Tennessee and Georgia will play in primetime at Sanford Stadium in Athens next Saturday.

In what currently stands out as the most important game left on the regular season schedules for both teams, the No. 7 Vols and No. 2 Bulldogs will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, the SEC announced Monday.

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The game will mark Tennessee's third primetime road night game on ABC this season. The Vols previously played at Oklahoma and Arkansas on the network.

Depending on how this upcoming Saturday plays out for Tennessee (7-1, 4-1 SEC), which will host Mississippi State (2-7, 0-5) at Neyland Stadium (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Georgia in its top 20 road bout at No. 16 Ole Miss, the game between the Vols and Bulldogs could serve a virtual playoff elimination game.

Tennessee's lone hiccup was at Arkansas a month ago--a 19-14 loss after coming from behind to take the lead in the second half and then losing that lead in the final minutes. It has given the Vols a small margin for error on the rest of their schedule, but one they've been able to avoid.

Tennessee overcame a scoreless first half and deficits in each of its last three games against Florida, Alabama and Kentucky last week, winning two of those games by 7 or less points.

Georgia (7-1, 5-1) is in a similar spot. The Bulldogs' lone loss was at Alabama in late September and though they have an impressive road win over then-No. 1 Texas on their resume, they have struggled over the last few weeks, needing two late touchdowns to beat Florida in their most recent outing.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Tennessee opens more than three-touchdown favorite over Mississippi State

Tennessee has struggled against Georgia under Josh Heupel. The perennial power Bulldogs, who have won two of the last four national championships, have won seven-straight against the Vols, including the last three against Heupel teams.

Tennessee was ranked No. 1 in the playoff rankings the last time it played at Georgia in 2022. The Bulldogs won that game, 27-13 on their way to their second-straight national title.

A win for either team next week would place them firmly in the playoff picture and put them in the driver's seat for the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta in December.

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