One of the biggest remaining games on the SEC slate will be played this Saturday night when the Tennessee Volunteers make the trip to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs. A game of this magnitude, which has major College Football Playoff implications, requires college football's preeminent pre-game show to make a visit.
College GameDay will head to Georgia, and as has been customary for the last fifteen or so years, a celebrity guest picker will join the panel to make picks for the day's games. This week, it will be reigning WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes.
Cody Rhodes, and the entire Rhodes wrestling family, have ties all across the country. The grandson of a plumber from the state of Texas, Rhodes was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, raised in Marietta, Georgia, and then went to college at Penn State University. However, for years now he has been billed from Atlanta, a short 90 minute drive from Athens.
Rhodes will not the first WWE superstar to serve as the guest picker on College GameDay. In total, eight past or present pro wrestlers have already taken their turn in a seat next to Lee Corso to pick that Saturday's slate of games. Here's how they've all fared:
Sheamus – 3-1
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson – 7-3
Bianca Belair – 7-4
Bill Goldberg – 4-0
Jerry “The King” Lawler – 9-3
Roman Reigns – 6-4
Ric Flair – 6-4
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin – 5-4
Georgia has won their last seven matchups with Tennessee, but in each of those meetings, the Bulldogs have been the higher-ranked team. This time around, it's the 7th-ranked Volunteers who have the edge over the 12th-ranked Bulldogs in that regard, but with the game being played at Sanford Stadium, Georgia is a 10-point favorite.
For Georgia, this is a virtual must-win game. The Bulldogs have lost two games already this season, and Tennessee represents their last opportunity to score a win over a ranked opponent. After the Vols, Georgia has non-conference matchups with UMass and Georgia Tech. Wins in either of those games won't necessarily move the needle all that much when it comes to impressing the College Football Playoff selection committee.