Looking back at Tennessee's most dramatic games against Georgia in recent years

Before Arkansas and South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992, sending the conference into divisions, Tennessee didn’t see Georgia on the schedule all too often. It was nothing more than a home-and-home once a decade between 1968 and 1988.

In fact, the 17-17 tie between the two teams in 1968 was their first meeting on the football field in 31 years, going all the way back to a 32-0 Tennessee win in 1937. But it’s been an SEC East staple the last 30 years, with its share of dramatics more often than not.

Before Tennessee (8-0, 4-0 SEC), the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff’s first ranking this season, kicks off at No. 3 Georgia (8-0, 5-0) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time; TV: CBS), here’s a look back at some of the wildest Tennessee-Georgia games in recent years:

2016

TENNESSEE 34, GEORGIA 31

The ending will always be considered one of the best of all time for the Tennessee football program. So many times it looked like the game was over. But it wasn’t over until there were zeroes on the clock. The Vols trailed by 10 at the end of the third quarter, but a 16-yard touchdown pass from Joshua Dobbs to Alvin Kamara got it back to a one-possession game early in the fourth. Corey Vereen recovered a fumble in the end zone with 2:56 left in regulation, giving Tennessee a 28-24 lead late in a stunning sequence. But the fireworks were only getting started. Georgia answered with 10 seconds left, when Jacob Eason found a wide open Riley Ridley streaking toward the pylon. Sanford Stadium erupted. Georgia led 31-28. But an unsportsmanlike penalty and a long kickoff return gave Tennessee a shot. And the Vols took advantage. Dobbs connected with Jauan Jennings on a 43-yard Hail Mary as time expired. The epic ending gave Tennessee a 34-31 win and propelled the Vols to 5-0 on the season.

2015

TENNESSEE 38, GEORGIA 31

Tennessee found itself down 24-3 late in the first half. But a sequence in the final 64 seconds of the second quarter changed the game. Josh Smith caught a 39-yard touchdown pass from Joshua Dobbs on fourth-and-8, then Georgia fumbled the ensuing kickoff. John Kelly recovered and five plays later Alvin Kamara was in the end zone on a 2-yard pass from Dobbs. Just like that, Tennessee was back within a touchdown. The Vols had no problem erasing the suddenly small gap. Dobbs scored midway through the third quarter to tie the game. Kamara and Dobbs hooked up for another touchdown pass with 1:26 left in the third to give Tennessee its first lead. Reggie Davis tied the game early in the fourth on a 48-yard touchdown catch, but the Vols had the final answer with 5:48 to go, when Dobbs ran in for a 5-yard touchdown. The game broke Georgia’s five-game winning streak in the series.

2014

GEORGIA 35, TENNESSEE 32

Tennessee jumped out to a 10-0 lead early, thank to a 46-yard field goal from Aaron Medley and a 1-yard Jalen Hurd touchdown run, but the advantage didn’t last long. Georgia countered with three straight touchdowns, taking a 21-10 lead late in the second quarter after a 20-yard Nick Chubb touchdown catch. Jason Croom scored with 18 seconds left in the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 21-17 at the break. The Bulldgos opened the second with a 51-yard Gurley touchdown run, to go up 28-17, then Pig Howard got the Vols back in the end zone with a 31-yard touchdown catch. Tennessee was pinned at its own 1-yard line with 4:27 left, trailing 28-25, but a Jalen Hurd fumble was recovered in the end zone by Georgia, building the lead back to 10. Marquez North caught a touchdown pass with 2:14 to go, but it was as close as the Vols would get. 

2013

GEORGIA 34, TENNESSEE 31

Pig Howard ran right in overtime, bouncing the play outside in search of the pylon in the corner of the end zone. He got to the 3-yard line, dove with both arms extended … but lost the ball in the process. The fumble bounced out of the back of the end zone and possession went to Georgia. The play was initially ruled a touchdown but then was overturned after replay review. Four plays later the Bulldogs kicked the game-winning field goal from 42 yards out. Georgia led 10-0 early in the game, but Tennessee had it tied at 17-all at the end of the third quarter, before the two teams traded touchdowns in the fourth. The fumble derailed Butch Jones, who was looking for a signature win in his sixth career game at Tennessee.

