3 simple things Georgia football must see its defense do against the Vols

There is something about the defense Georgia football puts on the field each week. They aren’t overly confident, but week after week, they make opponents look silly.

Even on an off week, they held Missouri to six points and didn’t give up a touchdown for the fourth time in nine games.

Teams have come into the week averaging 30-plus points just for Georgia to take away their offense like a bully stealing candy from a child.

The next team to face off with Georgia is Tennessee, and much like Kentucky, Arkansas, Auburn, and maybe even Florida, they have a ton of confidence in their offense.

Georgia football has the best defense, and there are three things they do to stay that way.

Tennessee averages 38 points a game and 457.7 yards of total offense, so they feel like Saturday will be a prime opportunity for them to upset the No.1 team in the nation. However, as the last nine games have shown Georgia’s opponents, that isn’t going to happen.

The Dawgs have given up 59 total points all year, which means opponents average about 6.6 points a game.

This point total is the lowest since FSU’s defense did it in 1992.

There is something special about this group, and an explosive Tennessee team isn’t going to break that momentum. Instead, the Dawgs should handle their business and leave Knoxville 10-0.

Tennessee will have to get knocked down a few notches because they’ve been able to be explosive and find some success the last few weeks.

Georgia will hopefully knock the Vols back down to reality on Saturday, and to do that, they must do these three things.

Georgia football must pressure Hendon Hooker

One of the most important things Georgia football must do on Saturday is put pressure on Tennessee’s quarterback Hendon Hooker.

This season, the Virginia Tech transfer has put on a show for the Vols with his arm and legs. He can tuck it and run, so the Dawgs must be ready for that.

What Georgia needs to do is make him uncomfortable early on in the game and question his decisions. Hooker has 21 touchdowns on the year, just two interceptions and 1800 passing yards. He has gotten sacked 33 times this year, though, and Georgia needs to push that kind of pressure.

Jordan Davis and company need to get in Hooker’s face as often as possible, and when he breaks to run, be there to tackle him. Last week the Dawgs struggled to wrap up early on, and that cannot happen this week. Georgia needs to wrap up and remind Hooker who he is playing.

By making him uncomfortable, Hooker is more likely to make a mistake, and Georgia needs to force a lot of them. If the Dawgs can move him out of the pocket, they will have more success against him. If there is a week, the Dawgs need to rack up sacks, and it’s against Hooker.

Georgia needs to bully Hooker and limit his explosive plays. If the Dawgs can make him one-dimensional, it’ll be extremely beneficial.

Georgia football stops the Tennessee rush attack

Even though Tennessee averages 240.56 yards through the air, Georgia football needs to eliminate the rush attack first.

The Vols average 217.1 yards on the ground a game and about five yards a carry through nine games this year. They are having a lot of success with their rush attack, which in return opens up their passing game.

Georgia needs to mimic what it has done to the Vols rush attack since 2017, as the Dawgs have allowed 197 total rushing yards in four years.

Hooker loves to tote the rock, and Tiyon Evans is another guy who will get a good chunk of carries. They are the Vols top-two rushers as Evans averages 6.5 yards a carry and has amassed 525 yards on 81 carries. He has six scores as well. Hooker averages 4.1 yards a carry and has 458 rushing yards.

However, Hooker has also lost 124 yards because he continues to get sacked, so while he can use his legs to the Vols’ advantage, it’s possible to take him right out of it if that pressure stays on him.

It’ll be considered a victory if the Dawgs can force the Vols to solely depend on their passing game. Georgia gave up too many rushing yards last week, and now they’ve got to prove to themselves that last week was just a minor hiccup in this monumental season.

Georgia has stopped this offense on the ground for four straight seasons, and they need to make it five. The Dawgs have the power to stop the run up front, and now they just need to execute that game plan on Saturday.

Georgia football must force the Vols to cough up the ball

After forcing three turnovers against the Gators, Georgia football wasn’t able to cause any against Missouri.

Georgia needs to force a couple of turnovers to knock Tennessee down a few notches. With Hooker having just two interceptions on the year, this defense needs to pay attention to every throw and if the front seven puts pressure on him, then be ready to pick him off once that mistake happens.

If the Dawgs get pressure on him, he will make mistakes, and then Georgia can pounce.

Georgia needs to break out the spiked shoulder pads a few times because it will eliminate the Vols confidence and take the crowd out of it.

It would be awesome to see a couple of interceptions and a fumble that delivers the final blow and allows Georgia to go up by a few touchdowns.

This game will be all about momentum, and if the Dawgs can swing it in their favor, it’ll be a long game for the Vols. Of Tennessee’s four losses, Florida was the only one the Vols didn’t cough up the ball. They had three turnovers against Pittsburgh, one against Alabama and Ole Miss, and the lone game they didn’t give the ball away was Florida.

So the Dawgs have a much better chance of beating the Vols if they force them to cough up the ball and make mistakes. We all see how crucial turnovers can be this season and the way Georgia causes havoc — a few turnovers should be achievable this week.

Georgia has the defense to make all three of these things happen, and if they want to impress the playoff committee again, they’ll make a statement in Knoxville. Last week we saw an elite defense start sluggish, but that won’t happen again if they refocus and get back to suffocating opponents.