NASHVILLE, TN — The Tennessee Vols head to Athens, Georgia Saturday for a showdown with the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Both teams will enter the game undefeated, and Georgia has been at the top of the polls for much of the season. Tennessee will enter the contest ranked either second or third, depending on which poll you choose. But should Tennessee defeat Georgia, they will be the consensus number one.
Both teams come in off big victories. Georgia rolled over Florida 42-20, while Tennessee had an ever easier time with 177th ranked Kentucky, defeating them 44-6.
They scored early and often against the Wildcats, but more impressively in regards to their upcoming game, their defense forced three turnovers and had four sacks. That type of defensive performance will definitely be needed against Georgia. Hendon Hooker has enjoyed a year that’s placed him squarely in Heisman Trophy contention. He added three more passing touchdowns Saturday, completing 19 of 25 passes for 245 yards. Wide receiver Jalin Hyatt had another monster game, catching five passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Tennessee hasn’t defeated Georgia since 2016. But this has been the year of streak breaking. They’ve snapped long losing streaks against both Florida and Alabama, and look to equal what the 1998 national championship team did in going undefeated and winning a title. The Georgia game; looms as the last major regular season obstacle to that goal. After that game they close out with a home game against Missouri and road games against South Carolina and Vanderbilt. They will be huge favorites in all three of those.
The Tennessee/Georgia game is the SEC showcase contest of the week. It will air at 2:30 pm central time on WTVF-5.
