ESPN College Gameday 2024: TV Schedule, Predictions and Location for Week 12
If the 2024 season ended today, then Georgia would not make the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs, who are ranked No. 12 in the CFP rankings, would be the first team out due to the rule that five conference champions must be included in the 12-team field.
However, fortunately for Georgia, the season is not over today. The Bulldogs still have time to play their way into the field over the next three weeks, beginning with a marquee SEC matchup in Week 12.
Saturday is set to bring a showdown between No. 7 Tennessee and No. 12 Georgia that will have strong CFP implications. The Bulldogs will look to bounce back from last week's loss at Ole Miss as they host the Vols at Sanford Stadium in a 7:30 p.m. ET matchup.
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Earlier in the day, ESPN's College GameDay will air from Georgia's campus in Athens. The popular college football kickoff show will be live from 9 a.m.-noon ET on ESPN and ESPNU.
It will be the first time that College GameDay has been held in Athens since Nov. 11, 2023. It's the sixth straight season that the show has gone to Georgia's campus at least once.
Before getting into more on the Tennessee-Georgia matchup, here's the full Top 25 slate for Week 12, along with predictions for each contest.
Week 12 Top 25 Schedule, Predictions
Saturday, Nov. 16
No. 2 Ohio State at Northwestern, noon ET, Big Ten Network
No. 3 Texas at Arkansas, noon ET, ABC
Utah at No. 17 Colorado, noon ET, Fox
No. 20 Clemson at Pittsburgh, noon ET, ESPN
No. 25 Tulane at Navy, noon ET, ESPN2
Mercer at No. 10 Alabama, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN+
No. 4 Penn State at Purdue, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Virginia at No. 8 Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m. ET, NBC
Boston College at No. 14 SMU, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
No. 19 Louisville at Stanford, 3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network
No. 22 LSU at Florida, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
No. 23 Missouri at No. 21 South Carolina, 4:15 p.m. ET, SEC Network
No. 13 Boise State at San Jose State, 7 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
Arizona State at No. 16 Kansas State, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
No. 1 Oregon at Wisconsin, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC
No. 7 Tennessee at No. 12 Georgia, 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
New Mexico State at No. 15 Texas A&M, 7:45 p.m. ET, SEC Network
No. 18 Washington State at New Mexico, 9:30 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Kansas at No. 6 BYU, 10:15 p.m. ET, ESPN
Picks in bold.
Tennessee-Georgia Preview
The stakes for Saturday's showdown between the Vols and the Bulldogs are quite high. Neither team can afford a loss in terms of the College Football Playoff picture, and especially not Georgia, which has already been defeated twice this season (road matchups vs. Alabama and Ole Miss).
If the Bulldogs lose Saturday, their Playoff aspirations may be over. If the one-loss Vols lose, their path to the CFP gets more challenging.
Georgia has dominated its series vs. Tennessee in recent years, having won the previous seven meetings between the two SEC programs. The Vols' last win over the Bulldogs was a 34-31 road victory on Oct. 1, 2016.
But Tennessee is better than it had been in recent seasons. The Vols already own a win over Alabama, which came during their active four-game win streak.
"You earn the right to play in big football games by what you do during the course of the season," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel recently said, per Paul Newberry of the Associated Press. "In these games, you have to do ordinary things at a really high level consistently. For us, that means you have to prepare at an elite level."
Both teams have some injury concerns heading into Saturday's matchup.
Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava is listed as questionable for the game after being placed in concussion protocol earlier in the week. The Vols' starting QB has thrown for 1,879 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.
Meanwhile, Georgia will be without junior running back Trevor Etienne, the team's leading rusher. Fellow RB Cash Jones is listed as questionable, while Branson Robinson remains out due to a knee injury. True freshman Nate Frazier could end up getting the bulk of the work out of the backfield.
This should be a competitive game. But the Bulldogs are the favorite, considering they'll be playing a must-win contest in front of their home fans in which they realize how much is at stake.
The prediction here is that Georgia finds a way to win and keep its CFP hopes alive. Tennessee will show that it belongs in the conversation, though, by keeping things interesting and close until late in the game.
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