Preview: No. 1 Tennessee at No. 3 Georgia

WHERE: Sanford Stadium

WHEN: Saturday, 3:30 p.m.

RECORDS: Georgia (8-0, 5-0); Tennessee (8-0, 4-0)

TV/RADIO: CBS (Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Jenny Dell); Georgia Bulldog Radio Network (Scott Howard, Eric Zeier, DJ Shockley); Sirius/XM: 81/81

Whoever coined the phrase “it doesn’t get any bigger than this” had Saturday’s Georgia-Tennessee game in mind.

The contest represents the first 1-2 matchup in Sanford Stadium history and just the third top-five matchup. In 1983, No. 3 Auburn edged No. 5 Georgia 13-7, while in 1942, the No. 5 Bulldogs shut out No. 2 Georgia Tech, 42-0.

The winner will likely represent the SEC East in Atlanta a month from now, but will also put itself in prime position for one of the four berths in the college football playoffs.

However, that’s just the tip of the storyline for this one.

The Vols roll into Athens with the most explosive offense in college football. Quarterback Hendon Hooker may be the favorite for this year’s Heisman Trophy.

While most people focus on Tennessee’s big-play passing offense, much of that success is predicated on how well they run (199.6 yards per game).

For those counting, Tennessee has scored 30 or more points for 11 straight games—the current top mark in the SEC and a school record.

Georgia, meanwhile, has a pretty good offense itself, averaging 530.1 yards per game with a defense that thus far is allowing just 10.5 points.

As far as injuries are concerned, the Bulldogs will be without linebacker Nolan Smith (torn right pec), but defensive tackle Jalen Carter (knee) returned to action against Florida. Carter is expected to see more reps and take on an even bigger role Saturday in what’s shaping up to be one of the most memorable games at Sanford Stadium in years.

OLB Nolan Smith (pec): Out

WR AD Mitchell (ankle): Doubtful

WR Dom Blaylock (back): Probable

OL Amarius Mims (knee): Questionable

OL Xavier Truss (toe): Questionable

OLB Darris Smith (undisclosed): Doubtful

RB Kendall Milton (knee): Questionable

LB Rian Davis (quad): Questionable

DB Dan Jackson (stress fracture): Out

OL Earnest Greene (back) Out

Offense

QB Stetson Bennett—With Georgia’s win over Florida, Bennett improved to 22-3 as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. He currently ranks third among active players in total offense yards per play at 8.36, which is on pace for a school record (7.69 by Aaron Murray). Bennett is coming off a game in which he completed just 50 percent of his passes (19 for 38), but for the year is 181 of 267 for 2,349 yards and nine touchdowns. He also has rushed 28 times for 117 yards and five scores.

RB Kenny McIntosh—Finished strong against the Gators with a career-high 90 yards and two touchdowns. For the year, he's rushed for 199 yards and three touchdowns. He also has 26 receptions for 250 yards and a touchdown.

RB Daijun Edwards—Now Georgia’s leading rusher with 71 carries for 444 yards and seven touchdowns.

TE Brock Bowers—Bowers is the only player in the country this season with a rushing touchdown of 75 yards and a receiving touchdown of at least 75 yards. He has 31 catches for 547 yards and three touchdowns, with three rushes for 82 yards and three scores.

TE Darnell Washington—A devastating blocker, Washington has 19 catches for 332 yards, but is still looking for his first touchdown.

WR Ladd McConkey—Has battled a turf toe injury, but it hasn’t slowed him down. Leads the Bulldogs in receptions with 33 catches for 413 yards and two touchdowns.

Defense

LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson—Anchors the defense at middle linebacker with a team-high 40 tackles, including five for lost yardage and two sacks.

LB Smael Mondon—Returned to action after missing two games with an ankle injury to make seven tackles against Florida.

CB Kelee Ringo—Sophomore cornerback has been solid as teams continue to shy away from his side of the field, although he has had a couple of penalties that need to be cleaned up.

S Christopher Smith—Veteran is the eyes and ears of the secondary and tied for the team lead in interceptions with two. Made a career-high 13 tackles against Florida.

S Malaki Starks—The true freshman is second on the team with 30 tackles and tied with Christopher Smith for the team lead in interceptions with two.

DL Jalen Carter—Carter returned to action after playing sparingly due to ankle and knee injuries for most of the year. He returned to receive extensive action against Florida and is expected to see even more against Tennessee. Despite his time missed, Carter’s 11 quarterback pressures are still third on the team.

Stop Tennessee’s run game: Few people talk about Tennessee’s run game, but they should. The fact the Vols throw the ball so well is enhanced by their at running the football. Everyone knows that Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker may throw the best deep ball in college football, and he’s certainly been successful. Nevertheless, if Tennessee can consistently find itself in second-and-short, third-and-short situations, it’s going to make for a long afternoon.

