For a lot of us outside of the Tennessee Volunteers locker room, this game is feeling like a make-or-break one for Josh Heupel and Co. With a win at Georgia on Saturday, the Vols will have one foot in for the College Football Playoff. However, a loss could complicate things quite a bit.
That's not the mindset the players in Knoxville have right now, though. As cliche as it may sound, they're treating the upcoming contest against No. 11 Georgia like any other contest. They're not too high or too low about things ahead of kickoff - nope, they're keeping things steady. Fan favorite defensive back Will Brooks made that much clear.
""Every game needs to be treated the same because you need to prepare the same way each week instead of viewing some games as bigger than others.""Will Brooks
Tennessee DB Will Brooks isn't putting extra pressure on Georgia game
You've got to love the way Brooks and his teammates are thinking. Adding extra anxiety and pressure on themselves is the last thing Heupel needs. This is a Top 25 battle, with two SEC powerhouses ready to go at it.
Add in the fact that College GameDay will be in Athens and it's easy for a lot of people to get lost in the bright lights of things. However, Tennessee is focused on the task at hand. That task is to play a complete 60 minutes of football on both sides of the ball and stay focused on what they can control.
Entering this matchup, the Vols are 8-1 on the year, with the team's lone loss coming to Arkansas on the road. Georgia is coming off a rough defeat to Ole Miss. Nothing went right for them on offense in that game, as Carson Beck had another inconsistent showing. Brooks and the Tennessee defense will look to make life difficult for him. They'll need to do so for the Vols to have a shot at posting an upset.