People calling for Georgia football to get upset in Knoxville on Saturday are just plain ignorant and very simple-minded.
The Dawgs are 9-0 and are looking to remain perfect on the season as they look to take on a 5-4 Volunteers team who have played some close games against some quality teams.
Let’s face it, just because Tennessee has played close games with good opponents — those teams are not the Georgia Bulldogs.
This game would have caused fans to be a little nervous any other year, but not this time. This team has a different feel to it. Many people are calling this a trap game for the Dawgs, but I’m not buying into the hype just one bit.
Now by no means am I saying this will undoubtedly be a blowout, but I do believe that the Dawgs are focused on one game at a time and are too disciplined to lose this matchup.
Yes, this is college football, and anything can happen on any given Saturday, especially this season, but the Dawgs are just different.
They are on a mission to accomplish the goal of winning a national title, and the next team in their way is Tennessee.
Georgia football has an opportunity to make history this weekend, so a win is a top priority.
If they win, it’ll be the first time in school history they would finish with a perfect regular season SEC finish.
This game could turn into a blowout if the Dawgs come into this game with the focus they need, but they will have to earn it because the Vols won’t just lay down and give into them.
For Tennessee to pull off the upset and win this one, many things will have to go their way, and I believe it will not.
Kirby Smart and his Dawgs are too much of a force. Here are three reasons the Dawgs will dominate Tennessee.
1. Georgia football is more disciplined than the Vols
To be considered an elite program, you have to have discipline in all three phases of the game, and Georgia football is just that, but not so much the Vols.
Through those four losses for Tennessee, they average 10.25 penalties per game, while those opponents averaged 7.25 flags. That is a lot of penalties and yardage lost. The Vols had 13 flags against Pitt, 10 against Florida, and 12 against Alabama. Ole Miss was the only team the Vols fell to that had more flags than Tennessee.
That is a lot of penalties and yardage lost. Meanwhile, the Dawgs, throughout their nine games, average 5.4 penalties.
If the Vols come out and plays undisciplined football, this game won’t even be close. Tennessee kicks themselves by committing so many mistakes that they have to work twice as hard on offense. The Dawgs can force some mistakes, too, though, as we all love seeing offensive lines jump when the defensive front does their shuffle.
Georgia hates committing mistakes, and if they could go throughout an entire game without getting one flag, they would. However, no flags rarely happen in football, but the Dawgs can make sure they stay the course and, if they get a penalty, make it worth giving up the yards.
Tennessee ranks No. 81 in the country with 535 penalty yards, compared to Georgia’s 373 total penalty yards.
The most disciplined team in this football game will most likely get the win, and considering Tennessee’s track record, it is trending towards Georgia’s direction.
2. Georgia’s elite defense will elevate them to 10-0
This one is an obvious choice, considering this Georgia football’s defense is one of the best we have seen in a long time, not just in Georgia history but also in all of college football.
This defense is getting compared to historic ones, like the 1992 Alabama Crimson Tide defense, which won a national championship that year. Forget about all the comparisons, though, because this defense wants their own identity.
There aren’t just a couple of star players on this defense. All 11 are playmakers who go to battle for each other. They are brothers and play as one unit.
All types of stats prove how impressive this unit is, but those stats don’t do any justice on how good this Georgia defense really is.
Stats aren’t always the only way to define eliteness because even though there are stats that back up this unit, it’s their love for each other. It’s how they sacrifice their bodies for each other and do whatever it takes for their teammate to make a play.
There is not one selfish player on this defense, and that is why they are so elite.
However, the Vols will be one of their biggest challenges yet because they can be explosive.
Tennessee ranks in the top 20 in the entire FBS in total offense. On average, per game, they gain 457 yards. That is a lot. The Dawgs only allow opponents to 231 yards per game, which leads the SEC, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Vols can challenge them.
While Tennesse does provide a challenge, mostly in their rushing game, they are no match for this scary good Dawg defense.
3. Georgia football will see its passing attack will prevail
Frankly, it doesn’t matter who is at the helm for Georgia on Saturday, whether it’s Stetson Bennett or JT Daniels — they both can lead the Dawgs to their 10th victory.
Tennessee’s secondary has been bad this season. They are No. 109 out of 132 FBS teams in passing defense which is not a good look, especially when you are about to play the No.1 team in the country.
So far this season, Georgia hasn’t been forced into a situation where they have to solely depend on their passing game to win. This game shouldn’t be one of those either, but fans should feel confident in Georgia’s ability to throw the ball all day long come Saturday evening.
Last week against Missouri, the Dawgs threw for 300-plus yards between Bennett and Daniels. While the Dawgs need to win this game by having a good day on the ground, we could also see some explosive pass plays.
In each of Tennessee’s four losses, the opposing quarterbacks have caused problems in each of those losses. They gave up 301 passing yards to Pitt, 222 to Florida, 231 to Ole Miss and 371 to Alabama. The Vols gave up 322 passing yards to Missouri and 387 yards to Kentucky so that the Dawgs could have a massive day through the air.
Look for Georgia to try and find a balanced offense against the Vols on Saturday as the Dawgs look to dominate and reach 10-0 and one step closer to the National Championship and ending that 41-year drought.