Two of the elite programs in college football history square off Saturday night on Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium as the Tennessee Volunteers tangle with the Georgia bulldogs.
Tennessee comes in at 8-1 on the season, sporting a 5-1 mark in Southeastern Conference play. The Volunteers have beaten Florida, Alabama Kentucky and Mississippi State since losing for the only time this season, at Arkansas on October 5. This past Saturday, Tennessee beat MSU in Knoxville 33-14. Running back Dylan Sampson rushed for 149 yards, going over 1,000 for the season, and posted his 20th touchdown.
Georgia is 7-2 and 5-2 in the league. The Bulldogs went down to Ole Miss in Oxford 28-10. It was just Georgia’s fourth loss in the program’s last 57 games. The Bulldogs offense is dealing with a multitude of issues: turnovers, dropped passes and a running game that statistically ranks near the bottom of the SEC. Georgia has turned the ball over multiple times in five of the last six games.
Josh Heupel has an outstanding team in Knoxville. This is his fourth season at the helm on Rocky Top, and he has restored Tennessee as a college football power. Heupel has done a very impressive job in Knoxville and looks like his most complete team yet. In 2022, the Vols were led by a high octane offense and went 11-2, winning the Orange Bowl and finishing ranked as high as No. 6 nationally. Georgia beat the Vols Between the Hedges 27-13 in a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 1 —the Bulldogs sat atop the polls, while the Volunteers were the top ranked team in the playoff rankings.
This is a more complete Tennessee team, highlighted by a tremendous defensive line, the SEC’s best ground game and dynamic quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
Under Kirby Smart’s watch, Georgia is riding a seven game winning streak in the series. All of the wins have come by double digit points. Smart has turned Georgia into a powerhouse, highlighted by back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. This season will be just the second since 2017, Smart’s second at the helm of his alma mater, that the Bulldogs won’t go 11-1 or 12-0 in the regular season. Georgia, playing the nation’s toughest schedule, is still alive in the race for a CFP berth, but the Bulldogs would likely need to win their final three games to make it in.
Tennessee has some margin for error, but the Volunteers can come close to cementing a spot in that elite group of 12 with a win in Athens. UTEP heads to Knoxville next week, and then it’s off to Vandy to close out the regular season.
The Volunteers have beaten both Florida and Alabama, gaining traction in those once one-sided series. Georgia has won seven straight against Tennessee, going back to the Bulldogs playoff season of 2017.