2012

GEORGIA 51, TENNESSEE 44

Tennessee trailed 27-10 five minutes into the second quarter, after Todd Gurley ran for a 51-yard touchdown, but the Vols had their own run they were about to go on. Tennessee scored 20 straight points — an AJ Johnson 1-yard run, a Zach Rogers touchdown pass from Tyler Bray and a Bray-to-Rajion Neal touchdown — to take a 30-27 lead in the final minute of the first half. Georgia tied the game on the final play of the first half, on a 50-yard field goal, then scored the first two touchdowns of the second half. Cordarrelle Patterson’s 46-yard touchdown run got the Vols back within a touchdown, but Georgia answered with a Keith Marshall 72-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs had touchdowns of 75, 72 and 51 on the night, as Gurley and Marshall powered a run game that finished with 274 yards and five touchdowns. Tennessee trailed 51-44 with 1:22 left, with the ball at the Georgia 32, but Tyler Bray fumbled to end any late momentum the Vols had.

2009

TENNESSEE 45, GEORGIA 19

Lane Kiffin didn’t have any trouble with Georgia during his one-and-done career at Tennessee. The Vols jumped out to a 21-10 lead late in the second quarter, then blew the game open in the third. Montario Hardesty ran for a 39-yard touchdown and Jonathan Crompton threw a 51-yard touchdown to Gerald Jones, building Tennessee’s lead to 38-19 late in the third. Bryce Brown ran in from a yard out to make it 45-19 midway through the fourth. Crompton threw for a career high 310 yards and four touchdowns, completing 20 of 27 passes during his breakout year under Kiffin. The Vols ran for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 37 attempts as a team, led by a combined 118 yards and two touchdowns from Montario Hardesty and Bryce Brown.

2006

TENNESSEE 51, GEORGIA 33

Tennessee trailed 24-3 with 4:50 left in the first half at Sanford Stadium. Georgia had returned a punt for touchdown, throw a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown during a dominant opening 25 minutes. That’s when the Vols took over, though. Arian Foster had a 1-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds left until halftime, then Erik Ainge scored to start the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 24-21. The two teams traded field goals before Tennessee erupted with a 27-point fourth quarter. Ainge to Robert Meachem for a 15-yard touchdown. Antonio Wardlow recovering a blocked punt in the end zone, giving the Vols a 38-27 lead and putting himself on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Foster added two more 1-yard touchdown runs, with 8:15 and 2:55 on the clock, as Tennessee hung 51 on the scoreboard in what was a second straight win in Athens.

2004

TENNESSEE 19, GEORGIA 14

A week earlier, Auburn jumped out to a 30-3 lead in the first half at Neyland Stadium, quickly running away from Tennessee in a 34-10 win. A week later, the Vols looked like a different team. Erik Ainge threw a touchdown pass to Bret Smith and James Wilhoit kicked a 35-yard field goal to give Tennessee a 10-0 lead after the first quarter. It was 19-7 to start the fourth quarter, after Ainge hit Chris Hannon for a 4-yard touchdown. Georgia scored with 5:15 left, getting back within five, but Georgia’s 19-play, 68-yard drive over the final 2:21 of the game ended with an incompletion at the Tennessee 19-yard line as time expired.

2001

GEORGIA 26, TENNESSEE 24

Tennessee led 14-3 after the first quarter, but Georgia wasn’t going away, rallying to tie the game 17-17 at halftime. The Bulldogs didn’t go away after it looked like the Vols delivered the dagger late in the game, either. Casey Clausen hit Travis Stephens on a screen pass that turned into a 62-yard touchdown up the sideline with 57 seconds left, putting Tennessee ahead 24-20. Georgia punched back with a five-play, 59-yard touchdown drive, needing only 28 seconds off the clock, to leave Knoxville with a 26-24 upset. David Greene hit Vernon Haynes on a 6-yard touchdown pass with 10 seconds left to stun the Neyland Stadium crowd.

1995

TENNESSEE 30, GEORGIA 27

Peyton Manning completed 26 of 38 passes for 349 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once, by a Georgia safety named Kirby Smart. Jay Graham ran 28 times for 140 yards while Joey Kent and Marcus Nash totaled 276 yards and a touchdown. Georgia quarterback Mike Bobo completed 19 of 32 passes for 276 yards and a touchdown and Robert Edwards ran 15 times for 163 yards and two touchdowns. Before the game, ESPN’s College Gameday originated live from Knoxville for the first time, as college football’s most popular pregame show was in its third season on the road.