All for Tennessee
Fansided

Tennessee football vs. Georgia: Last-minute predictions for Vols and Bulldogs

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 09: Tennessee Volunteers fans cheer during the first half of the game against the Indiana State Sycamores at Neyland Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Tennessee football is looking to pull of a major upset today. Here are our last-minute predictions for the Volunteers against the UGA Bulldogs.

Related Story: Tennessee vs. Georgia: 10 Keys to the game

Nobody is giving Tennessee football a chance. Despite the Vols’ history against the Dawgs in this series, especially over the past six years, the last three weeks have made an impression on analysts everywhere.

So now, Butch Jones’s team takes the field with very few expectations in this game. Perhaps that’s just what they want.

As the Vols enter the game 3-1, Georgia is thinking College Football Playoff. There’s a chance they could be looking past Tennessee.

Meanwhile, Tennessee football needs this win to get Jones back in the good graces with his fans. So this game could be tougher than people think.

Here are our final predictions for the game.

Must Read: 5 Georgia Bulldogs to watch for vs. Vols

1. There will be at least three interceptions in the game.

Quinten Dormady has been reckless so far at times as Tennessee football’s quarterback despite playing well at other times. Meanwhile, Jake Fromm has been filling in for Jacob Eason admirably, but he’s a freshman. So whether it’s Fromm or Eason playing hurt, there’s going to be some mistakes in the game. And that will make for at least three picks.

2. Nick Chubb will play too timid early on. 

Tennessee football could benefit from Nick Chubb trying to avoid injury early early on. Chubb has gotten hurt in each of his last two games against the Vols, so he likely will be focused on staying healthy this game. That could work in Tennessee’s favor from a mental perspective. As a result, don’t be surprised if he makes a couple of mistakes and Sony Michel does more of the work.

3. Marquez Callaway will be targeted at least 10 times.

You have to believe the Tennessee football coaching have been saving Marquez Callaway. His best performance was against an elite secondary in the first game of the year. Against another elite secondary, he made a play that should have set up a Vols touchdown. Now, he’s going up against a third elite secondary. But the Vols haven’t used him much recently. They need him this game to have a chance, so look for them to target him a lot more.

4. There will be a big special teams play.

See the history of the Tennessee-Georgia series for our reference here. Last year, the Vols won off the special teams plays with a beautiful punt and a great return by Evan Berry on separate plays. The year before, the Vols gave up a punt return TD but nullified it by forcing a fumble on a kickoff. And the Dawgs have a history of punt return TDs in this series. So expect something crazy to happen on special teams this year as well.

Next: 5 Vols to watch for vs. Georgia

5. The game will come down to the final drive. 

Nobody is giving Tennessee football a chance. But the Vols are a much better team than how they looked last week. They were good enough to beat the Florida Gators by double-digits two weeks ago, but mental mistakes and poor coaching kept them in there. UMass was a trap game. Tennessee is benefitting from ‘everybody says’ syndrome, but we know the game will be close. Here, we’re not just calling that it will be close. Based on the history of this series, it will come down to the final drive.

Home/Vols Football