Tennessee Coach Josh Heupel Gushes About The No.1 Georgia Bulldogs
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ATHENS - The top-ranked UGA Football team is just two games away from completing an undefeated regular season for the third consecutive season.
Next in the way? Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers. The Bulldogs have dominated the Vols of late, winning the last six games against their SEC Eastern foe. Kirby Smart’s team has also won the last three games in Neyland Stadium dating back to their 41-0 blowout win in 2017.
Heupel knows what his team is up against. They’re excited to get back home and play a game in Knoxville, but they’re not excited to play Georgia. They can’t be. The Dawgs are rolling, and the beat-up Vols have nothing left to play for, other than trying to play spoiler on Saturday evening.
The Vols know they have a giant test ahead of them, and Heupel appeared to gush about the 10-0 Bulldogs during his Monday press conference this week.
“You look at Georgia, they play extremely well”, Heupel said. “They play smart football. Physical football in all three phases of the game. They have dynamic playmakers. This is a huge test for us.”
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When asked about Georgia’s defense, Heupel, who started to chuckle, made sure everyone knew how good Georgia is there. Lane Kiffin did the same thing last week, and other head coaches have been doing it all season.
They know how good Georgia is. They know it’s a well-oiled machine in Athens. They know the talent Kirby Smart has on his roster, and they have no problem telling everyone how difficult it is to play against these current Bulldogs.
“We understand the quality opponent that’s coming to town this week”, Heupel said. “We need a great home environment. They have really good players across the board. Defensively, they are big, strong and athletic. They cover extremely well in the back end. They’ve got guys who can run. They don’t miss tackles.”
As good as Georgia’s top-10 defense is, their offense might be even better. The Bulldogs are No. 5 in total offense across college football, averaging 505 yards per game. They’re ranked No. 6 in scoring offense, averaging 40.6 points per game through the first 10 games of the season.
“Offensively, they have dynamic playmakers”, Heupel said. “A few of those guys are getting back healthy right now. The quarterback is playing extremely well right now. He’s efficient and accurate. He’s done a really nice job.”
Last year, these two squared off in the biggest Georgia/Tennessee game of all-time. The Vols were ranked No. 1 in the CFP rankings and the Dawgs weren’t happy about it. Led by Stetson Bennett, Jalen Carter, and an electric Sanford Stadium crowd, Georgia curb-stomped the Vols and sent them home limping with a 27-13 victory.
The Bulldogs are 11-2 against Tennessee since 2010 and lead the all-time series 27-23-2.
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Series Flashback: Bulldogs Wins Historic Meeting On Dooley Field
The 2022 contest in Athens marked the first 1-2 (Associated Press ranking) matchup in Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium history and was just the third ever top five matchup. The Bulldogs, No. 1 in the polls but No. 3 in the initial CFP rankings, faced off against Tennessee who was No. 1 in the CFP. Along with CBS broadcasting the game, ESPN College GameDay and SEC Nation were all in Athens. Georgia emerged with a 27-13 victory. UT entered the contest ranked No. 1 in the county in points per game (49.4). Georgia’s defense limited them to 289 yards on 75 plays.
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with UT 27-23-2 including winning the past six meetings. This is the longest streak of Bulldog success in the series. The Bulldogs are 6-1 against the Vols under Kirby Smart, the lone defeat coming in 2016 on a Hail-Mary by Josh Dobbs in Athens. He completed a 43-yarder to Jauan Jennings as time expired to lift No. 11 Tennessee past No. 25 Georgia 34-31.
Balance Signals Success
The Bulldogs are one of only three teams in the country who are ranked in the top 10 in both Scoring Offense and Scoring Defense. The Bulldogs rank sixth in Scoring Defense at 15.6 ppg and sixth in Scoring Offense at 40.6 ppg. The other two teams are Michigan (10-0) and SMU (8-2).
One of the keys to Georgia’s success is its third down defense. The Bulldogs are ranked seventh nationally with opponents converting just 28 percent of the time. In SEC action, Georgia opponents are a combined 26-for-84 on third downs (28 percent). The Bulldogs lead the country in converting third downs (56 percent). Georgia has converted 47 of 86 third downs (55 percent) against league opponents.
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