Week 3 Preview: #6 UGA at #15 UT
by Chito Chibuye
Dawgs OTL Writer/ UGA Alumnus
A Border Rivalry with Deep Roots
It’s not Florida or Auburn, honestly it’s not even Georgia Tech– but when you grow up in Northwest, GA you learn to hate that ‘Volunteer Orange’ at an early age. Just a short drive up I-75 will take you straight to Knoxville, TN where they play in one of the largest venues in this historic conference, and sing ‘Rocky Top’ EVERY TIME their players touch the checkerboard endzone. Ooooo I used to hate going to school (in the 90’s) after a loss to Tennessee. That fanbase doesn’t pull any punches and has produced some great players over the years. Reggie White, Peyton Manning, Jason Witten, Eric Berry, Arian Foster, and of course Tee Martin to name a few. I didn’t see a UGA win in the 1st decade of my life. That all changed when Kirby Paul Smart came back home to Athens.
Georgia’s Recent Dominance Over Tennessee
Outside of their hail-mary win in Athens during Kirby’s first year, it’s been all Dawgs. Neyland Stadium has been our 2nd home since 2017 and I have personally attended several of these curb-stompings under UGA’s current administration. Living in enemy territory as of late is a little bit easier with both fanbases knowing that Georgia has been one of the SEC’s best teams in recent years. UGA is 55-5 since 2021 with 2 SEC championships and 2 National championships in that same time span. The series has extended to 29-23-2 in Georgia’s favor on this dominant run of 8 games straight over the Vols, and a win Saturday will match the decade-long streak (9) Tennessee put me through as an elementary school student.
Tennessee’s Fast Start in 2025
The one thing I can promise you, is that Tennessee doesn’t care about any of that. They will take any opportunity they can to end this streak, and their 2-0 start where they have quite frankly destroyed their opponents has them feeling confident. When Nico left in the offseason, I thought this was about to be an easy W for Georgia, but this offense might be better with Joey Aguilar at QB. Between Aguilar and the RB’s DeSean Bishop & Star Thomas this offense has been smoking hot, coming off a 72-pt, 700+ yard field day against ETSU at home. Defensively, DB Orlando “Boo” Carter from right here in Chattanooga, TN, is the* man, and this front 7 is stingy against the run (75 rush ypg allowed).
Injuries That Could Hurt the Vols
Unfortunately for Tennessee, injuries are going to cost them a real chance at beating a Georgia team that hasn’t found its stride quite yet. Plus, the Bulldogs are a bad matchup for what this Heupel-led team wants to do. Regarding injuries, both of Tennessee’s starting corners Rickey Gibson III (left arm injury) and Jermod McCoy (ACL) will be out for Saturday, along with DT Daevin Hobbs and a few other questionable players. In their place will be corners Tyler Redmond (Freshman), Colton Hood (Soph. from McDonough, GA), and defensive lineman Bryson Eason (Redshirt Sr.). Eason may slide into his role without much drop off, but if I’m Bobo I’m trying to baptize these young corners with fire come Saturday.
Georgia’s Defensive Edge Against Heupel
The problem for Heupel starts with Kirby, Glenn Schumann, and the Georgia defense. He has never been able to overcome this coaching staff figuring out his scheme, even with his most talented offenses over the years. They simply don’t have the WR talent to challenge this Dawgs’ secondary in 2025. “Well, Tennessee can run the ball!” Yes. Yes, they can, and this defense can shut it down. As good as UT has been at stopping the run, UGA has been even better through 2 games (61.5 rush ypg allowed). The corners I mentioned.. good luck stopping Noah Thomas, Colbie Young, Zach Branch, Bell, and Humphreys from giving you splinters off the route tree all day long. On top of that, this Vol defense loves to play man coverage and is really aggressive when it comes to rushing up the field. So, let's revisit that 90’s theme from earlier and think ‘Pokemon’. An impressively mobile QB that thrives at throwing footballs into 1-on-1 coverage paired with a seasoned offensive coordinator who loves to call screen plays against pressure… that is Super-Effective against everything Tennessee does well and will ultimately drop their HP to 0.
Final Thoughts: Dawgs vs Vols Prediction
Rankings and winstreaks won’t matter by the time Saturday rolls around, but the injuries and matchups in my opinion lean heavily in Georgia’s favor. Either way, somebody is going to be singing Rocky Top when the dust settles and I really hope it’s me and all of Dawgnation.
Go Dawgs!
Score Prediction: UGA over UT 38-17
