Georgia football has a road trip to Knoxville this week, and the Dawgs have had plenty of time to prepare for the Vols. Here are three offensive weapons from Tennessee Georgia’s focused on for Saturday.
Both Tennessee and the Georgia football team have had two weeks to prepare for each other as both squads were off this past weekend.
There’s a ton of hype surrounding the matchup, not only as a conference game but also with the history between the two teams.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last ten days going over numbers and watching some film on the Volunteers.
The following is a list of three players on offense the Dawgs need to watch out for at all times. Before I dive into it, I thought I’d give a quick overview to freshen things up a bit.
Tennessee has put up some decent numbers so far this season, regardless of what its record may be.
On offense, the Vols currently average 26 points a game. They’ve been good for an average of 355.3 total yards, 200.8 through the air, and 154.5 on the ground. I know, not the best overview, but at least you have a few numbers in mind.
So the Dawgs will have to make sure the secondary is ready along with the big men upfront. Georgia’s got to get back on track with its havoc rate, and this week could be the one where that front seven earns some much-needed confidence.
I think Georgia is going to light up Tennessee. For that to happen, here are the players on offense who will need some special attention.
Jarrett Guarantano
I need to clear something up, here. I’m not necessarily saying Georgia needs to watch Jarrett Guarantano because he’s a great quarterback. He isn’t a pushover either, so the Dawgs will still need to know his tendencies and how to get in his head.
Currently, Guarantano has completed 60 of 93 passes for 753 yards, seven touchdowns, and four interceptions. The number that really got my attention is 46, which stems from the seven times he’s gotten sacked.
As good as his numbers may or may not be, he has a trend. Guarantano doesn’t exactly handle pressure well.
If the Dawgs can get to Guarantano, he’s going to make mistakes. Two of his four interceptions on the year were in the game against that school in Gainesville. The Gators stayed after Guarantano the entire game, and the dividends paid off.
Georgia needs to keep their attention on him. If they’re able to make him pick dirt out of his facemask a couple of times, he’s going to have that thought in the back of his head. When that happens is when he’ll make mistakes, and the Dawgs defense can whip out those spike pads.
Dominick Wood-Anderson
The next Volunteer to watch out for is Dominick Wood-Anderson, their tight end. He currently has five receptions for 90 yards, including a catch good for 54 yards.
No, those aren’t the most threatening numbers at first glance, but let’s think about this for a minute. He’s averaging 18 yards per reception. I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s a nice chunk of grass. The chains get moved every time if he totes it 18 yards.
Go back to the game against Notre Dame. Georgia inside linebackers had issues when it came to covering tight end Cole Kmet. He was able to make nine catches for 108 yards and a touchdown.
Wood-Anderson hasn’t been able to find the endzone as of yet in 2019. If the Bulldogs don’t keep the tight end on their radar, his numbers could look a lot different this time next week.
Marquez Callaway
A few teams have made the mistake of overlooking wide receiver Marquez Callaway, and it’s cost them in the long run.
No, Callaway is not Tennessee’s leading receiver. That would be Jauan Jennings, who will get the majority of the attention this Saturday.
On paper, Callaway is right behind him. The second-leading receiver for the Vols has 10 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. That’s an average of 15.4 yards a catch with a long one for 39 yards.
With two solid wide receivers, the Volunteers have the luxury of spreading a secondary apart.
When you add a tight end who can catch the ball, things could get crazy for a few minutes while Georgia’s defense is on the field. If they make sure Callaway knows it’s going to be a long day right from the get-go, things will be much easier in the second half.
The Dawgs defense needs to keep tabs on these three guys if they want to make it three in a row against Tennessee. Each of them could cause issues for the defense, and you can bet that Jeremy Pruitt has studied the heck out of the Notre Dame film. So the Vols will be ready and don’t be surprised if they don’t try that dump pass on Georgia.
It shouldn’t be too big of a challenge, but the Dawgs will still have to play well, and the chances will increase once the defense stops these three.