After a challenging road stretch, the 12th-ranked Georgia Bulldogs will return to Sanford Stadium tomorrow to take on the seventh-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Georgia is coming off its worst performance of the season, a 28-10 beatdown from the Ole Miss Rebels, in which both sides of the ball struggled. The Vols head into this one riding a four-game winning streak as they knocked off Mississippi State by a score of 33-14 last week.
Saturday is the Dawgs’ most crucial game of the season. With a loss, Georgia is more than likely out of the playoff picture, meanwhile, the Vols could still get in with just one more loss.
Saturday’s game has a scheduled start time of 7:30 p.m. ET and can be viewed on ABC and ESPN+.
Sampson vs. Georgia front seven
Last week, Georgia’s front seven struggled against the Rebels’ rushing attack. The Dawgs allowed 134 yards on the ground, 50 of those yards were from the legs of Jaxson Dart who was really only playing with one good leg. Needless to say, the Dawgs’ were dominated in the trenches as they cannot turn in another performance like that if they want to win tomorrow night.
Unfortunately, Tennesee’s rushing attack happens to be one of the best in the country, The Vols are ranked ninth in rushing offense as they have been able to lean on the run game whenever their passing game struggles. Leading the charge for the Vols’ rushing attack is Junior, Dylan Sampson. Sampson currently ranks in the top seven in both rushing yards (1,129) and rushing touchdowns (20) on the season, while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Sampson is a physical back with solid speed, Georgia’s D-line and Linebackers will have to make it a point to not allow him to get to the second level of the field.
The Dawgs’ defense has also had to prepare for multiple quarterbacks this week as Vols’ quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been listed as questionable due to being in concussion protocol. If Iamaleava happens to not be available, expect the Vols to lean even heavier on their run game as backup, Gaston Moore has little in-game experience.
Georgia O-line vs. Tennessee D-line
As mentioned earlier, the Dawgs struggled in the trenches on both sides of the ball last week as we saw the Georgia O-line turn in a disappointing performance. Due to the underperformance of this group, Georgia’s run game has faltered, ranking 104th in rushing offense. Due to the run game’s struggles, it has put more pressure on the passing game and we all see how that’s turning out. With the underperformance of the Dawgs’ O-line growing evident, some eyes have turned to position coach Stacy Searles as being a possible problem that will need to be addressed in the off-season if things don’t turn around.
The Dawgs will be without top rusher Trevor Etienne due to injury this week along with Cash Jones being listed as questionable, putting even more pressure on this O-line to make holes for Freshman Nate Frazier.
Across the ball from the Dawgs’ O-line awaits a stout Vols’ front seven. Headlined by James Pearce Jr., the Vols rank ninth in rush defense allowing just 2.8 yards per rush and average 100 yards allowed on the ground per game. As a whole, this will be one of the best defenses the Dawgs’ offense has seen all year. The Vols currently rank top five in both scoring and total defense on the year as Georgia’s offensive play-calling and execution will be crucial in matching the Tennesee defense.
Prediction UGA-21 Tennessee-17
I expect this one to be a competitive old-school football game with a lot of physically played defense. Both offenses have their holes as neither is expected to light up the scoreboard. With that being said, things could really pick up towards the end of this one offensively if both defenses eventually get worn down. The home-field advantage should certainly give the Dawgs the edge in this one, boosting them to a late-game win. Buckle up though Dawg fans, should be a classic. As always, Go Dawgs!!!