Georgia vs. Tennessee Football: Previewing the Bulldogs' SEC Rivalry

The Georgia Bulldogs and Tennessee Volunteers clash in Knoxville Saturday evening for their annual border war rivalry game. This is almost always one of the more physical games of the season for both teams as there’s no love lost between these two squads. Both Georgia and Tennessee have been able to defend their home field the past two seasons, but we’ll have to wait until Saturday to see if that trend continues.

Tennessee looks to avenge last year’s loss in Athens, as Derek Dooley will take his second crack at Georgia since taking over the head coaching position at UT in 2010. Dooley and the Vols are also looking for their first SEC win of 2011 and would love to take some momentum into an upcoming stretch of games that include LSU, Alabama and South Carolina in consecutive weeks.

Mark Richt comes into Knoxville looking for his 100th victory as UGA’s head coach. More importantly, Georgia is looking for their fourth win in a row, which would put them at 3-1 in conference play and at least remain tied for first in the tightly contested SEC East.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the matchup between the Bulldogs and the Vols this Saturday.

Georgia Offense: Stay on Track

Despite a slow start in the season opener against Boise State and an anemic second half last week against Mississippi State, Georgia’s offense has been gelling, clicking and scoring, averaging nearly 35 points per game.

Through five games, quarterback Aaron Murray already has 1,100 passing yards and 13 touchdowns versus six interceptions, three of which came last week against Mississippi State. Look for Murray to rebound and have another big day in Knoxville.

Orson Charles and Aron White are living up to expectations at the tight end position, combing for 322 yards and five touchdowns. Charles and White are also two of the better blocking tight ends in the nation.

True freshman wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell is also much further along than many had hoped for at this point in the season. Mitchell is the Bulldogs' leading receiver on the season with 22 catches for 312 yards and three touchdowns.

And then there’s freshman phenom running back Isaiah Crowell. Crowell has come in and dominated teams so far this season. Crowell is averaging over 100 rushing yards per game and just keeps getting better.

Tennessee was hit hard on the ground by Florida by Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps. Expect Georgia to similarly pound the ball against the Vols with Crowell, Richard Samuel and Carlton Thomas.

With a potent rushing attack combined with Murray and Company striking through the air, Georgia should have no problem putting points on the scoreboard.

Tennessee Offense: Lack of a Rushing Threat

Tennessee is 98th in the country rushing, averaging only 111 yards per game. This lack of production on the ground will allow the Georgia defense to key in on sophomore quarterback Tyler Bray.

Florida held Tennessee’s leading rusher, Tauren Poole, to only 18 yards on nine carries. As a team, the Vols finished with negative nine yards total on the ground against the Gators. Expect the Vols woes on the ground to continue this weekend against the Bulldogs.

This is a great matchup for the Georgia defense coming off an impressive performance against the run-heavy Mississippi State Bulldogs. UGA surrendered only 56 rushing yards, just barely over a quarter of MSU’s 217.5 season average coming into the game.

Georgia Defense: Stopping Tennessee’s Passing Attack

Against Florida, Tennessee’s rushing woes led to a one-dimensional attack with Bray attempting 48 passes as opposed to just 14 running plays run by the Vols. Georgia will look to follow suit, shut down the Tennessee rushing attack early and focus on defending Bray and the Vols' passing attack.

Much as the story for the Georgia defense last week was stopping Mississippi State’s potent rushing attack, this week the Bulldogs will have to key in on Tyler Bray and the passing game of Tennessee.

This game pits strength against strength and should be an interesting matchup between Tennessee’s passing offense and Georgia’s passing defense.

Georgia is second in the SEC in passing defense, allowing only 151.6 yards per game through the air. The Bulldogs are also tied for second in the SEC in interceptions with eight.

Tennessee, despite playing only four games because of an early bye week, is second in the SEC in passing offense. Tyler Bray leads the SEC with 14 touchdown passes. Bray has improved both his decision-making and accuracy from last season and has only two interceptions so far this year, both thrown in the loss against Florida.

Sophomore Volunteer wide receivers Da’Rick Rogers (6’3”, 215 lbs) and Justin Hunter (6’4”, 200 lbs) are both averaging over 100 yards receiving per game and have 10 touchdowns combined. Tennessee will look to test Brandon Boykin and the Georgia secondary as there will be some size mismatches if Tennessee can work its way into some one-on-one coverage deep.

Georgia is going to have to key in on Tyler Bray and keep him uncomfortable all day. Because of Tennessee’s lack of a run threat, Georgia should be able to drop more players into coverage to double-team receivers and eliminate big passing plays.

Look for Todd Grantham to keep Bray confused by alternating blitz packages with dropping back into coverage, hopefully forcing Bray into making mistakes. If Bray is allowed to get into a rhythm and find his big wide receivers, it could be a shootout in Knoxville and a long day for the Georgia defense.

What This Game Means for Tennessee

If Tennessee can muster a win in Knoxville, they will be 1-1 in the SEC and will thrust themselves into the already-muddled race for the SEC East. A victory would hand Georgia their second conference loss and give the Vols the tiebreaker against the Bulldogs in the East.

Unfortunately for Tennessee, this week marks the beginning of a gauntlet of games for the Vols as they move on welcoming in No. 1 LSU, traveling to No. 2 Alabama then coming back home to host No. 18 South Carolina. Even with a win against the Bulldogs, it is doubtful Tennessee will remain in the East race for long.

What This Game Means for Georgia

Georgia is very much in the thick of the SEC East race and has the most favorable schedule down the stretch, avoiding LSU, Alabama and Arkansas out of the stacked SEC West. This is a huge game for Georgia to keep pace in the SEC East, especially after Florida took their first conference loss against Alabama last week.

Georgia does not technically control their own destiny because if South Carolina wins out, they would have the tiebreak against Georgia and be headed to Atlanta. However, it’s improbable that South Carolina will run the conference table with their shaky quarterback play and Florida and Arkansas still left on their schedule.

The matchup in Jacksonville with the Gators will probably make or break Georgia’s hopes for a division title, but the Vols on Saturday are the first step on the road to Atlanta and the Bulldogs best not stumble in Knoxville if they want to stay on top of what could still be a very successful season.

Game Notes

Neyland Stadium has not been a friendly place for the Bulldogs as of late. After Richt started his career at Georgia 3-0 at Tennessee, Georgia has dropped two straight in Neyland and haven’t won there since 2005.  

After a breakout game last week at OLB, Cornelius Washington will start a two-game suspension for a DUI arrest early Sunday morning following the victory against Mississippi State. Richt is yet to name Washington's replacement, but look for true freshman Ray Drew to get some much-anticipated playing time this week.

Inside linebacker Alec Ogletree remains out with a broken foot injury sustained in the season opener against Boise State.

A Georgia victory would be Mark Richt’s 100th victory in his 11th year as the Bulldogs head coach.