History is about to take place in Athens. 

For the first time in history the Associated Press Poll No. 1 team and the College Football Playoff No. 1 team are going to face off in the regular season, and boy is this matchup looking crazier by the minute.

Everybody’s talking about the tempo and volatility of this Tennessee Volunteer offense and the consistency (and sometimes lack thereof) that the Georgia Bulldog defense plays with as a counter. It’ll be a duel to remember, and it may just be determined by the third and sometimes forgotten dimension of football: special teams. 

In what has probably been the game of the season so far, the Volunteers surpassed the Alabama Crimson Tide with a field goal to win in regulation at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. So, who’s to say that a similar ending won’t happen in Athens this weekend?

Albeit no Georgia fan wants it to come down to that, you’ll still have to prepare for all possible outcomes, and if you’re looking purely at statistics, Georgia is favored in the special teams category. 

The starting kicker for the Bulldogs, Jack Podlesny, is on pace to have the highest field goal percentage in program history by the time he hangs up the red and black. And yes that means he’ll beat DGD Rodrigo Blankenship’s record.

Podlesny dumbed it down in an interview yesterday saying:

“You know, I think it’s just going to come down to who performs the best on Saturday.”

The fifth-year kicker from St. Simons Island, Georgia still believes he’s improving, but he can’t place a 100% of his confidence into any given game saying that his kicking “depends on the day.” Wind, rain, and field surface (turf or grass) are all factors to Podlesny’s self reported 65-yard range.

Just know if the game cuts close and Georgia has an opportunity to take it home with a field goal, they’re holstering one of the best weapons in the SEC and he goes by the name of Jack “Hot Pod” Podlesny.