Georgia held serve Saturday — and served notice that it could, indeed, handle prosperity.

The Bulldogs, who stormed into the Top 10 last week after dominating Mississippi State, were a bit more pedestrian than explosive Saturday, but still pounded Tennessee 41-0. Tennessee hadn’t been shut out at home since losing to Florida 31-0 in 1994.

The defensive numbers might have looked similar to last week, but these Vols lacked a threat beyond John Kelly.

Tennessee threw an interception on its first play. It was penalized a false start on its second. It never got much better. They committed a turnover on a “butt fumble.” Take away a late swing pass that resulted in a 2-yard loss and Vols quarterback Quinten Dormady would have closed the first half with as many completions (2) as interceptions.

Not surprisingly, that also matched Tennessee’s first down total until the Vols added two more in their final possession before intermission.

Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who has risen from reserve to freshman sensation, did more with his legs than arm to hurt the Vols. He threw three passes that could have been intercepted and one that was. He offset those mistakes by throwing a touchdown pass and running for two more as Georgia went to the break up 24-0.

The Vols left the field to boos.

There was no suspense in how the second half would be played, not after Georgia Tech ran for 535 yards against this Vols defense in Week 1.

Georgia leaned on its star-studded backfield.

Nick Chubb, who had 75 yards in the first half, finished with 109. In doing so, he moved into the top 10 on the SEC’s career rushing list. Chubb, Sony Michel, D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield each had a run of at least 21 yards, Michel’s coming on a third-quarter touchdown run that made it 31-0.

Even on the rare occasion that Tennessee did make a play, it didn’t end well. Kelly turned a short pass from Dormady into a 44-yard gain. He broke several tackles but eventually fumbled as multiple Dawgs started ripping at the football.

Georgia is 5-0 for the first time since 2012, the last time the Dawgs won the SEC East. Given the fact No. 5 Southern Cal lost Friday night, the No. 7 Bulldogs will move up at least one spot to No. 6 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 Poll. They could move up more if No. 2 Clemson or No. 6 Washington lose later tonight.

Vanderbilt and Missouri are next. Even as Kirby Smart spent the week trying to quell enthusiasm and point out flaws few others see, everything stayed on track for Georgia to be 7-0 for the first time since 2005 when it enters its annual showdown against Florida.

For Tennessee, almost everything remained in disarray. Dormady struggled mightily. Jarrett Guarantano didn’t even play until there was a minute left in the third quarter. He promptly went three-and-out with a wild misfire. That possession ended with a punt into a Georgia rusher’s facemask.

Butch Jones entered 6-16 against ranked opponents. He’s now 6-17. Saturday, he didn’t look any closer to solving that problem or Tennessee’s continuing offensive issues.

As the crowds empty and the storm clouds strengthen around Neyland Stadium, he might be running out of chances.