Georgia State Pulls Stunning 38-30 Upset over Tennessee in Week 1

The first year of the Jeremy Pruitt era in Knoxville resulted in a losing season for the Tennessee Volunteers (5-7), and the second year isn't off to a promising start, either.

On Saturday, the Vols were upset by the Georgia State Panthers 38-30 in the season opener at Neyland Stadium.

Georgia State entered the matchup on a seven-game losing streak, having won just once in their final 11 games last season en route to a 2-10 finish.

It was a troubling day for the Volunteers nearly from the start, as running back Ty Chandler fumbled on the second play from scrimmage. The Panthers quickly turned that great field position into points. Running back Seth Paige found the end zone from four yards out to help give his team a 7-0 lead just three minutes in.

Tennessee was able to put the turnover behind it, though. The Volunteers responded to the Panthers' touchdown with one of their own, going on a 16-play drive that a six-yard pass to Marquez Callaway capped off.

Chandler made up for his early fumble by putting his team in front with a 31-yard touchdown in the closing seconds of the opening quarter.

While Georgia State evened the score late in the second, Tennessee managed to take a 17-14 lead into the locker rooms thanks to a 19-yard field goal as time expired at the end of the first half.

The Panthers opened the second half with a 75-yard touchdown drive to move back out in front. The Volunteers used a pair of field goals to recapture the lead early in the fourth quarter—but they were unable to close out their opponent.

Georgia State scored 17 straight points over six-plus minutes late in the fourth. A 19-yard run by Tra Barnett with just less than nine minutes put the Panthers in front for good, and a 22-yard run by Dan Ellington made it a two-possession game with less than five minutes to play.

This upset was unlikely for a number of reasons. Not only was Georgia State coming off a two-win season, but the program had never beaten a team from the current Power Five conferences:

Per ESPN, Georgia State ranked 89th in the nation in total offense (378 yards per game) and tied for 104th in scoring (23.9 PPG) last season. That didn't stop the Panthers from going into Knoxville and piling 213 rushing yards and 38 points on Saturday, though.

Ellington led the way for Georgia State with 139 passing yards, 61 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. Barnett added 95 rushing yards, 12 receiving yards and one touchdown.

Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano threw for 311 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in the losing effort.