nicksjuzunk
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After disposing of the Kentucky Wildcats like candy corn in your Halloween stash, the Vols are ready to roll down to Athens for the biggest game of the season. The enjoyed the previous game of the season, against Alabama so much, it just seemed logical to top it, so here we are, #1 Georgia vs. #2 Tennessee. It still doesn't sound right to say "#2 Tennessee"... but oh... it FEELS right.
Team Comparison:
Keys to Victory:
1. Brace for Bowers: Georgia tight end Brock Bowers is an absolute beast. I anticipate the Bulldogs will use his size and athleticism to put Tennessee in bad match-ups all game long. However, outside of the Florida game last week, he has been stupidly underutilized. He had just 44 yards per game in the previous 4 before Florida. It's malpractice for him to have less than 100 per game. In spite of this, he is Georgia's leading receiver. If Tennessee can keep him below 50 yards, that is a huge win.
2. Stifle Stetson: Stetson Bennett has thrown for nearly as many yards as Hendon Hooker this year, which sounds absurd. What's interesting, is 3 of Georgia's top 4 pass catchers are non-wide receivers. Bowers, Darnell "preschool care" Washington and their RB McIntosh. Ladd McConkey is their top WR. Ladd is ok, but he is no game breaker. Look for him to have about 50-75 yards receiving. Washington is a huge target and is going to be a problem, and we've discussed Bowers. So how is Stetson throwing for 293 per game? He spreads the ball around. Georgia has playmakers and one of the challenges is knowing where they are going to be going with the ball next. On top of this, Bennett is an annoying little troll when he gets out of the pocket. Tennessee will have to decide if they bring pressure but they absolutely MUST get home or Bennett is going to be dangerous as a runner. Georgia is giving up less than one sack a game so it is going to be interesting to see how we scheme up the defense.
3. Tempo: Tennessee uses tempo when it is beneficial. Against Kentucky, they had the game well in hand early and were content to run the clock down as they continued to assert their will. They will need to be lights out quick against the Bulldogs to keep the defense from substituting and wear them out. This is the type of game where you want to have an edge late in the game and our speed will help to do that.
4. Scheme them open: As Vol fans are well aware of by now, Heupel is a genius at disguising looks and getting a wide receiver ridiculously wide open 2-3 times a game. Tennessee will need to execute every one of those opportunities to perfection.
5. Turnovers: UGA is dead even in turnover margin this year. Tennessee will need to be in the plus column here.
6. Win 3rd and 4th Downs: Georgia is 6th and Tennessee is 12th in 3rd down conversion %. On 4th down, Georgia is 8/9 on the year. This is where it gets interesting... Tennessee is 14/19. That's an additional 6 attempts to keep driving to the endzone. Part of this is the fact the Georgia has rarely needed to convert 4th down this year. Tennessee, on the other hand is more aggressive. Expect Heupel to continue to be aggressive and go for it 3 or more times while Georgia will likely only attempt 1, unless they are losing and must have it.
7. Secondary Play: This is the one for me. Do we get the secondary play from Kentucky, or from the first half of the season?
Prediction: This is a game of multiple fallacies . First of all, this is #1 vs #2. How is ESPN going to disrespect Tennessee that way and only give a 25% chance of victory? Is Georgia so clearly dominant that they should beat Tennessee, and by logical reasoning, every other team in the country at least 3/4 times? No. This is not a perfect team and they have barely been tested... against Mizzou, of all teams, whom they were sleepwalking against. Georgia has 1 quality win... 2 if you count a 4-4 Florida team. On the other hand, it is a fallacy to say Georgia can't keep up with Tennessee. They can. They average 44 points per game. The don't have our tempo, but this is not Kentucky we are going up against. This is the undefeated, defending national champs and Tennessee does not get the element of surprise. They have heard the noise coming from up I-75 and we will get their best shot. Can we match Georgia blow for blow? Can we win the turnover battle? I will boil it down to my 7th point... secondary play. If we come in and can limit Bowers and Washington, keep the passing game in front of us and force enough field goals, I think Tennessee has the slightest of edges. We need a lot to go right, and it's no guarantee, but...
TN 41
UGA 40
Vols rule Athens!