Get lined up: Former coach Jim Donnan spoke about this extensively in our podcast with Dayne Young and Rece Davis. Tennessee’s tempo is such that it’s almost impossible for a defense to line up correctly with the correct call. How will the Bulldogs need to combat that? Just be lined up. Georgia defenders just need to be lined up period, and simply be in a position where they’re not giving Tennessee a layup score.

The offense must be on point: Face it, if they struggle offensively, the Bulldogs won’t stand a chance Saturday. Tennessee has the most plays of over 30 and 40 yards in the country, with Georgia fourth nationally in plays over 10. In a perfect world, Georgia will be able to grind out drives to keep the Vols’ offense off the field. But that doesn’t mean the Bulldogs shouldn’t take some shots—dang right they should, and they will. Either way, Georgia’s offense will need to perform at its highest level of the year.

• Sixth-year senior quarterback Hendon Hooker, who assumed the starting role for Tennessee in the 2021 Week 3 game vs. Tennessee Tech, is back as a national player of the year candidate and a midseason All-American.

• The former Virginia Tech QB and 2022 second-team preseason All-SEC selection is 14-5 as a starter at Tennessee and 22-12 for his collegiate career.

• Hooker has accounted for multiple touchdowns in 20 of his last 21 games entering the Georgia contest. He’s thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game he has started at UT (19) and enters the UGA game with multiple TD passes in a school-record 11 straight contests, including every game this season.

• Hooker has passed for a touchdown and rushed for a touchdown in the same game eight times during his Tennessee career and 14 times during his entire collegiate career. He’s done it three times this season, including the previous game vs. No. 19 Kentucky.

• Hooker has thrown at least one touchdown pass in a school-record 20 straight games. With his three TD passes vs. UTM on Oct. 22, he surpassed Heath Shuler for the school record. The 20 straight also leads the nation.

• Tennessee outscores opponents an amazing 293-81 in the first quarter under Josh Heupel, including 190-51 in 2021 and 103-30 this season. The Vols have scored at least one touchdown in the first quarter in 20 of 21 games under Heupel with this season’s game against Florida being the only exception.

• After an up-and-down sophomore season, WR Jalin Hyatt is off to a historic start in 2022 and is a candidate for the Biletnikoff Award. Tennessee has never claimed the award since its inception in 1994. Hyatt leads the nation in receiving touchdowns (14), and he's tops in the nation in 30-plus yard receiving plays (12), 40-plus yard receiving plays (9), 50-plus yard plays (5), and 60-plus yard receiving plays (3). Hyatt is an incredible four touchdowns better than the next closest players in the nation: 10 by Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. and Houston’s Nathaniel Dell.

• Tennessee is tied with Alabama for second in the SEC in tackles for loss per game (6.50). The Vols’ 52 TFLs rank tied for third in the SEC. A total of 23 different Vols have at least 0.5 tackles for loss this season, including 14 with 2.0 or more. The Vols are also fourth in the SEC in total sacks (21) and sacks per game (2.63).

• Senior edge rusher Byron Young is a preseason first-team All-SEC selection and is off to an outstanding 2022. Young came up clutch with two tackles for loss, a game-high three QB hurries and a sack in a Week 2 win at No. 17 Pitt on Sept. 10. He was tabbed the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week. He continued his stellar play with a career-best 2.5 sacks at No. 25 LSU on Oct. 8. That tally tied for the most by an SEC player in a game this season. Young picked up 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in the win over Kentucky on Oct. 29. He leads the squad in tackles for loss (5) and sacks (5). He ranks fourth in the SEC in sacks.

Georgia is favored by 8.5 points, and the fact the Bulldogs are 4-4 against the spread this year does not exactly bode confidence they’ll be able to do so Saturday. I don’t usually fall victim to many Munsonisms, but color me greatly concerned with the secondary. Last week’s bust against Florida certainly did not help my feelings.

My biggest concern is Tennessee getting off to a quick start and taking what’s going to be an amazing crowd out of the game. Georgia will need to start quickly—that’s pretty safe to say.

The loss of Nolan Smith hurts, but having Jalen Carter back and ready for more reps is huge. If Georgia is to get pressure on Hendon Hooker, the guess here is it’s going to come from the inside.

Offensively, I feel confident Georgia will move the football and the Bulldogs will put up points. But will it be enough?

Ultimately, turnovers will be the story. Georgia lost the football three times against Florida. Whichever team wins that battle is going to be the one that wins the game. Somehow, some way, I believe Georgia gets it done. But it’s going to be close. Prediction: Georgia 38, Tennessee 35