Vol fans may not want to think about Tennessee’s next football game, but the kick-off time and broadcast info for the Vols’ next match-up have officially been released.
Tennessee announced on Monday that their October 5th contest against No. 3 Georgia will kick off at 7:00 PM Eastern and will be televised on ESPN.
The Vols (1-3, 0-1 SEC) are coming off yet another blowout loss to Florida, marking their third-straight loss to the Gators and their 14th loss in the last 15 meetings between the two teams. Georgia (4-0, 1-0 SEC), meanwhile, just defeated No. 10 Notre Dame 23-17 and has dominated in their other three games against Vanderbilt, Murray State, and Arkansas State.
Both Tennessee and Georgia are on bye weeks this week ahead of next weekend’s match-up.
The Bulldogs are winners of two-straight contests against the Vols, and they’ve won seven of the last nine games the two teams have played in their annual rivalry. Georgia won 38-12 in Athens last season, and their last trip to Knoxville in 2017 resulted in a historic loss for the Vols. Georgia handed Tennessee their worst loss in Neyland Stadium history, routing the hapless 2017 Vols 41-0.
Georgia boasts one of the best rushing attacks in all of college football this season. The Bulldogs are averaging 253 yards a game on the ground and 6.9 yards per carry. Georgia has already scored 12 rushing touchdowns, and they’re led by the dangerous and dynamic D’Andre Swift, who already has 388 rushing yards and three touchdowns on only 49 carries. He’s averaging an eye-popping 12.2 yards per attempt.
Defensively, the Bulldogs boast the best run defense and best scoring defense in the SEC. Georgia is only giving up 57 rushing yards per game to opponents this season, and no team has scored a rushing touchdown against the Bulldogs yet. The Dawgs are only allowing 10 points per game through four games this season.
Tennessee could be turning to a new signal caller at quarterback when the two teams meet in Knoxville on October 5th. Starting quarterback Jarrett Guarantano was benched at halftime of the Vols’ 34-3 loss to Florida, and true freshman Brian Maurer led Tennessee to their only points of the afternoon on his first series. The freshman would be benched after throwing an interception on his second series, but head coach Jeremy Pruitt said after the game that there would be open competition across the roster heading into the bye week.
The Vols and Bulldogs are in a dead heat in their all-time series heading into this year’s match-up. The all-time series is tied at 23-23-2. After Tennessee dominated the start of the annual series in the 1990s after the SEC split into divisions, Georgia has turned the tide. Not only have the Bulldogs won seven of the last nine games they’ve played against the Vols, but since 2000, Georgia has beaten Tennessee 13 of the 19 times the two teams have played.
