TENNESSEE (2-2, 0-1 SEC) VS. NO. 2 GEORGIA (4-0, 2-0)
3:30 p.m. at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia
VIDEO & RADIO
CBS & 106.5/102.3 FM
THE MATCHUP
A Southeastern Conference rivalry decided by eight or fewer points every season from 2011 to 2016 swung heavily in Georgia’s favor last season, when the Bulldogs handed Tennessee its worst home loss in more than a century with a 41-0 drubbing at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee could be in for a similar fate this week as third-year Georgia coach Kirby Smart seeks a complete-game performance from his team. The Bulldogs won 43-29 at Missouri last week, but there were some things Smart wants to clean up. The struggling Volunteers will have the unenviable task of playing their first true road game of the season while trying to clean up the myriad miscues that haunted them in a 47-21 home loss to Florida last week.
ONE TO WATCH
Georgia senior cornerback Deandre Baker, a preseason All-American, has been in on four turnovers through as many games in 2018. Baker, who was recruited to Georgia by Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt when he was the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator in 2014 and 2015, has two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Baker returned an interception 55 yards in the first quarter of Georgia’s Sept. 8 win over South Carolina, dropping the football on the 1-yard-line to celebrate before a teammate recovered it for a touchdown. As a team, Georgia is third in the conference with a plus-five turnover margin; Tennessee ranks 12th among the league’s 14 teams with a minus-three turnover margin. Keeping the ball out of Baker’s hands is key for an offense that sabotaged itself with six turnovers against Florida.
IN THE END
Some say there is no such thing as a moral victory, but that’s the only form of victory Tennessee will be leaving Athens with on Saturday. The Bulldogs are banged up on the offensive line, but they have an assembly line of talented depth at the position. Georgia also is cleaning up its rushing defense, but the Tennessee offensive line has shown little proof it can consistently open holes against an SEC defense. Nowhere, with the exception of punter and field-goal kicker, can the Vols look on the field and believe they are equally talented as Georgia. But Tennessee needs confidence. Covering a 33-point spread would constitute a moral victory for the Vols.
PREDICTION
Georgia 42, Tennessee 10