions prior to the last minute. The defense shut out the Commodores for the last 24 minutes. The special teams got a 45-yard punt return from Dennis Rogan, and a game-winning, 33-yard field goal from Daniel Lincoln with 2:46 to play.

"We made enough plays to keep it close," UT quarterback Erik Ainge said. "When it's close and (the game's) on the line, we're gonna get it done." And Vanderbilt isn't.

The Commodores upset UT in Neyland Stadium two years ago. They have become more competitive in Bobby Johnson's six years as head coach. But they haven't shaken their history. In their last 13 games decided by seven points or fewer, Vanderbilt has lost 11.

That's who they are.

Georgia can't complain about the championship that got away Saturday. The Bulldogs are still in contention for a division championship only because of Vanderbilt's ineptitude in the clutch. The Commodores fumbled a game Georgia's way in the final minutes a month ago.

Vanderbilt evened the score Saturday. The rest is up to UT.

The Vols are 5-2 in conference play, compared to Georgia's 6-2. If the Vols beat Kentucky on Saturday, they're in the SEC championship game, based on their head-to-head tiebreaker, a 35-14 victory over Georgia last month.

Other than getting to play Vanderbilt again, UT couldn't ask for more. In fact, UT's track record with the Wildcats isn't that much different than its series with the Commodores. The biggest difference: Most UT players weren't alive the last time the Vols lost to Kentucky.

The Vols have won 22 consecutive games against Kentucky, and some of those games were decided just the way Saturday's was. With the game on the line, UT came up clutch, and Kentucky came up klutzy.

The Vols don't have to make history to win the East. They only have to repeat it.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.