Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Arian Foster rushed 17 times for 98 yards with three touchdowns and the Tennessee Volunteers used a four-touchdown explosion in the first half to crush the 12th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs, 35-14, in an SEC clash at Neyland Stadium.

Erik Ainge completed 17-of-22 passes for 165 yards for Tennessee (3-2, 1-1 SEC), which was destroyed by Florida in its conference opener three weeks ago but bounced back for a big win against an Eastern Division rival. LaMarcus Coker caught a touchdown pass on a trick play in the victory.

"This win is huge for our confidence," Foster said. "The SEC East is wide open now."

Matt Stafford finished 16-of-33 for 174 yards and two touchdowns for Georgia (4-2, 2-2), which had won three straight games but was blown out in this one. This marked the first of three straight games away from home for the Bulldogs, who will play at Vanderbilt next weekend, then enjoy a bye before the annual late October showdown versus Florida.

Knowshon Moreno was the leading rusher (30 yards on 13 attempts) for a Georgia ground attack that finished with just 69 yards.

"There's not much to say other than they beat us soundly today," said Georgia head coach Mark Richt. "They were a better team than we were. We're a better football team than what showed up today, but we have to give Tennessee credit -- they were ready to go, they had a great plan and they executed well."

The Vols were in complete control from the start and opened the scoring midway through the first quarter with a 12-play, 81-yard drive that took 5:09. The march culminated in a nine-yard touchdown run by Foster over the right side with 8:44 to play.

A trick play opened the second stanza and pushed the lead to two scores.

Ainge faked a handoff to Coker, who was running from right to left behind the line of scrimmage, but did give the ball to Lucas Taylor on a reverse. Taylor stopped in the backfield and launched a pass to a wide open Coker, who streaked down the left sideline unchecked after the original fake. Without a defender within 20 yards of him, Coker hauled in the pass and raced into the end zone for the 56-yard touchdown just 10 seconds into the second quarter.

"We knew it would be open, it was just a matter of having enough time to throw it," said Ainge.

Stafford and the Georgia offense continued to struggle and suffered another 3- and-out on the next possession following the Coker TD, allowing the ball back into Ainge's hands and he guided the Vols to another score.

The ensuing 48-yard, seven play drive included a nice mix of runs and short pass completions before a fade pattern fell incomplete from just outside the 20-yard line. However, on the play, an offsides penalty was called on the Bulldogs and gave the Vols a first down. Shortly after, a 10-yard TD run around the right side by Montario Hardesty made it 21-0 with 9:24 remaining in the half.

Stafford went back at it but another three plays yielded yet another Georgia punt -- its sixth in six possessions to that point -- and Tennessee took the ball 65 yards in four plays for the fourth TD of the half. From the UGA 22- yard line, Foster took a handoff and scampered nearly untouched across the goal line as the home faithful erupted in celebration.

"The line was getting a good push -- I was just doing my job," Foster said. "We ran the ball and that was our (plan) going into the game. The same intensity that we had on the practice field, we brought it out here today. The crowd was great and the atmosphere was fun."

In one full quarter plus 8:19, the Volunteers scored 28 points with relative ease and the visitors were completely deflated.

Stafford, though, picked things up a bit after halftime. Georgia scored its first touchdown on its first drive of the third quarter courtesy of a seven- play, 74-yard march that included a nice 24-yard completion to Kris Durham over the middle. Several plays later, a 26-yard fade pass down the ride sideline was held onto by Demiko Goodman, who wrestled the ball away from cornerback Brent Vinson and fell into the end zone 5:21 into the period.

"It was a great catch -- I had to throw it up and give him a chance and he made the play," Stafford said of Goodman's grab.

The Tennessee offense was simply too much, though, and answered with a time- consuming 13-play, 65-yard drive that ate 7:10 off the clock and culminated in a four-yard TD run by Foster, his third of the game, for a 35-7 advantage.

"The touchdown gave us some momentum, but they came back and (scored) again," said Stafford. "We have to get ready to play next week. Tennessee did a great job all day."

A short two-yard pass from Stafford to Tripp Chandler with 6:05 remaining in regulation capped the scoring.