Tennessee football: Remembering Jim Chaney’s 5 games vs. Vols, Jeremy Pruitt

4. 2016: No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers at No. 25 Georgia Bulldogs

Yes, the memorable Dobbs-nail boot game involved Jim Chaney. It was his first game against Tennessee football since leaving Rocky Top four years prior. And this also marked the highest point for the Vols under Butch Jones before everything began to unravel, which is why Jeremy Pruitt and Chaney are in Knoxville now.

The Vols entered this game 4-0 with a huge win over the Florida Gators the week before. Beating the Georgia Bulldogs would get them to 5-0, in the Top 10 and in the College Football Playoff talk. But as they had done all year, they had a horrendous first half and fell behind 17-0.

A late first-half touchdown made it 17-7, and they fought back in the second half to finally take a 28-24 lead in the fourth quarter. That’s when the fireworks began. Georgia scored on a Hail Mary touchdown from Jacob Eason to Riley Ridley with seconds left.

But the Vols finished with their game-ending Hail Mary from Joshua Dobbs to Jauan Jennings to win 34-31. Chaney is now the guy who gets to work with Jennings three years later, so he already knows how dangerous the guy is.

Grading Jim Chaney’s performance: C+

Again, this is a game where he could have done more. The Dawgs may have scored 31 points, and their deep touchdown pass to seemingly win the game all earn Chaney respect. But it’s worth noting that he also spotted the Vols a touchdown. Backed up in the red-zone, Eason was strip-sacked by Derek Barnett, and Corey Vereen recovered the fumble for a touchdown to give the Vols the original lead. Combine that with the fact that they couldn’t break 400 yards despite that Hail Mary, which was more luck than anything, and Chaney’s play-calling was simply average here.