Tennessee picked up its best win of the season Saturday, going on the road to defeat previously-ranked Kentucky in what turned out to be an offensive slugfest.
The reward? The Vols return home to welcome the undisputed top-team in the land, the Georgia Bulldogs.
“It’s a huge week with a great opponent in Georgia,” Josh Heupel said at his Monday press conference. “Defensively, Georgia is playing as well as anyone in the country. The personnel is really strong at all three levels of the defense. Offensively, they are playing really efficient football.
“It’s a huge test for us and one that we are really excited about.”
Georgia is a perfect 9-0 with seven wins in conference. Its scored at least 30 points in all but one game this season and has yet to allow an opponent to score 14 points. And with the game of football shifting to an offensive-minded focus of late, it’s the defense in Athens that’s nothing short of elite.
“It starts with the personnel. They are big, long and athletic,” Heupel said of the Bulldog front-seven. “They play with speed and do a great job of retracing on perimeter screens. When you think you have space, it closes down pretty quick.
“They are able to rotate a lot of guys, too. The depth of their football team is a big part of their success. For us, we’ve got to do a great job of getting a hat on a hat and play physical. We’ve got to do a great job of communication, too, in the third down package.”
Georgia doesn’t give teams anything. It’s a unit surrendering just six points a game – which easily tops the country. The squad is second in the nation in total defense (232 yards), passing defense (151 yards), rushing defense (81 yards) and first downs given up (13), per outing.
The Bulldogs are holding teams to a 31 percent clip on third downs and has sacked opposing quarterbacks 28 times while registering 13 takeaways – 10 of which through the air.
“It’s exciting but it’s just another week. It’s football at the end of the day,” cornerback Alontae Taylor said Monday. “It doesn’t matter what number is beside their name, it’s about who can go out there and play 60 minutes the hardest and execute at the highest level.”
Like most in today’s game, Georgia is multiple up front – but the line is without a doubt the strength of the defense.
Led by senior Jordan Davis in the interior, Georgia has suffocated the run game from inside-out. Tennessee’s guard-center-guard combo will need to work together to alleviate the presence of the big man in the middle.
It’s not just Davis, though. Jalen Carter is a force upfront with 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Devante Wyatt has been a frequent visitor to opponent’s backfield with four TFLs thus far. Trevon Walker has notched 3.5 sacks with five TFLs in nine games.
The outside linebackers really feed off the interior dominance as Nolan Smith and Quay Walker run free into the backfield – forcing bad decisions from quarterbacks. Adam Anderson was Georgia’s best pass-rusher with five sacks on the year, but is suspended indefinitely due to an on-going investigation into alleged sexual assault allegations.
In the middle, the Bulldogs sport the team’s leading-tackler in Channing Tindall with 45 stops. Nakobe Dean has also stuffed the stat sheet this season with 38 tackles, five TFLs, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and 13 quarterback hurries.
At safety, Lewis Cine is second on the team with 40 stops while Christopher Smith has two picks. Clemson transfer Derion Kendrick has an interception at cornerback opposite of Kelce Ringo. Latavious Brini has tallied 29 tackles from the STAR position.
“Coach Heupel preaches that whatever game is coming up next is the most important game,” wideout JaVonta Payton said Monday. “Going into this game with them being ranked No. 1, it’s a great opportunity for everyone on this roster to go out there and show what they can do. We are all extremely excited to go out here and get the job done.”
Offensively, Georgia is no slouch.
The unit is averaging 38 points a game with 430 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs are fairly balanced with 240 yards coming through the air, coupled with 190 on the ground an outing. It’s a unit that averages 22 first downs on 62 offensive plays a game.
Georgia has turned the ball over 11 times combined in nine games but has given up just five sacks on the season. The Bulldogs are converting third downs at 46 percent on the year and possess the football at just over 30 minutes.
Can Kirby Smart win a national championship with Stetson Bennett under center? It looks good so far as the two-year ‘mailman’ experiment continues. The senior is completing 66 percent of his passes for 1,412 yards – 14 touchdowns to four interceptions.
USC transfer JT Daniels, who has battled injuries for the second-straight season, has thrown for six touchdowns in four games played. But it appears the Bulldogs are fine with Bennett, for the most part, and that’s who Tennessee fans should expect for the bulk of Saturday’s contest.
Luckily, the game manager at quarterback plays behind an offensive line that returned four starters and a backfield that welcomes five players in the rotation. It’s a true embarrassment of riches for Georgia offensively inside.
Junior Zamir White is the key cog in the run-game, totaling nine touchdowns and 519 yards in nine games. Senior James Cook has found the end zone four times on the ground while averaging nearly six yards a carry. Sophomore Kendall Milton has racked up over 200 yards this season as well, but has missed time with a knee injury.
Kenny McIntosh and Daijun Edwards also see action in the Bulldog backfield.
‘For them up front – physical tight ends and physical offensive line,” Heupel said. “They have really good depth, physicality and athleticism from the running back position. Their tight ends are a big part of the passing game and play-action pass. They are good perimeter players and the quarterback is super efficient.
“You’ve got to defend it all.”
Speaking of efficient quarterback play, Bennett is third in the nation with a 197.3 quarterback rating. Hendon Hooker comes in right behind at fourth with a rating of 190.0 on the season.
Freshman tight end Brock Bowers leads UGA in receiving with 28 catches for 493 yards and six touchdowns. Sophomore Darnell Washington – a former Tennessee priority target at tight end – has totaled six receptions for 114 yards in five games. Former LSU tight end and highly-routed 2020 prospect, Arik Gilbert, is listed on the roster but is currently away from the team.
Wideouts Ladd McConkey and Jermaine Burton each have three touchdowns on the season while Kearis Jackson, Arian Smith and Justin Robinson have all scored once. Standout George Pickens is recovering from a torn ACL and has not played in 2021 thus far.
It’ll be the 51st all-time meeting between the two schools with Georgia holding the slight edge at 25-23-2. The two teams are at an even stalemate 12-12 in Knoxville, however. Tennessee’s last win in the series came between the hedges in 2016 in a game better known as ‘The Dobbsnail Boot.’
Saturday’s contest will also serve as Homecoming on The Hill. It will be the first time Tennessee has squared off against an SEC opponent for Homecoming since Auburn in 2013.
“This is a big ballgame, but you’ve got to treat it like any Saturday,” offensive lineman Jerome Carvin said. “You’ve got to be locked in. You’ve got to be focused. We’ve got to play our plays and can’t be overzealous on what you want to do. We’ve just got to make out plays and do out job.”
