Tennessee football vs. Georgia: 10 keys to the game

8. Can the Vols avoid a second quarter collapse?

It’s well-documented how great Tennessee football is in the first quarter. They lead the nation in first quarter scoring at 15.5 points per game and hold opponents to 4.6 yards per game, winning the margin by just under 11 points.

However, that won’t be an advantage in this game, as Georgia dominates the first just like UT does. They are fourth in first quarter scoring at 11.2 points per game and fourth in first quarter defense, holding foes to 1.3 points per game for a margin of just under 10 points.

The difference is the second quarter. UGA continues to dominate, holding opponents to 0.8 second quarter points a game, good for No. 1 overall, and scoring 12.2 points a game, good for No. 11 overall. That’s the quarter the Vols collapse in. They are No. 73 in second quarter points at 7.1 but 116 in second quarter points allowed per game at 12, being outscored by nearly five points.

This all changed last week, though. UT did lose the second quarter, but it scored the final 10 points to go into halftime up by three. That was the difference. Did the Vols finally turn the corner in that quarter? If they did, they need to put it on display Saturday, because the second quarter is when Georgia has been turning every game into a blowout.