Georgia running back Jasper Sanks celebrates his first quarter TD against Tennessee.(AP)

"We just reached down deep and pulled out some pride," said Jasper Sanks, who scored two touchdowns.

"It felt like we won the national championship tonight. Nine games of losing to UT and draw the line in 2000. It's an amazing feeling, an awesome feeling."

All three Georgia (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) touchdowns came on 1-yard runs, two by Sanks and one by Musa Smith.

Tim Wansley intercepted two Tennessee passes. After the second, with 1:13 remaining, enthusiastic fans rushed onto the field in an attempt to rip down one of the goal posts.

Officials cleared the field long enough to complete the game as Georgia ran out the clock, bringing fans to both end zones where both goal posts were torn down. They celebrated the end of Georgia's nine-game losing streak against the Vols dating to a 28-17 triumph in Athens in 1988.

It also was Georgia's first home victory over a ranked opponent since upsetting Clemson 27-12 in 1991. That streak included 10 losses to ranked foes.

"Our defense was awesome, our kicking game was good and our offense did what it needed to do," said coach Jim Donnan, who posted his 100th career victory in 11 seasons, including a 36-16 record at Georgia.

Tennessee (2-3) fell to 0-3 in the SEC for the first time since 1988.

"We had a lot of opportunities tonight, but we could not convert," Tennessee's A.J. Suggs said. "They dictated how we played in some ways tonight."

Tennessee recovered three Georgia fumbles in the first half, one on the Bulldogs' 8, where it settled for Alex Walls' 27-yard field goal that cut Georgia's lead to 7-3 late in the first quarter.

Another came on the Georgia 17 with only 31 seconds left in the half. After throwing two incompletions, Casey Clausen's pass was picked off by Wansley at the 13.

Georgia's defense also had a goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter, stopping Henry on a 4th-and-inches at the 4-yard line.

Tennessee opened the second half with a 78-yard scoring drive that featured a 58-yard run by Travis Henry to the Bulldogs' 19 with a half-the-distance added to that for a personal foul on Georgia.

Two plays later, Travis Stephens scored on a 2-yard run, giving the Vols their only lead of the night - 10-7.

"We are playing hard, but we have to make more things happen," said Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer.

The Bulldogs regained the lead on their next possession, beginning at its 44 after Smith's 35-yard kickoff return. The key play was a 33-yard pass from Quincy Carter to Terrence Edwards at the Tennessee 11. Four plays later, Sanks scored from the 1 for a 14-10 lead with 10:08 left in the third quarter.

Georgia then started a 99-yard scoring drive in the final two minutes of the third quarter, one that featured Carter's 47-yard pass to Edwards at the Tennessee 33, a 10-yarder from Carter to Edwards, and a 21-yard run by Smith on the play before his 1-yard scoring run.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2000, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved