Georgia Football: How the Bulldogs Can Exploit Tennessee's Young Team

After a tough loss to South Carolina last week, Georgia will look to bounce back against Troy on Saturday. This is good for the Bulldogs to face a team like the Trojans because this will give them time to fix some things they need to correct before they get back into the thick of the SEC schedule.

And the Bulldogs’ next opponent will be Tennessee. The Vols started the season with solid wins against Utah State and Arkansas State. But when the Vols went to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the Sooners, they struggled in all phases of the game and ended up losing 34-10.

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But the Vols have a bye week before facing the Bulldogs, so they will have time to prepare for a team that is looking to get back in the SEC East race. What the Sooners were able to do against the Vols is exploit them on both sides of the ball due to their youth. Can the Bulldogs do the same thing?

Let’s start with the Tennessee offense. We all know that the Vols are a young team, but they are really young at key positions on offense. The offensive line has been the Achilles' heel for the Vols in the early stages of the season. There are no senior starters on the line and there are two freshmen in the starting rotation.

The interior defensive line, led by Mike Thornton, will have to get after guard Jashon Robinson, who is a true freshman, and Leonard Floyd, who is the Bulldogs’ best edge-rusher. Left tackle Brett Kendrick will be instrumental as well all game long.

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Tennessee's allowed nine sacks through three games this season after allowing just 15 all of last season.

— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) September 15, 2014"

But even with the freshmen starters, there are zero starters returning from last year. That is one of the main reasons quarterback Justin Worley was sacked five times in the Oklahoma game, which led to him making mistakes down the stretch.

The Bulldog defense also needs to make sure it hits tight end Ethan Wolf every snap. The true freshman has eight receptions for 46 yards and zero touchdowns this season. Linebackers Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson need to attack him any time he’s in the middle of the field.

As far as the Tennessee defense goes, the defensive line consists of a sophomore defensive end (Corey Vereen), a sophomore nose tackle (Danny O’Brien) and a freshmen defensive end (Derek Barnett). One of the things Oklahoma was able to do well against the Vols is run the football because the Sooners were able to attack the Vols defensive line with a bigger and more experienced offensive line.

What the Bulldogs should do is what they have done the last two games: feed the ball to Todd Gurley as much as they can.

The offensive line has done a solid job in the run game this season, and that should not change when the Dawgs go up against the Vols. No matter if it is isolations, toss sweeps or stretch plays, Gurley should have no issues getting past the first wave of defenders and get a ton of yards.

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And if that happens, that should open the door for Hutson Mason to make timely throws. He has looked solid so far this season, but with a young team like the Vols coming to Athens, they will do whatever it takes to rattle him, which is why running the football an attacking the young defensive line is crucial especially in the early stages of the game.

Make no mistake about it—the Bulldogs have a tough task ahead of them. Tennessee will be coming into the game hungry and well-rested. The Vols know they can come into Athens and beat the Bulldogs because head coach Butch Jones will have them ready to play.

But if the Bulldogs get off to a fast start, control the clock and get their star players in position to make plays, they should earn their first conference win of the year with no issues.

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