There are four matchups this week consisting of two teams both ranked in the latest College Football Playoff rankings squaring off against each other. If the Washington Huskies taking on the Oregon State Beavers is the headliner at 7:30 eastern time, then the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs taking on the 18th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville makes for one heck of an undercard. Georgia leapfrogged the Ohio State Buckeyes to reclaim their spot atop the nation.
Georgia is still undefeated, and has everything to play for. Tennessee is eliminated from contention for the SEC Championship game and almost surely won't make the College Football Playoff. But that won't stop them from getting up for a rivalry that has featured plenty of fireworks in its rich history. No one will forget the hail mary Jauan Jennings brought in from Josh Dobbs to take down Georgia back in 2016.
Tennessee may have gotten splattered last week by Missouri and Georgia trounced Ole Miss. This game looks like it won't be close, but that's when college football works its magic. This will be a great game, so much so that it warrants some bold predictions.
Squirrel White accrues at least 100 receiving yards
Squirrel White is not Jalin Hyatt, but he has done a nice imitation of him this season for the Volunteers. He leads the team in receptions with 49 of them and yards with 609 of them. The next highest on the Vols in each department is Ramel Keyton with 28 receptions and 469 yards. White started the season slow but has gotten on track in his last six games. He has at least 94 yards in three of those six games, including going for 111 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions against Alabama. His touchdown came on a 39-yard shot that featured a gorgeous moon ball by quarterback Joe Milton.
White is a threat to score from anywhere on the field. Though Georgia's defense isn't the world beater they've been in their two National Championship seasons, they're still very stout. Ole Miss' quarterback Jaxson Dart had just 112 passing yards against this defense. Brady Cook for Missouri had only 212 yards and completed less than half of his pass attempts. The same applies to Kentucky's Devin Leary, who finished with only 128 yards against Georgia. It surely won't be easy for White to crack the century mark. But how he featured he is in Tennessee's offense as well as his big play ability could help him get there.
Tennessee keeps the game within single digits
Vegas has the Georgia Bulldogs as ten point favorites right now according to ESPN Bet. Georgia is absolutely deserving of that prognostication, but it won't be easy for them to get there. For one, Tennessee is at home with one of the best crowds in all of college football. Tennessee is undefeated at home (6-0) but 1-3 on the road. They play better in Knoxville.
Another reason would be that Tennessee is just a good football. Their offense led by Hendon Hooker and the aforementioned Hyatt tore apart every defense they went up against a year ago, but this team has been held down by it's defense. It hasn't been as prolific this season; they rank 17th in the country in yards per game at 454.8 after leading the country with 525.5 yards per game a year ago. The Vols also rank 40th in the country in yards per game allowed at 340.6 and 29th in points per game allowed at 20.2. They may have gotten blitzed by Missouri last week, but they're still a very good team.
Lastly, it's a rivalry game. That seems cliche, but weird things happen all the time in college football, especially in rivalry games. Both teams will get up for this game, but Tennessee has nothing to lose and would love to play spoiler to Georgia's season. Georgia could very well win this game, but it won't be a cakewalk.
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