Be careful what you wish for... ESPN's Paul Finebaum has Kirby Smart firmly on his radar heading into the biggest game of the Saturday slate. His No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers will welcome the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs to Neyland Stadium. The winner of this game will not only have early-season bragging rights, but it could propel the victors to even greater heights than expected down the line.
Finebaum discussed this game with his ESPN colleague Greg McElroy on a recent episode of Always College Football. He cited this as not only a prove it game for the Volunteers, but also an opportunity for Smart to flex his muscles as the best head coach in college football, en route to keeping Georgia's impressive winning streak alive for another year over Tennessee. Something has to give in this game.
The pressure Finebaum is putting on Smart is justified, but why is he willingly poking the bear here?
Paul Finebaum explains Tennessee game is a must-win for Kirby Smart
To put it bluntly, a defeat to the Volunteers would not help Georgia maintain its ongoing narrative.
“They will suddenly become this week’s overreaction (if they lose). Their fans have been on a little bit of an edge for a while ... This is a really big game for Kirby Smart ... I don’t know what to expect in this game, quite frankly.”
Finebaum is absolutely right in that a Georgia loss will become the overreaction of the week heading into the Bulldogs' bye. It will be incredibly amped up because the Dawgs' next opponent will be their perpetual nemesis in the Alabama Crimson Tide coming into Athens to tee it up Between the Hedges. Georgia simply cannot start out SEC play at 0-2 to have any real shot at making the playoff this year.
Here is everything Finebaum had to say about Georgia at Tennessee over on Always College Football.
With all that in mind, here is why Smart is the least of Georgia's concerns heading into this ball game.
Kirby Smart is the biggest advantage Georgia will have vs. Tennessee
From a pure talent standpoint, Georgia has better players than Tennessee does. It is not by much, but it is undeniable. Add in the fact that the Volunteers will be down both of their star cornerbacks in Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III in this one, as well as five-star right tackle David Sanders, and the this could get ugly in a hurry for Tennessee. However, Smart is the difference maker in this one.
Josh Heupel may be a great head coach in his own right, but he has had a miserable time trying to score points on Smart's defense with his Air Raid offense. Simply put, the Dawgs' defensive backs usually have no problem neutralizing the limited route trees the Tennessee receivers can run within the context of this offense. If Tennessee cannot run the ball, that could be a huge problem for them.
As far as Finebaum challenging Smart, it makes sense. Georgia is three years removed from its last national championship. Gunner Stockton is still incredibly unproven at quarterback. Last year's Georgia team left a lot to be desired on both sides of the football. Smart still has the respect of his colleagues and the national media, but losing Georgia's SEC opener to Tennessee is not a good look.
These games are always physical, but Georgia may be the more prepared team in this one coming in.