Tennessee football is off to a solid 2-0 start to the the 2025 season but the challenge ratchets up significantly Saturday afternoon when they face rival Georgia in a rivalry showdown at Neyland Stadium. The Bulldogs have won eight straight games in the series and have taken care of business with ease in recent seasons.
Georgia is four-point favorites with kickoff just a day away. Here’s three keys for Tennessee to end the losing streak and earn a marquee SEC win.
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Tennessee Needs To Create Chunk Plays In The Passing Game
Tennessee’s passing attack has struggled more than any other area in its last three meetings against Georgia. The Vols haven’t thrown for 200 yards or recorded a passing touchdown against Georgia since 2021. If Tennessee is going to win this game, they have to throw the football better than they have.
For Tennessee to have more consistent offensive success, they have to create some chunk plays in the passing game. Those don’t have to be explosive plays necessarily. Sure, a couple big 40-plus yards plays would go a long way but Tennessee doesn’t have to live there.
What they have to do is have five-plus passes that go for over 15 yards. Tennessee had just one such pass play a season ago. That can’t be the case again this season if the Vols are going to earn an early season marquee win.
Multiple things go into having success in the passing game but my eyes are on Tennessee’s receivers in this one. It’s a young, athletic group. Let’s see if they can match Georgia’s physicality and rise to the occasion.
Make Gunner Stockton Beat You
Maybe the biggest reason for optimism surrounding Tennessee in this game is first-year Georgia starting quarterback Gunner Stockton. He’s been lackluster so far this season and the Georgia passing attack looked extremely vanilla in its wins over Marshall and Austin Peay.
This is also the first road start of Stockton’s career and it will be in an extremely difficult environment. Georgia wants to take the pressure off Stockton. Tennessee wants to put the game on Stockton’s shoulders.
How does Tennessee put the game on Stockton’s shoulders? Slow down Georgia’s rushing attack. There’s optimism that the Bulldogs’ rushing attack is going to dramatically improve this season. Tennessee’s run defense looked a bit more vulnerable against Syracuse. Getting Jaxson Moi and Tyree Weathersby back would go a long way towards bolstering it.
But if Georgia can run the football, live in third-and-manageable and control the clock then Tennessee could be in trouble in this one.
Defend The Middle Of The Football Field
When Georgia is leaning on Stockton and the passing game, Tennessee has to do a much better of defending the middle of the football field where Carson Beck and the Bulldogs torched the Vols a season ago.
Georgia tight ends combined to catch nine passes for 107 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs receivers did damage over the middle of the field as well. Tennessee’s linebackers and safeties simply have to be much better in pass coverage than they were a season ago and then they were against Syracuse.
Which leads to an interesting dilemma. Stockton’s inexperience would lead to more zone defense, but Tennessee seems much better playing man-to-man to me. That’s especially ironic given they’ll be without top corners Rickey Gibson and Jermod McCoy in this game.
