(Photo: Clutchpoints)
Saturday Spotlight
(7) Tennessee Volunteers at (12) Georgia Bulldogs
Tennessee: Josh Heupel has a good thing brewing up in Knoxville. In a conference this year with the Alabama Crimson Tide, a much improved Ole Miss Rebels group, Georgia of course, Texas A&M, and the Texas Longhorns, this football team under Josh has managed to stay afloat and keep their names in the competition and I’ve been impressed. Earlier in the year, I was able to cover and break down a few of their games and I remember saying this offense could be a special unit in all of college football. With a young Quarterback in Nico Iamaleava, they were scoring early on and putting opponents away by the third quarter and the starters would be out by the fourth because they’d have such a big lead. When SEC play started, I noticed a difference in their offense, and defenses were playing them extremely tight. In their six conference games, the Tennessee Volunteers have been held under 30 points in five of those contests with one of those games being a win against Alabama. Nico may be the biggest name on this offense and rightfully so as he’s a raw talent with so much to build on moving forward, but this offense is at its best when Dylan Sampson is getting his touches and running the football effectively. The offense goes as he goes if you ask me. Defensively, they have been no slouch either as they are ranked 2nd nationally on third down stops and allow 13 points a game. This is by far their biggest game of the year and tonight, they make their way to Athens.
Georgia: As good as they’ve been these last few years, this is by far the worst I’ve seen them look. From 2021 to 2023, they were perfect in the regular season and since their dominant run, they’ve only lost a total of three games which all came to the Alabama Crimson Tide. I have zero issues with their defense at all. Yes, they’ve been prone to give up a big play or two here and there, but overall, this is still a strong unit, and nine times out of ten, I’m picking them. What’s hurting them has been their inconsistent offense, mainly Carson Beck’s struggle to take care of the ball. He’s thrown two or more interceptions in four of the last six games, but the one thing I will say is in two of those contests, he was bailed out which brings me to my next point. Playing sloppy football doesn’t always mean you will prevail and always come back to win the game. That can work for you in some cases, but there will always be that team that stops that from happening. Last Saturday, Georgia struggled to do much of anything against Ole Miss as they were punched in the mouth and once the Rebels took the lead, they never let up. I saw them throw continuous amounts of pressure at the Quarterback and he could never adjust. For the first time since 2020, Kirby Smart’s team has lost more than one game. Their backs are against the wall and tonight, they welcome a hungry Tennessee team to Athens.
Tennessee X-Factor: Boo Carter– He’s made his presence known this year on a young Vols secondary. Boo plays hard every week and gets better game by game. This is a Defensive Back that can play back in coverage, pick up a receiver, force the interception, and deflect the ball, Boo is a tackling machine and has recorded 25 tackles on the season. This young man is only a freshman and will continue to improve for as long as he stays in Knoxville.
Georgia X-Factor: Jalon Walker– I remember his Freshman year with the Dawgs. Now, he’s a Junior and one of the veterans on this defense. Jason is the most versatile Linebacker in College Football. At 6’2, he has a strong pursuit of the passer and the speed to win many battles up front. Jalon can apply the pressure and even when he does that, someone else can complete the sack. On the year, he has 22 solo tackles and 4.5 sacks. Jalon and Mykel Williams are one of the best defensive tandems in the country.
Final Thoughts: I remember these two met up in Athens two years ago in 2022 and the Tennessee Volunteers were ranked number one on the College Football Playoff bracket and Georgia was number three. At that time, the Dawgs were carving through everybody and they showed the Vols who were truly number one. Fast forward to two years later and tonight, we have a huge game in the SEC. For the first time in a while, Georgia is playing with their backs against the wall and Tennessee is looking for that statement win. A huge key for Georgia tonight is to take much better care of the football as this Bulldogs offense has been sloppy with the ball as of late and the one thing you never want to do is face a defense when things aren’t going right you and that’s exactly what Tennessee has. The Vols have taken the ball away nine times in their last four games. I also expect Georgia to muck it up and grind this game out, making it as ugly as possible. Run the football and take pressure off Carson Beck. I want to explain something about this Tennessee offense. Are they good? Yes, they are, but they thrive on chunk plays. This offense comes up with yards, not points. Going into this hostile environment, starting quickly, and silencing the crowd is a key to the recipe for a win tonight. This will be the toughest defense that Tennessee will have seen all year long. Which version of Georgia’s defense will show up tonight? Will it be the one that shut down Alabama in the second half of their game in September, or will it be the unit that got smacked around in Oxford last weekend? I can see a little bit of both and I’m picking Georgia to survive as I don’t see them losing consecutive game
Prediction: Georgia 24, Tennessee 21
