Here’s the Week 5 preview and prediction for Saturday’s SEC East conference showdown between Georgia football and Tennessee.
Despite Tennessee’s lackluster performance last week against an even more lackluster Massachusetts Minutemen team and Georgia’s definitive statement win against Mississippi State, this game is hard to call. It’s the SEC, and Georgia has a weird tendency to lose games against opponents they shouldn’t when emotions are on the line. Make no mistake, this will be an emotionally-charged barnburner of a game.
Georgia has mighty expectations to meet. Early media pundits chose Georgia to win the SEC East. Right now, it’s looking like the ‘Dawgs are on track to do so, but they still have this game and the Gator roadblock to pass first. Even though Tennessee hasn’t been looking great yet this season, Butch Jones presumably wants to keep his job. Beating Georgia would go a long way with Tennessee fans.
Georgia’s original starting quarterback, Jacob Eason, has been out the last few games with a knee injury. Freshman Jake Fromm has been playing beautifully, though. His talent coupled with the ‘Dawgs strong running game should keep Georgia on track for the SEC East title-that is if they don’t have a typical UGA season and stumble.
The SEC battle is this Saturday, and here’s everything you need to know for the game.
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Date: Saturday, September 30
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Knoxville, Tenn.
Venue: Neyland Stadium
TV: CBS
Live Stream: CBSSports.com
Keys to Victory
The offense will be critical in this game. Georgia is highly favored, but Butch Jones is always aggressive against Georgia. If the Vols’ defense can take out Fromm and stop Chubb and Michel — a tall order — they might stand a chance. Tennesse does lead the series at 23-21-2. Tennessee managed to beat Georgia 34-31 last year after Joshua Dobbs’ miraculous Hail Mary pass to Jauan Jennings. The sheer decibel volume at Neyland can be an amazing equalizer, also.
I’m not sure if Tennessee can pull off another miracle like that, though. The Vols’ still don’t have a solid contender for quarterback, and Georgia is firing on all cylinders. Tennessee has been struggling with stopping the run, and UGA has one of the best running games in the country. Still, this is college football, this is a crucial game, and emotions will be running high. A Tennessee upset isn’t impossible, just highly improbable.
Betting Odds
Odds via SportsBook
Point Spread: Georgia -7
Over/Under: 48
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Prediction
College football is a mercurial beast and surreal upsets happen all the time. Tennessee could beat Georgia based upon the capricious nature of the college football gods, but that is the only way that the Vols might eke out a win. Georgia’s running game is amazing, and no opponent this season has scored more than 19 points on the ‘Dawgs. Tennessee is never a pushover in this game, and it will be closer than Kirby Smart and company might like. In the end, though, Georgia will simply overpower Tennesee with their speedy running game and solid defense.
Final Score: Georgia 33, Tennessee 29