Hail To The Gridiron

FIVE KEYS PG. 20 | DAWG BONES PG. 22 | A VIEW FROM ... KNOXVILLE PG. 24
SPORTS
BROCK AND KENNY MUST
NOW ALSO BRING IT VERSUS
THE VOLS!
PHOTO BY: GREG POOLE
GEORGIA VS TENNESSEE
GAME TIME: 3:30 PM EST
CHANNEL: CBS
GEORGIA VS TENNESSEE
BY: JEFF DANTZLER
Sanford Stadium is the site for a colossal Southeastern
Conference showdown Saturday afternoon, as top-ranked
Georgia hosts No. 3 Tennessee. Kickoff is set for just after 3:30 for
one of the most ballyhooed games ever Between the Hedges.
Both teams head into the game with perfect 8-0 records.
Tennessee is 4-0 in Southeastern Conference play, while the
reigning national champion Bulldogs are 5-0 in the league.
Both teams are also heading into the game coming off
impressive performances this past weekend, as Tennessee
tattooed Kentucky 44-6 in Knoxville and Georgia defeated
Florida 42-20 in Jacksonville.
Tennessee has experienced a tremendous surge this season.
In his second season, head coach Josh Heupel has the
Volunteers in a stratosphere they have not enjoyed in over 20
years. The hit list is impressive, highlighted by victories over
Florida, LSU and Alabama. Those three SEC traditional powers
have combined 11 of the past 19 national championships.
The 52-49 instant classic triumph over the Crimson Tide was
Tennessee’s first in the series since 2006, the year before Nick
Saban took the head coaching job in Tuscaloosa.
Now Tennessee tries to beat another SEC team with a 21st
century national championship, last year’s in fact.
The Volunteer faithful are savoring every second. They
endured a decade in the 2010s that is the least successful
in the history of the proud program. Heupel’s first team last
season posted a 7-6 record and the Volunteers were trending
upward. But this has been an enormous jump.
At the head of the class for Tennessee is quarterback
Hendon Hooker, a Heisman Trophy front-runner who
is having a season to date on par with the likes of SEC
legends Tim Tebow, Cam Newton and Joe Burrow. He is the
triggerman for the country’s most potent offense.
Kirby Smart has his alma mater in the midst of a golden era
of Georgia Football. Highlighted by last season’s national
championship, since a loss to Florida in 2020, the Bulldogs
have won 26 of their last 27 games.
Over the last five seasons, Smart has led Georgia to four SEC
Championship Games and guided the Bulldogs into the highest
elite stratosphere in the country. Over that stretch, Georgia has
also won five in a row over Tennessee. The Volunteers last beat
Georgia on the Hail Mary in 2016 in Athens.
When it comes to games of this magnitude, there were
vital victories over the Yellow Jackets in 1942 and 1946,
heartbreaking losses to Auburn in 1971 and 1983, and a
memorable victory over Alabama in 1976.
Tickets are hot and expensive. The excitement level is off
the charts. The buildup … electric.
The winner of this one has the inside track to the 2022 title
tilt. The loser isn’t out of the College Football Playoff race.
But there will be no margin for error, and help would likely
be required.
This is one of the Saturdays when legacies are made, and
seasons - possibly championship seasons - are shaped.
BULLDAWGILLUSTRATED 15 ISSUE ELEVEN • TENNESSEE