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Published Nov 11, 2021
Stats Crunch: Tennessee Game
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Dave McMahon  •  UGASports
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Georgia will look to go 10-0 for the first time since 1982 as the Bulldogs travel to Knoxville to take on the Volunteers. The Dawgs are 9-0 for the second time under Kirby Smart (2017). Georgia is 25-23-2 in the 50 meetings against Tennessee, thanks to winning 16 of 21 games in the 2000s.

The Bulldogs have dominated this century, but it wasn't like that at the end of the previous one, as you can see how the series fared decade-by-decade.

Georgia vs. Tennessee: Decade-by-Decade
*** The two teams did not meet from 1938 to 1967
Series AdvantageSeries Advantage

1890s

Tennessee won 1-0

1970s

Series Tied 1-1

1900s

Series Tied 2-2-1

1980s

Georgia won 3-1

1910s

Georgia won 1-0

1990s

Tennessee won 8-0

1920s

Georgia won 3-1

2000s

Georgia won 6-4

1930s

Tennessee won 2-0

2010s

Georgia won 8-2

1960s

Tennessee won 1-0-1

2020s

Georgia leads 1-0

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One thing that most Dawg fans agree on is that it feels strange playing Tennessee this late in the season. Here are times this series has been played in November:

Georgia Facing Tennessee in November
LocationDecision

November 11, 1899

Knoxville

Tennessee won 5-0

November 7, 1903

Knoxville

Georgia won 5-0

November 21, 1906

Athens

Tied 0-0

November 1, 1924

Athens

Won 33-0

November 1, 1969

Athens

Tennessee won 17-3

November 4, 1972

Athens

Tennessee won 14-0

November 3, 1973

Knoxville

Georgia won 35-31

The Dawg defense prevailed once again last week, limiting Missouri to just six points including allowing zero touchdowns even though the Tigers had the ball inside the five-yard line for the game's final four plays. The 59 points that Georgia has allowed so far this season are its fewest since 1971 when the Bulldogs allowed 53 points through nine games. Here are the fewest points that any team in the FBS has allowed through nine games since 1980:

Fewest Points Allowed Through First 9 Games - Since 1980
SeasonTeam (Points Allowed Through First 9 Games)

1985

Michigan (51)

1986

Oklahoma (56)

1993

Florida State (58)

2021

Georgia (59)

1988

Auburn (59)

Georgia has allowed just five scrimmage touchdowns this season. A FBS team has allowed six or more scrimmage touchdowns in a single game 130 times this season.

In terms of the major stats on defense, the Bulldogs are in the top spot on two of them, and trying to get back on the third.

FBS Defensive Ranks This Season
Points Per Game AllowedScrimmage TD AllowedYards Per Game Allowed

Georgia - 6.6

Georgia - 5

Wisconsin - 213.8

Texas A&M - 14.7

Wisconsin - 12

Georgia - 232.4

Cincinnati - 14.9

Penn State - 13

Oklahoma State - 277.0

Wisconsin - 15.4

Clemson - 14

Iowa State - 281.7

Iowa - 15.7

Oklahoma State - 14

Air Force - 281.7

Texas A&M - 14

Georgia is second in the FBS in rush yards per game, allowing 81.3.

Georgia is second in the FBS in pass yards per game, allowing 151.1.

The Bulldogs are 13th in the FBS allowing their opponents to convert 31.6 percent of their third downs.

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Switching to offense, for just the fourth time this season, JT Daniels took the field for the Bulldogs. Both he and Stetson Bennett took snaps, and both had touchdown passes. How are they doing down-by-down this season? Here's a look:

Georgia Quarterbacks by Down This Season
Stetson BennettJT Daniels

First Down

30/47 (63.8 comp pct)

5 TD passes, 3 INT

23/34 (67.6 comp pct)

2 TD passes, 2 INT

Second Down

32/42 (76.2 comp pct)

4 TD passes, 0 INT

20/27 (74.1 comp pct)

2 TD passes, 0 INT

Third Down

17/29 (58.6 comp pct)

4 TD passes, 1 INT

17/20 (85 comp pct)

2 TD passes, 1 INT

Fourth Down

1/2 (50.0 comp pct)

1 TD pass, 1 INT

1/1 (100.0 comp pct)

0 TD passes, 0 INT

Jermaine Burton and Ladd McConkey each had their third touchdown of the season, and Arian Smith had his second, on a very big fourth down play early in the game against Missouri. All three players are relatively young.

Georgia Receiving Class This Season
ReceptionsReceiving YardsTD Receptions

Freshmen

73

1,216

14

Sophomores

31

508

3

Juniors

29

368

2

Seniors

13

68

2

The 14 TD receptions by Bulldog freshmen is the most by any team in the nation and is twice as many as any team in the SEC (LSU has 7).

Against Missouri, Georgia reached the 500 total-yard mark for the third time this season and the 16th time under Kirby Smart (the Dawgs are 16-0 in those games).

As for rushing the ball, Zamir White and James Cook each had nine attempts to lead the Bulldogs last Saturday, and each one scored a touchdown on the ground. White now has 23 in his career, which is tied for the most under Smart with Nick Chubb (Chubb had 21 more under Mark Richt). Cook's touchdown gives him four this season, which is a new career-high.

Daijun Edwards had 29 yards rushing and 37 yards receiving. He now has 108 rush yards for the season. He became the sixth Bulldog to get to 100 yards rushing this season. Over the last 25 seasons, Georgia has had six players reach the 100-yard mark in a season just four times. Here are those times and the players (some of these players may surprise you):



Most 100-Yard Rushers in a Season by Georgia Over Last 25 Seasons
2011201819982021

Isaiah Crowell (850)

D'Andre Swift (1,049)

Olandis Gary (698)

Zamir White (519)

Carlton Thomas (361)

Elijah Holyfield (1,018)

Quincy Carter (284)

James Cook (383)

Brandon Harton (247)

Brian Herrien (295)

Robert Arnaud (161)

Kendall Milton (243)

Richard Samuel (240)

James Cook (284)

Ronnie Bradley (145)

Stetson Bennett (193)

Ken Malcome (174)

Justin Fields (266)

Nick Callaway (107)

Kenny McIntosh (142)

Aaron Murray (111)

Tyler Simmons (131)

Patrick Pass (101)

Daijun Edwards (108)

Brandon Boykin (103)

Demetris Robertson (109)

Branden Smith (100)

Cook is the only one on two of the lists above. The next three players on the Dawgs in rushing yards this season: Ladd McConkey (39), Kearis Jackson (37), and Sevaughn Clark (20).

In terms of how they do by quarter, here is the weekly look at the top five running backs by quarter.

Georgia Top 5 Running Backs: Quarter-by-Quarter This Season
*** Rushes / Yards / Touchdowns
1st Quarter2nd Quarter3rd Quarter4th Quarter

Zamir White

32 / 116 / 2

26 / 117 / 3

31 / 158 / 1

17 / 128 / 3

James Cook

18 / 95 / 1

24 / 138 / 2

13 / 69 / 1

11 / 81 / 0

Kendall Milton

10 / 34 / 1

10 / 58 / 0

14 / 62 / 0

15 / 89 / 0

Kenny McIntosh

7 / 18 / 0

8 / 5 / 0

15 / 58 / 1

7 / 63 / 0

Daijun Edwards

0 / 0 / 0

0 / 0 / 0

3 / 18 / 0

27 / 90 / 1

Finally, Kirby Smart is 4-1 all-time against Tennessee as a head coach, but was 0-4 as a player. However, he did make a big play individually, as his first career interception came against Tennessee in 1995 against a quarterback named Peyton Manning.

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