Tennessee vs Georgia: Last-Minute Predictions for Vols and Bulldogs

Tennessee vs Georgia will determine who has control of the SEC East. Here are the last-minute predictions for the game between the Volunteers and Bulldogs.

Vols fans everywhere have celebrated for a week. Bulldogs fans everywhere have been hoping for a rebound. And as the two clash, we’ve discussed everything going into this game. Now it’s time for our last-minute predictions for the Tennessee vs Georgia game.

The College GameDay crew wasn’t in the house this time, but they all picked the Vols to come away with the win.

After a 4-0 start, Butch Jones’s team is riding higher than it has been in a long time. This is the best feeling Tennessee football fans have had since at least 2004.

Related Story: Tennessee vs Georgia: 10 Keys to the Game

However, Georgia is a dangerous team. They may have gotten blown out by the Ole Miss Rebels last week, but they do have plenty of talent in Kirby Smart’s first year as a head coach.

Meanwhile, Tennessee has to manage the new expectations it has. Can it remained focused in its first true road test against a Georgia team that could be flying under the radar soon enough? We can’t say for sure.

But with Nick Chubb out for Georgia and Cameron Sutton and Darrin Kirkland Jr. out for Tennessee, along with Jalen Reeves-Maybin dinged up, anything could happen. Here are some final things we predict will happen in this year’s Tennessee vs Georgia game.

1. Tennessee’s defensive line will have at least five sacks.

The Georgia Bulldogs have struggled all year to find consistency at offensive tackle. Both positions have been terrible, and as a result they are one of the worst teams in the country at preventing sacks. Having a freshman quarterback in Jacob Eason doesn’t help.

Meanwhile, the Vols are loaded at defensive line. Derek Barnett saves his best play for SEC games, as he did with two sacks last week, and Corey Vereen is an elite edge rusher. Couple that with the tough interior line and Bob Shoop as a genius defensive coordinator, and the Dawgs could be in trouble here.

2. Tennessee will allow two deep touchdown passes.

This is one problem the Vols have had early all season long. Bob Shoop normally takes a little while to adjust to offenses, but not before they’ve had a couple of big plays. With Cameron Sutton hurt, the Vols are switching up their starting cornerbacks again by bringing in a freshman in Baylen Buchanan to replace Justin Martin.

Meanwhile, the Dawgs have an elite playmaker in Isaiah McKenzie who knows how to get past secondaries for big plays. Although they have limitations on offense, he is good for a few deep receptions a game. And with Tennessee’s issues at secondary, that’ll allow for some big Georgia plays.

3. Tennessee will out-gain Georgia on the ground by over 150 yards.

This is one of our bolder predictions of the Tennessee vs Georgia game. The Vols run a spread offense and keep it up-tempo just like the Ole Miss Rebels and Missouri Tigers. However, they still base everything on a power running game behind Jalen Hurd.

Georgia has been inconsistent in their front seven this year, so Hurd should have a great day. Add in Joshua Dobbs and Alvin Kamara, and they should have a field day. Meanwhile, the Dawgs don’t have Nick Chubb, and with their atrocious offensive line, Tennessee should dominate the trenches. That means they should dominate the rushing battle.

4. Georgia will not go away in the second half.

Tennessee has a reputation this year of starting off slow but taking control in the second half. They did that to both the Virginia Tech Hokies and Florida Gators, over-whelming them to the point that they couldn’t recover.

That won’t happen with the Georgia Bulldogs. Sure, they collapsed last week against the Ole Miss Rebels. But before that, they had three second-half comebacks. So this is a mentally tough team that can hang with anybody as well. And this week they are back at home, which helps. So the Vols can’t afford a slow start against this team like they’ve had in the past.

5. Somebody will score a special teams touchdown.

This is simply the nature of the Tennessee vs Georgia series. Whether it was the blocked punt by the Vols for a touchdown in 2006, a kickoff return for a touchdown by the Georgia Bulldogs that same year, or a punt return for a touchdown that they had in 2001, 2005, 2006, and last year, there’s always a big special teams play for a touchdown.

As you can see, it almost always favors the Dawgs. But this year, they don’t have Mark Richt. And Tennessee has stressed special teams ever since Butch Jones arrived. So it’s more of a toss-up now. Still, because of Georgia’s history in this series and Tennessee’s talent, somebody is going to score a special teams touchdown this game.