No. 6 Georgia football will face its first major test of the season when it travels to Knoxville to play the No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday.
Head coach Kirby Smart, who has lost a grand total of five games over the last four-plus seasons at the helm in Athens, spoke to the media ahead of the game and offered what he thought would be the biggest challenge: containing Tennessee's run game.
“Very patient runners, well-coached,” Smart said, per Jordan D. Hill of 247 Sports. “They have a lot of schemes in their run game because of the formation variation they use, but they're committed to it. Like, it's physical within the trenches, and their offensive line plays extremely physical. They are very intentional with their bumps and their doubles. They attack you, and they try to get you out of your gaps. And they spread you out, and they do a really good job in the run game.”
Like the Bulldogs, Tennessee is also 2-0 on the season but has yet to face a ranked team. Led by Star Thomas and DeSean Bishop, the Volunteers have compiled 505 rushing yards through their first two games, finding the end zone seven times in the process.
Georgia football's offensive line faces a challenge against Tennessee
The Bulldogs also need to be concerned about Tennessee's defense. Georgia's offensive line has been banged up, and as Smart explained, switching players in and out has created a level of inconsistency.
“We felt like we would play some guys there and kind of see how guys did, see how guys played. It's been a rotating kinda deal all throughout camp. We've had guys in and out of the lineup during camp that has made us kinda platoon that side,” Smart said. “They had bright spots and they had disappointing spots, which is probably true for every position group on our field. But we got to continue to progress there, and we got to get the best guys in there and get them some continuity.”
Georgia beat Austin Peay in Week 2 without the services of Juan Gaston and Earnest Greene. There's no word yet on their availability against Tennessee.
The Bulldogs and Volunteers will do battle on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air on ABC.
