Some key areas to watch for.
Here we go. A massive, massive SEC matchup with big time College Football Playoff implications is set for Saturday night in Athens. Georgia, coming off of a loss to Ole Miss, absolutely has to have this one to stay alive. Tennessee might be in the same boat, based off how the committee treated them on Tuesday night.
Tennessee will also be in the driver’s seat for an SEC Championship berth with a win. The Volunteers haven’t appeared in that game since 2007. Tennessee hasn’t beaten Georgia since 2016, which was the famous ‘Dobb-Nail Boot’ game.
You’ve got Kirby Smart with his back against the wall and plenty of ammo for motivation. You’ve got Tennessee trying to get to a place they haven’t seen in over 15 years. It’s all on the line this weekend.
Nico Iamaleava — or Gaston Moore — against a complex Georgia defense
Let’s get right to it, we’ve got a major question mark entering the weekend on the Tennessee side. Former five-star prospect and emerging star quarterback Nico Iamaleava took a shot at the end of the first half against Mississippi State and did not return after the halftime break. Tennessee described it as an upper body injury, and further reporting has revealed that it turned out to be concussion-like symptoms.
Iamaleava has gone on to practice multiple times this week, but was listed as questionable on the first official injury report. Gaston Moore, a fifth-year senior who has been with Josh Heupel dating back to his time at UCF, would get the start should Iamaleava not be able to go.
Whoever gets the start is going to face a ridiculously talented Georgia defense in a hostile environment. This is pretty easily Georgia’s biggest home game of the year, and 93,000 people will have all day to get revved up for a night contest.
Smart is going to bring plenty of different looks to either a redshirt freshman without much road experience, or a guy with next to no playing experience.
“You put on the tape of Georgia’s defense and their front looks like a Georgia front always looks like,” Heupel said. “They move like they always move. Their linebackers are athletic, big, physical and they got elite athletes on the back end. What you see on the video is a typical Georgia defense.”
That typical Georgia defense has had Heupel’s number through his first three attempts in this rivalry. His Tennessee teams have yet to score 20 points on the Bulldogs — not even the Hendon Hooker led 2022 squad, although they did have some weather to contend with.
Nico Iamaleava certainly seems to have settled in since that second half against Alabama. Hopefully Tennessee fans get to see him take his turn against Georgia on Saturday night.
Carson Beck vs. the Tennessee pressure
No Brock Bowers, no Ladd McConkey…. well that seems to be a problem for Carson Beck. The senior quarterback has already doubled his interception total from last year. His yards per attempt is down nearly two full yards. His struggles were on full display last week against Ole Miss, as Georgia could only muster ten points. Going back a week, Beck tossed three interceptions against Florida. He threw three more against Texas and two against Mississippi State.
Now Beck gets to face one of the best defensive fronts in the country, one that will flat out get after you. Tim Banks and company have to be salivating at the opportunity to generate some more turnovers out of Beck, which is something that they’ve capitalized on all season long. How many times has Tennessee been on the ropes and the defense comes through with a key turnover to set up a score?
Expect Banks to call an aggressive game on the road in a tough environment. Georgia’s offensive line has been middle of the road this season in pass protection with 15 sacks allowed, which is good for 53rd in the nation. James Pearce and the army of contributors up front should have a chance to put their stamp on this one.
Can Tennessee establish the run against a stout Georgia front?
Georgia has two losses on the year — each time they’ve given up a significant amount of yards on the ground. Ole Miss ran for 133 last week in a game that was frankly over by the end of the third quarter. Alabama ran for 173 yards in their win over Georgia with the majority of those yards coming from quarterback Jalen Milroe.
Tennessee’s ninth-ranked rushing offense now comes to town, powered by Dylan Sampson, who is probably playing through some pain at this point in the season. The Volunteers run for 235 yards per game, which Josh Heupel admits is the secret sauce to his offense. Now potentially with a less than 100 percent Nico Iamaleava, the run game is that much more important.
“He is an elite runner,” Kirby Smart said of Sampson. “The runs they run are sometimes nontraditional. They run some runs that other people don’t run because of the space in the box. He’s very patient. He hits small creases. He’s hard to tackle. I mean, you don’t put up how many touchdowns he’s got in the SEC, 20-something? I mean, that’s crazy.
“He reminds me so much of his run skill set of Kamara, of Alvin. He’s very smooth and elusive.”
You know what you’re getting on the other side, too. You’re going to get a defense loaded with four and five stars, fully capable of mixing things up and giving you different looks. Georgia ranks 13th in total defense so far this year, specifically 21st in rushing defense and 36th in passing defense.
Couple of things to watch here — will Nico run after experiencing concussion-like symptoms? And now officially, Tennessee will be without backup running back DeSean Bishop. That means true freshman Peyton Lewis and sophomore back Cam Seldon will have to contribute in big ways. Those are two big pieces of the puzzle, especially with Sampson potentially not 100 percent after last week.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Athens. ABC will have the call. Georgia remains ten point favorites.