To claim that Saturday afternoon’s showdown between No. 6 Georgia and No. 15 Tennessee inside Neyland Stadium will be unique from a quarterback perspective would be quite the understatement.
For the first time since World War II, the Bulldogs and Volunteers will face one another guided by quarterbacks making their first starts in a Southeastern Conference game. Georgia redshirt junior Gunner Stockton played the second half of last December’s overtime win over Texas in the SEC championship contest following Carson Beck’s elbow injury, with his three career starts coming against Notre Dame in last season’s Sugar Bowl and the first two weeks of this season against Marshall and Austin Peay.
Tennessee counterpart Joey Aguilar is a fifth-year senior in his first season with the Vols and has led them to victories over Syracuse and East Tennessee State.
“I’m super excited,” Aguilar said after this past weekend’s 72-17 dismantling of ETSU. “That’s another team on our schedule that we have to go and play, so I’m excited for the week of preparation and just trusting my guys and going out and playing.”
Saturday’s 3:30 matchup will be televised by ABC, with the network bringing its A-team broadcasting lineup of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe.