NASHVILLE — It’s an interesting feeling now for Vols fans around the area as they prepare to hit the field against Georgia on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.
There’s not an overwhelming sense of dread. There’s no conversation about whether or not the coach should be fired heading into this game. There’s just excitement on what the days ahead for Tennessee football could look like under Jeremy Pruitt.
Make no mistake, Georgia is still the better team in this matchup and should win. But Tennessee has reached a place where there is legitimate hope and optimism from the fan base heading into the game.
Pruitt has had some nice wins in his career at Tennessee. The Vols dismantled Kentucky two years ago in a game where Kentucky was favored and Tennessee’s game plan defensively was strong en route to a 24-7 win. They got a nice 30-24 win against an average Auburn team in that same year on the road.
Things are going very well right now for the Volunteers, who have an eight-game winning streak and looked dominant at times against Missouri this past Saturday, but none of those wins come against competition that’s anywhere near the level of Georgia.
Pruitt doesn’t yet have that signature win that grabs national attention. He doesn’t have that magical moment where you feel like Tennessee is back in a place where they’re considered dangerous again in the SEC East.
Could the Vols have an opportunity to grab that win Saturday?
If so, there are a few things that have to break the right way. The most obvious starting place is at quarterback with Jarrett Guarantano. His decision-making through the first two games of this season has largely been very good. He missed throws in the opening game at South Carolina that he can’t afford to do against Georgia.
I believe if the Vols are going to pull off the upset, Guarantano is going to have to play one of the best games of his life. That means the decision-making with the ball must continue to be smart, but it also means that you can’t miss “gimme” throws that are available in the game.
One of the big challenges that Josh Palmer, Brandon Johnson and the rest of the Tennessee wide receiving core will face against the Bulldogs will be creating separation in one-on-one matchups with Georgia’s secondary. That won’t be easy, but Guarantano can’t miss them when they’re able to create that separation.
Guarantano is a controversial player amongst Tennessee fans. I think everyone would agree that he’s improved pretty dramatically from the beginning of last season until now, but the question is what is Tennessee’s ceiling with him at quarterback? Is he even capable of winning a game like this? My initial answer to that is no, unless a bunch of different things break the right way for Tennessee. Here’s a chance for Guarantano in year two in Jim Chaney’s offense to prove me wrong.
Everybody is, understandably, making a big deal about the matchup between Tennessee’s offensive line and Georgia’s front seven on defense. However, the game may ultimately come down to how Tennessee’s front seven is able to handle Georgia’s offensive push.
David Ubben from The Athletic joined Robby & Rexrode on Friday and talked about the importance of that matchup:
“They can’t let Georgia just control the line of scrimmage when Georgia is on offense,” Ubben said. “I think Tennessee will be able to move the ball a little bit. They’ve got to protect Guarantano. But Georgia is going to try to do the same thing against Tennessee as they are, and that’s a pretty big mismatch with Georgia’s offensive against Tennessee’s defensive front. If Georgia is getting five or six yards like they did against Auburn every time they’re carrying the ball, Tennessee has no shot to win this game. That’s, I think, the biggest area of concern.”
Can Tennessee hang around in this game long enough to put some real pressure on Stetson Bennett in the fourth quarter? He hasn’t had to go out there and make throws to win a game yet in his career. If Tennessee can hang around and force him to make clutch throws late in the game, it will be interesting to see how Bennett responds to that type of pressure.
The return of Shawn Shamburger could be huge for the Vols in helping defend the pass, plus getting Bryce Thompson back to full health will strengthen the defense as well. George Pickens presents a problem for the Vols at receiver for Georgia, but Tennessee has a lot of SEC experience in the secondary.
PREDICTION
The weather in this game could be nasty and it’s setting up to be an old-fashioned SEC battle at the line of scrimmage, particularly when Tennessee is on offense. I think the Vols do enough in this game to hang around and make it interesting in the end. But Georgia’s depth, defense and overall talent advantage prove to be too much in the end.
Give me Georgia 24, Tennessee 17.
Comments