Tennessee vs. Georgia: Score and Twitter Reaction

Three years ago, the Georgia Bulldogs fell victim to the Prayer at Jordan-Hare against the Auburn Tigers.

Now fans have another heartbreaking defeat to remember after Joshua Dobbs completed a Hail Mary pass to wideout Jauan Jennings as time expired to give the No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers a 34-31 victory over the 25th-ranked Bulldogs on the road Saturday night.

Georgia appeared to have the game won after true freshman quarterback Jacob Eason, making up for a fumble earlier in the game, hit fellow freshman Riley Ridley for a 47-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds remaining.

The Bulldogs shot themselves in the foot, though, by picking up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the touchdown, which moved Tennessee farther up the field on the ensuing kickoff and in position for a pass into the end zone. Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde thought the penalty was pivotal for the Volunteers' game-winning TD:

Dobbs finished the game 16-of-26 for 230 passing yards, three touchdowns (plus one rushing TD) and an interception. The Georgia defense effectively bottled up running back Jalen Hurd, who gained 42 yards on 10 carries.

Few players will be happier with the win than Hurd, who committed a boneheaded play with a little under seven minutes left in the first half. He caught a pass out of the backfield and was on his way to six points. The junior didn't see Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker, who dislodged the ball before Hurd crossed the goal line. Cornerback Aaron Davis recovered the ball in the end zone.

Former Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones knew Hurd was going to hear about the mistake from head coach Butch Jones:

Former Vols quarterback Erik Ainge didn't want to be too hard on Hurd:

The play represented a 14-point swing. On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs marched 80 yards down the field for a touchdown to take a 17-0 lead. The possession nearly ended in disaster, as Sony Michel fumbled before getting into the end zone. Luckily for Georgia, Eason fell on the ball for six points.

Tennessee scored a touchdown with 12 seconds left in the first half to trim the deficit to two scores before heading to the locker room. Dobbs scrambled to his left and narrowly broke the plane from four yards out.

Uproxx's Matt Hinton wasn't ready to count the Vols out:

The 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS has produced impressive comebacks in each of the last two weeks. On Sept. 24, Tennessee dug out of a 21-point hole to beat the Florida Gators, and on Sept. 17, the Alabama Crimson Tide were down 24-3 before beating the Ole Miss Rebels.

The college football gods smiled upon the Volunteers once again.

Tennessee continued to hang around for most of the second half. Dobbs and Hurd connected on a 19-yard touchdown reception on the first drive of the second half to make it a 17-14 game. ESPN.com's Edward Aschoff noted Hurd took every precaution to make sure he scored this time:

Eason kept Tennessee at bay with a 50-yard touchdown pass to tight end Isaac Nauta with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs offense stalled following the score, opening the door for the Volunteers to go ahead in the fourth quarter. Seven seconds into the final frame, Dobbs got his second passing TD of the night after hitting running back Alvin Kamara for a 16-yard touchdown to bring Tennessee back within three points, 24-21.

The Volunteers went ahead for the first time with 2:56 left after defensive end Derek Barnett sacked Eason in the end zone and forced a fumble. Defensive lineman Corey Vereen recovered the ball for the touchdown.

Eason redeemed himself with the TD pass to Ridley, but Georgia's defense couldn't seal the deal.

With Saturday's victory, Tennessee cleared a major hurdle as it looks to reach the SEC championship. The 5-0 Volunteers have two tough tests ahead, though, against the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies and No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.

As long as they can win one of those two games, they'll still be in good shape to win the SEC East.

Georgia, on the other hand, will need some help in order to book a trip to Atlanta for the title game. The Bulldogs are now 1-2 in conference play, so while they only have one difficult matchup remaining—at Florida on Oct. 29—Saturday's defeat came at a big cost.

Postgame Reaction

According to college football writer Travis Haney, Tennessee nearly ran a different play at the end of the game:

Jones praised his players for continuing to believe they could win, per Jesse Simonton of SECCountry.com:

"

It's something I'll never forget. It's a tribute to our kids. They were focused. The calmness of our sideline was surreal. There was no panic. Nobody was down. I looked the kids in the eye and told them we'd make a play. We toyed with doing a lateral play, but we decided to get the ball in the end zone and let Jauan get the football.

"

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talked about his disappointment with losing on the last play, courtesy of Cody Chaffins of Fox 5 Sports:

Bulldogs defensive back Maurice Smith was a member of the Crimson Tide when Auburn beat them with the Kick Six in 2013.

"It's toe and toe," Smith said of that game compared with Saturday's loss, according to David Paschall Chattanooga Times Free Press. "It's right beside it."