Big game tomorrow. What with me being an admitted UGA fan 364 days out of the year, I feel like I have a balanced look at this game. I watch UGA. I watch UT. I see what I see.
UGA, when they are dialed in (e.g.- Oregon) can beat any other team in the nation, anywhere, anytime. And when they are not dialed in (e.g.- Mizzou), they can still win an ugly game. UGA is a solid team, period.
UT has gotten better, IMO, as the season has progressed. This team has simply met every challenge they have faced along the way. They haven't always been dominant, but they have been the best team on the field for all 8 games, and that's what champions do. They just win. UT is one of the best teams in CFB, and they earned their ranking.
So now it's UT @ UGA. #1 -vs- #3, or #3 -vs #2, or whatever. Throw the rankings out. This is UT -vs- UGA, and for the first time in a long time, it's for all the marbles in the SEC East. Winner has the inside track to the CFP. Loser will need help from both inside and outside the SEC. There's a path for the winner to miss the CFP, and a path for the loser to get in, but it's always better if you control your own fate, so...Go Vols.
Bowers scares me. Bennett's escapability scares me. UGA's defense is legit. Their kicker is money. That's about it on that side.
On the UT side, I honestly don't know what "it" is...but Hendon Hooker and this offense just seem to have it. Game after game, Hooker and this offense just seems to always make the play when the play has to be made. Credit the OL, the backs, the receivers, the HC, the OC, or whatever...but Hendon Hooker is a generational talent, and Lord knows I'm glad and grateful that he landed at UT. He has been the difference maker this season. It all starts with the QB, and we've got a great one.
And now it would appear that we have a defense. The hints have been there all along. Rushing defense; TFL, QB pressure, etc. But over the last couple of games it has all come together, and this UT defense flat out chicken-choked a decent UK offense. No, they're not Bama, or UGA, but they are decent, and UT held them to one...count it, one...scoring drive.
I have no idea how this one plays out. I picked UT against the spread, and I took UT 37-31 in the pick 'em thread. I could be dead-on, or off by a mile. But there's just something about Coach Heupel, this staff, this QB, and this team that tells me I'm doing the right thing here.
What a great year it has been for UT Football, and a loss to UGA tomorrow will not derail it. We have yet to peak, and we have yet to see what this team can do. I am of the opinion that, come what may...both tomorrow and in the weeks to come...we will look back at the '22 Vols with the same pride that we do the '85 and '98 teams. That's rare air, and we're all breathing it right now. So take a deep breath of it, and enjoy the ride.
Go Vols. Sorry, UGA, it's day 365. I'm back with you next Saturday.