Tennessee at Georgia College Football-2008

by: Jimmy Boyd

The Georgia Bulldogs take on the Tennessee Volunteers this Saturday in SEC play and if the Vols are going to pull off the upset this week, it will have to be done on the road. Odds makers aren't too confident that Tennessee is up to the challenge and have installed the Vols as 12-point underdogs with the total set at 42.5.

Tennessee was more than a two touchdown home favorite last week to Northern Illinois but managed only a 13-9 win. That game says it all as this team has not been able to gel, especially on offense.

The Vols are desperate for a conference win as they have dropped their first two and it's no secret that the defending SEC East champs are going to have their work cut out for themselves this week. The Vols do play four of their final six regular season games at home following this week's matchup so they could potentially use a win this week as a spring board to success down the home stretch.

The Vols do have history on their side with a 20-15-2 edge in the all-time series and they won by a 21-point margin last season. If they are going to pull off another impressive win this year, the offense is going to have to get going.

Tennessee has only scored a total of 31 points in its last three ball games and being held to just 13 points at home by a mediocre MAC team last week has to be a scary thing for those in Knoxville. The lone touchdown didn't come until the third quarter and it was a big hitting play. It wasn't as if the Vols were able to sustain long drives and finish them off the way one would expect.

Tennessee is averaging just 18 ppg and only 317.6 ypg on the season. And it is indeed shocking that Arian Foster, the team's top running back, is yet to find the end zone.

The defense has been comparatively better than the offense and it will likely be this side of the ball which comes up big if the Vols are able to pull off the shocker in Athens. They held Northern Illinois without a touchdown and kept them under 200 total yards for the game. They held the Huskies to a 2.1 ypc average and they know they are going to have to hold down Knowshon Moreno this week to have a chance.

Georgia opened the season with four straight wins before going down to Alabama two weeks ago. The Bulldogs are off a bye week and that could mean bad news for the Vols as Georgia will be well prepared and hungry to avenge a loss. Tennessee's best hope would be that they catch the Dawgs looking a head to a date with ranked Vandy.

Georgia is averaging 424.8 ypg this season behind two of the best skill players in the country, tailback Knowshon Moreno and QB Matthew Stafford. Moreno has rushed for 489 yards and 10 scores while averaging a gaudy 6.3 ypc. Stafford has 11,193 yards passing and seven touchdowns against just one interceptions. A.J. Green is a guy who the Vols will have a tough time stopping and he has been Stafford's favorite target with 22 grabs for 388 yards and three scores.

Tennessee has really struggled to do much of anything offensively, but it has especially struggled running the football. That plays right into Georgia's hands as the Dawgs have been great against the run this season, holding opponents to only 62.4 ypg.

Don't expect the Bulldogs to lose a second straight game at home. Even if Moreno doesn't get into the act much, the Bulldogs will roll the offensively-challenged Volunteers by at least two touchdowns.

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