After an open date during their bye week, Tennessee will take the football field again on Saturday. But their opponent isn’t any easier than the last time they stepped onto the field.
The Vols (1-3, 0-1 SEC) welcome in No. 3 Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC) for a nighttime kick-off in Neyland Stadium on Saturday. The Bulldogs have looked impressive to start the season, while Tennessee has struggled mightily to begin the year.
Georgia boasts one of the most balanced and potent offenses in college football, rushing for over 250 yards a game and throwing for over 250 yards a game as well. Defensively, the Bulldogs possesses the best run defense in the SEC and the second-best scoring defense in the conference.
But Tennessee is potentially starting a new era at quarterback on Saturday night.
True freshman quarterback Brian Maurer will reportedly be getting the first start of his Tennessee career against the Bulldogs, replacing redshirt junior Jarrett Guarantano. After a surprisingly rough first four weeks, Guarantano is getting benched in favor of the true freshman.
All-time, the Vols are 2-4 against SEC opponents when a true freshman quarterback is making his first career start. Tennessee is 0-3 against ranked opponents in a freshman QB’s first start.
The winner of Saturday’s contest will own the advantage in the all-time series. Right now, the Vols and Bulldogs are tied 23-23-2 all-time, but Georgia has dominated the divisional rivalry as of late. The Dawgs have won the last two games by a combined score of 79-12, and they’re winners of seven of the last nine games played between the two schools.
Take a look at what we’re “buying and selling” about the game. Also be sure to check out our opponent preview and our score predictions for the game. You can also take a look at how the other true freshmen quarterbacks have done in their first career starts at Tennessee.
If you can’t make it to the game, here’s how you can watch or listen to the Vols’ match-up with the Georgia Bulldogs.
Kickoff: 7:00 PM Eastern, October 5th, Neyland Stadium (Knoxville, TN)
TV: ESPN (Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Holly Rowe)
Streaming Online: ESPN.com/Watch, ESPN app
Radio: Vol Network, Sirius 78, XM 191
Line: Georgia (-24.5)
