Georgia football hosts the Tennessee Volunteers Saturday at 3:30. The Dawgs are 32.5-point favorites, but have never beaten the Vols by 20 points two games in a row.
The Georgia football team returns home to Sanford Stadium this Saturday to play the Tennessee Volunteers. Despite CBS choosing this as their game of the week, the game isn’t expected to be competitive. The Dawgs are 32.5-point favorites, one of the largest spreads in series history. But to cover, the team will have to be at their best. And they have to play much better than how they played last week against Missouri. But if these five players have good games, Georgia will have no issues with the Volunteers.
Jake Fromm – QB
Against Missouri, Jake Fromm completed just five of his 13 attempts in the first half. He threw an interceptions and badly missed his targets on a pair of fades in the end zone. But he bounced back with a near perfect second half with three touchdowns.
Don’t expect an up-and-down performance this week. Fromm is going to pick on the Tennessee defense for four quarters. The Volunteer defense just isn’t built to stop the pass. They allowed Felipe Franks to throw three touchdowns last week in their loss to Florida. And in the season opener, West Virginia’s Will Grier had 429 passing yards with five scores.
Fromm, of course, won’t be working alone in tearing up the Vols defense. He’s got a plethora of weapons to choose from. Two of which I believe will shine above the rest…
Riley Ridley – WR
If there’s anyone on this current roster who should still be bitter from Tennessee’s hail mary win over the Dawgs in 2016, it’s Riley Ridley. Just moments before the hail mary, Ridley caught a miracle touchdown and caused one of the loudest eruptions I’ve ever heard inside of Sanford Stadium. Ridley was robbed of his shining moment.
He deserves his revenge. Since that game, his career had been pretty silent. But since the beginning of the new year, he’s been a force on the Georgia offense. His 13 catches are second on the team, as are his three touchdowns. He’s also third on the team with 169 receiving yards.
The Volunteers just don’t have anyone who matches up well with the 6’2, 200-pound physical athlete. He’s going to get open a lot, and Fromm is going to pass the ball to him a lot.
Terry Godwin – WR
Terry Godwin has had a quiet season so far because of an ankle injury. He’s gotten on the field, but as Georgia’s offense has rolled, coaches have decided to use him lightly to prevent his injury from worsening.
He’s getting close to 100-percent and the last thing Tennessee fans want to see is Fromm slinging passes to Godwin. Covering Ridley, Mecole Hardman and J.J. Holloman is one thing, adding Godwin might just break their spirits.
D’Andre Walker – OLB
Just go ahead and assume D’Andre Walker will be on this list every week. That’s what happens when you have three sacks through the first two SEC games of 2018. Tennessee’s offense might be worse than their defense, especially if quarterback Jarrett Guarantano isn’t 100-percent. The Volunteer offensive line has allowed him to get sacked six times so far this year, and hit many more times. If they can slow down the pass rush from Walker, they’ll likely be giving someone free range to go after Guarantano.
J.R. Reed – S
J.R. Reed had to be frustrated with the defensive performance on Saturday. Because Georgia had to respect Missouri quarterback Drew Lock, Reed hung back in pass coverage for most of the game.
Reed is a tackler, the best in the nation. He just doesn’t miss. He can’t be trucked or juked. And Guarantano is not Lock. meaning Reed can play how he’s comfortable playing; free. He’ll be closer to the line of scrimmage and occasionally will line up in the box. He’ll be a big part of Georgia stopping Tennessee’s running game, while also playing a role in keeping Guarantano from having a career game.