One of the biggest upsets of Week 1 in college football came from the Georgia State Panthers, who beat the Tennessee Volunteers 38-30 on the road Saturday. Tennessee was favored by 24.5 points (as per OddsShark) heading into this one, and the Vols led 14-7 after the first quarter, but the rest of the game was downhill for them. The Panthers cut that lead to 17-14 at the half, then took the lead in the third quarter, and while Tennessee briefly jumped back on top, Georgia State went ahead for good on a nine-play, 75-yard drive with just under nine minutes left:
The Vols then promptly fumbled the ball away on the next possession:
IT'S BEAUTIFUL pic.twitter.com/rA6ekzrOdo
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) August 31, 2019
And Georgia State then recorded another touchdown to make things worse:
A Tennessee interception then led to another Georgia State field goal, giving the Panthers a 15-point lead. While Tennessee managed a touchdown with two seconds left to make things look a little closer, they weren’t particularly close to winning it. The boat that caught on fire and sunk at the Vol Navy docks Saturday morning may have been a metaphor…
Boaters coming to the UT game should be aware that docking is reduced by half due to recovery efforts of a 42' cabin cruiser that sank after burning at the Vol Navy docks at 7am. All 4 occupants escaped without injury. Knox Fire Dept. put the fire out and Sea Tow is recovering. pic.twitter.com/nCpySmvM7Z
— TWRA (@tnwildlife) August 31, 2019
Meanwhile, this is a huge win for Georgia State, a school that only played their first football game in 2010 and has only been competing at the FBS level since 2013. And this is only their 20th FBS win ever, and it came after a 2-10 season last year. It’s a massive victory for them, and one that’s going to raise a lot of concerns for Tennessee fans.
[Kevin McGuire on Clippit]

About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.
Recent Posts
Nick Saban claims ‘some losses are better than some wins’
“We need a better metric to actually evaluate quality wins and quality losses.”
‘Three good teams at the top, then nothing’: Nick Saban criticizes Big Ten
“It’s not like the Big Ten where there’s three good teams at the top and then nothing.”
Giants star plans to ‘exploit’ Cowboys ‘struggles’
“So we can definitely see that as an opportunity to exploit.”
Articles
Ranking the NFL divisions entering the 2026 season
‘All these news outlets are just fake’: Sophie Cunningham does not hold back on ‘fraud’ media
"All these news outlets are just fake. They're all fraud."
NFL confirms plans for Jed York after arrest on prostitution charges
Roger Goodell has a plan.