My family loves Dolly Parton, but this is the one week a year I hope she is miserable. As mentioned in the first look post, Georgia has dominated the Tennessee series recently. Since 2001, Mark Richt & Kirby Smart are a combined 17-6 with 11 of those wins of the double digit variety against the Hillbillies. Kirby in particular has had Josh Heupel’s number unlike anyone else in the conference where the Georgia defense has locked up the Volunteer offense and thrown away the key. Hopefully, that happens later tonight between the hedges in what appears to be a game where the winner likely punches their ticket to the CFP and the loser prepares for a meaningless bowl game in Florida somewhere. Let’s get to the preview.

When Georgia Has the Ball

As mentioned earlier this week, Tennessee’s defense has not allowed anyone to break the 20 point barrier this season, and they have been particularly stout against the run and have generated a consistent pass rush. That sounds a lot like what we just experienced. The only difference between the two is that Tennessee has 1 elite guy off the edge in James Pearce as opposed to the 3 that the Rebels convinced to come to the ‘Sip. Also, I don’t think Tennessee has a true game wrecker in the middle like Ole Miss had in Walter Nolen.

Trevor Etienne has been declared out for tonight, and Cash Jones is also listed on the availability report as questionable. That means a lot of Nate Frazier and possibly more work for other freshman backs or Dillon Bell switches up to play running back. All of that scares the hell out of me in pass protection. I hope that another week gets Tate Ratledge more healthy and gets the run game going better than we’ve seen it. I really hope our offensive line can give our backs a chance and provide Beck time to get the passing game going. This game goes as far as the offensive line allows it to go.

When Tennessee Has the Ball

Nico I is still listed on the availability report as questionable, but I’ll believe he’s not playing when he doesn’t step on the field for Tennessee’s first play on offense. I have to assume Heupel is going to tread lightly with his dual-threat quarterback by taking planned QB runs out of the game plan to prevent him from being dinged up again and back in concussion protocol. That means I expect to see a heavy dose of the SEC’s leading rusher, Dylan Sampson, which is going to put a lot of pressure on our defense to force Tennessee to become one-dimensional.

While the Heupel version of the Air Raid gets a lot of publicity for its ability to create explosive plays in the passing game, this offense is at its most effective when it has a solid running game. Here are the total rushing yards by year under Heupel against Georgia – 55, 94, and 130 (75 on 1 play). If Georgia holds Tennessee under 120 yards rushing, I like the Dawgs’ chances tonight.

What Will Happen

I have no idea what to expect tonight because I can’t get a firm grasp of where our team’s (and fan base) heads are collectively. The Bobo, Searels, and Coley doubters are out in full force including here at GTPR, but this is the first time in a very long time that the fan base is questioning the defensive coaches including Kirby himself. If the Dawgs can get the crowd involved early and often (Greeks, get your collective asses in the 300 section early and stay late), I believe the Dawgs win and may do it easily. If not, I see this as a knock-down, drag-out kind of game that is a playoff atmosphere.

The Dawgs’ defense has played some of their better football this year against teams in that hideous color of orange. I believe they do it again with the crowd behind them. Look for me … I’ll be the one wearing black.

Final Score: Georgia 24, Tennessee 17

Give us your score and keys to the game in the comments.