The Georgia Bulldogs are 2-0 as they head to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday. The SEC opener will serve as the Bulldogs first real test of the 2025 season after wins over Marshall and Austin Peay.
As usual, things will be crazy loud with plenty of Rocky Top blaring and close to a hundred thousand rabid Vols fans decked out in orange trying to make things even more difficult for Kirby Smart and his team.
It will also be Gunner Stockton's first road game as a starter, and he will be tested by the 15th ranked Volunteers as he looks to improve on what has been some spotty play, particularly against Austin Peay last week. Hence, the defense better be ready to bust some heads come kickoff at 3:30 EST.
The Georgia defense will have to be nasty on Saturday
C.J. Allen and the UGA defense have been stifling so far this season. They have been flying to the ball while allowing just 13 points and holding Austin Peay out of the end zone last week.
As a unit, they are allowing just 201.5 yards per game, with Raylen Wilson leading the way, collecting 13 tackles. Allen and true sophomore K.J. Bolden have contributed 11 and 10, respectively.
They will need to be even better against new Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar and Josh Heupel's pass-happy offense on Saturday. If there has been anything to complain about, it has been a lack of a consistent pass rush. The Dawgs will need to get to Aguilar early and often on Saturday.
The defense will need to keep it close for Gunner Stockton
Despite earning the 28-6 win against the Governors, Stockton took a step backward after accounting for four touchdowns against Marshall in week one. He didn't appear to be seeing the field very well and was hesitant to throw the ball downfield as several Georgia receivers were running open between the hashes.
The result was a sloppy 28-6 win. While the Bulldogs and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo were keeping things vanilla to limit the tape available for Tennessee, Stockton didn't do anything to quell fans' fears that he isn't an efficient downfield passer.
If Stockton and the offense do sputter in Knoxville, it will be imperative that the defense limit the Vols and keep the game close to allow UGA to win what may turn out to be an ugly game.
Smart has had Heupel's number over the last eight years as Georgia's defense has been dominant in shutting down prolific UT offenses the past several meetings. The defense will have to continue wreaking havoc on Saturday if Georgia wants to move to 3-0 and get their biggest win of the season thus far.