Arkansas-Texas A&M Highlights Week 5 Vegas SEC Predictions
Saturday Blitz Vegas SEC Predictions Week 5
Tennessee Volunteers at No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs
Line: Georgia by 17
The Tennessee Vols had a much needed bye week after they were thoroughly exposed with one major weakness against Oklahoma: the offensive line. Honestly, the rest of the team actually played well in that loss, but too many missed blocks by an extremely inexperienced group forced Justin Worley to get rid of the ball within about 2 seconds every play. Now, they are running into Georgia, which is probably the last team you want to face with woes like that. The defense hasn’t proven its ability to stop a great rushing attack like Georgia’s with Todd Gurley (who is far better than anybody Oklahoma has), and the offense has shown no signs of being able to consistently move the ball. The Vols need to have decent play from their O-line and force the Dawgs to be twice as mistake-prone as they were in their loss to South Carolina to pull off this upset.
Georgia, meanwhile, needs to stick to its running game. Heck, had it stuck with Gurley the Dawgs would be 3-0 right now instead of 2-1. Mark Richt can’t let that happen again. The Dawgs also have to avoid making crucial mistakes, and with the home crowd behind them, they need to use that experienced defense to blow up the Tennessee offensive line the way Oklahoma did. If that happens, the Vols have no chance to make this a game in Athens. Even if the offensive line has corrected those mistakes, Georgia’s front line should be able to get lots of pressure with the defense as loaded as it is. Finally, if by some chance the game does end up getting close, Marshall Morgan has got to come through on easy and long kicks. They can’t allow Tennessee to hang around. Georgia needs to put this away early.
Prediction
The Vols will have a couple of big plays that will make the game interesting in the first half, but right now Butch Jones’s second team doesn’t have the depth or the experience to hang with the Dawgs for four quarters. This game will look a lot like the Oklahoma game, only the score will be a little closer because the Vols’ O-line likely made a few corrections during the bye. But it will still be a dull second half.
Georgia: 31 Tennessee: 17