KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Thomas Settles, Georgia team chaplain, put his arm around receiver Michael Moore as they walked off the field in Neyland Stadium after the 45-19 loss to Tennessee.

The senior walked slowly, his eyes studying the ground below, as if searching for direction following a misguided offensive effort.

The Bulldogs’ scoring unit wandered aimlessly against the Volunteers, posting 241 yards and three points. The offense was outscored by Georgia’s special teams and defense, which combined to score 16.

The offensive futility led a reporter after the game to question playcalling, and coach Mark Richt was quick to back his offensive coordinator, Mike Bobo, following the game.

“I like Mike Bobo’s play calling,” he said. “That’s why he’s my coordinator and calling plays. I guess you don’t.”But the disheartening offensive statistics against Tennessee are just the last in a descending trend.

The Bulldogs had 12 drives Saturday, six ending in a 3-and-out. The offense made it past the 50 just four times, and never threatened to enter the red zone. The 34-yard-line was the deepest Georgia invaded into Tennessee territory, averaging only 20 yards a drive.

“We just couldn’t get a spark going, or get the ball moving,” Moore said. “I don’t think we got into the red zone, not one time the whole game. That’s pretty pathetic, I feel. That’s terrible on our part.”

Georgia hasn’t scored a touchdown in 10 of its last 11 quarters, scoring 36 points the last three games. Another telling stat: Georgia is 38 percent on third down (3-13 Saturday). In comparison, Florida is 56 percent on the crucial conversion.

“I don’t think it’s been something creeping in,” Georgia quarterback Joe Cox said. “It’s not like there’s an attitude that’s getting worse and worse. It’s not that type of problem. It’s just something that we can’t shake off. I don’t know what we’re going to have to do, but we better find out quick.”

Georgia’s 16 turnovers this season, three on Saturday, have turned into 71 points for opponents.

“We can’t focus on it any more than we have,” Richt said of the turnovers. “We just have to hang on to the ball.”

So how is an offense with a star like A.J. Green, and a cast of talented athletes surrounding him, so thoroughly subjugated? Players, coaches and stats point to balance and a lackluster running game.

“It’s difficult to mount any kind of sustainable drive if you can’t run the ball,” Richt said. “For our offensive system to be successful, we have to have good balance, we have to be able to run the ball well, and it’s just not there right now.”

Georgia rushed for 96 yards Saturday, the third straight game the Bulldogs failed to crack the 100-yard benchmark. Georgia tailbacks are averaging 3.4 yards a carry this season, last in the SEC. And the 97 yards a game the Bulldogs are averaging, also last in the conference, is an astounding 26 yards less than the next closest SEC team.

“It starts from the running game, and that’s really hurting us right now,” Georgia receiver A.J. Green said. “If you can’t run the ball, nobody’s going to respect you.”

With the run game inoperative (no Georgia back ran for more than 30 yards), the pressure was on Cox to find receivers. Tennessee allowed nothing deep, conceding short passes and using sound tackling to minimize damage. The longest pass Cox completed went for 21 yards.

“Short passes obviously helps out, gets the ball moving, gets the chains moving, gets first downs, but we still need to have those big plays where we can stretch the defense,” Moore said.

Most offensive frustration, and glory when applicable, is pinned on the quarterback. Cox threw two interceptions, including one where he fumbled the snap and haphazardly attempted a pass out of bounds. Instead, the ball went into the hands of Volunteer Dennis Rogan, turning a bad play into catastrophe.

Fans got to see Logan Gray take over in the fourth quarter Saturday, and freshman Aaron Murray has recovered from elbow tendonitis.

But at the moment, there is no controversy. Cox is the starter.

“I wouldn’t have anybody in the huddle with me except Joe,” Green said.

“I talked to Joe [after the game] and told him to keep his head up and we’re still behind him,” Moore said. “We know Joe is going to make plays and Joe can take over games.”

Running back Caleb King and receiver Tavarres King, who didn’t make the trip to Knoxville because of injury, will return to practice this week. Those two, Moore says, along with the rest of the Georgia offense will audition in an open competition to identify who can make plays, and those players will see the field against Vanderbilt.

“We’ll see what kind of fight we’ve got,” said Bobo. “We’ve got to figure out something to do offensively because [Saturday] was obviously not any good. Tennessee got the better of us.”