This game breakdown really is not a hard one for me, and I would say its a continuation of the Ole Miss prediction because whatever problems we had going into the Ole Miss game were just amplified coming out of it. We all know our backs are up against the wall in this one, and Vegas seems to really believe we’re winning this game and has gotten more convinced of it as the week goes on. We started off as a shocking favorite early in the week and now it has settled down to us being a -9.5 favorite.
I will come right out of the gate and say what we all already know: if we can’t run the ball, catch the ball, hold onto the ball, or throw the ball, then there’s going to be no joy in Mudville tonight. We have to have a serviceable performance tonight from Beck, and like we all predicted, he’s the horse we’re riding into the sunset so there’s no point in even discussing other options. We need a performance from him that doesn’t look like Hutson Mason on a bad day. We’re without Etienne today so that means Frazier is taking the load in a big way. A lot of people have said Nate is the best RB on our roster, so we’ll get to see if that’s true tonight. If he is going to have a breakout game, he’s going to have do it against the 9th ranked rushing defense in the nation.
The good news for us is that Tennessee, despite the hype of Nico being God’s gift to the quarterback position and the promise of him being so good that simply by holding the ball in his hand he will strike fear into the heart of any defensive back who lines up against him, he hasn’t panned out to be anywhere near the QB that Voluntards thought he would be. Tennessee is definitely a run-first offense with probably the best back in SEC in Sampson. So keeping it on the ground is a good thing for us, but we’re going to have to look like a normal Georgia rushing defense tonight, not a team ranked 21 in the nation in rushing defense. The good news for us though is that as usual in the Heupel era, Tennessee still has issues winning a game on the road, especially a big game on the road and I have no doubt that the atmosphere tonight in Sanford Stadium will be electric.
I think we see a very similar (but not identical) offensive game plan tonight as we saw during the Ole Miss game. Expect to be angered by the number of the bubble screens you see tonight, but I do expect we'll see Beck take some midrange shots because he absolutely has to if we want to win the game. I heard a stat this week that Beck’s average range of depth on his passes in the Ole Miss game was 4 yards. It is going to have to be better than that tonight to keep that defense honest and actually get points on the board. I don’t think Beck being forced to throw short passes is going to haul the mail tonight against Tennessee - he is going to have to throw the ball and we deal with whatever happens. We also need our defense to step up in a big way tonight. We are getting slashed apart in open mid-field quick slants for big gains. We cannot make this a game of constant conversions of turning 3rd and longs into 3rd and Grantham’s.
I do think we bounce back tonight and get the W, but I doubt it will be pretty. It will be a gritty smashmouth SEC affair. Regardless of how it happens, we just need the W. Someone needs to step up on the offense and shoulder the load tonight to right the wrongs and get us back on track. Lastly, can we pretty please, with sugar on top, have a goal line offense that puts the ball into the end zone with some confidence? Just askin' for a friend.
GO DAWGS! GATA! SIC EM!
Game & Broadcast Info:
- Kickoff: Saturday, November 16 – 7:30 p.m. ET
- Location: Sanford Stadium (93,033) | Athens, Ga.
- 2024 Records: Georgia (7-2, 5-2 SEC), Tennessee (8-1, 5-1 SEC)
- 2024 Rankings: Georgia #7, Tennessee #3
- TV: ABC (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Laura Rutledge)
- Video Stream:
ESPN+
- Radio: 95.5 FM WSB – Bulldog Network |
Affiliates
| Scott Howard (PxP), Eric Zeier (Color), DJ Shockley (sideline)
- Audio Stream:
georgiadogs.com
- Satellite: SiriusXM (84)
- Web Stats:
georgiadogs.com
- Twitter: #TENNvsUGA
- SECN ReBroadcast: 11/19 – 5-8am ET; 11/21 – 9p-12am ET
- History:
Georgia vs. Tennessee All-Time Series Results: UGA 28-23-2
- Last Meeting: UGA won 38-10 in Knoxville, Tenn., 11/18/2023
