ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — Georgia's playoff hopes are hanging by a thread.
Hardly what anyone expected from one of college football's powerhouse programs, a team that has been a perennial national championship contender during the Kirby Smart coaching era.
No. 11 Georgia (7-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 12 CFP) is facing what amounts to an elimination game in mid-November when it hosts No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
The Bulldogs put themselves in this predicament with an ugly 28-10 loss at Mississippi last weekend, leaving no room for error the rest of the regular season.
As things stand now, they are outside of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. Of course, an impressive win over Tennessee (8-1, 5-1, No. 7 CFP) would surely push the Bulldogs right back into the mix.
“Coming into this week we had a choice to make, whether to dwell on this past weekend or look ahead and bounce back," tight end Lawson Luckie said. “I think we’ve done a great job of that.”
While Smart insists he's not looking at the big picture, he did concede that his top players are conveying an even greater sense of urgency to the rest of the team.
“The leaders are doing the right things,” the coach said. “They’re also owning up to mistakes they’ve made or how they’ve played. If it hasn’t been to their standard, they want to improve.”
The Volunteers haven't beaten Georgia since 2016. They can take a major step toward the first playoff appearance in school history with a signature victory on the road.
“You earn the right to play in big football games by what you do during the course of the season," coach Josh Heupel said. “In these games, you have to do ordinary things at a really high level consistently. For us, that means you have to prepare at an elite level.”
Georgia, which hasn't played at home since Oct. 12, closes the regular season with three straight games between the hedges.
The Bulldogs have a 28-game home winning streak that dates to 2019 — a school record and the longest active run in FBS.
“Thank goodness it’s at our place,” Smart said. “We get to come home and play.”
The biggest issue hanging over this game is the health of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He was injured in a victory over Mississippi State and reportedly began the week in concussion protocol.
While coach Josh Heupel expressed confidence that Iamaleava would be able to go against the Bulldogs, the redshirt freshman was listed as questionable on the Vols' initial injury report.
Iamaleava has played a big role in Tennessee's four-game winning streak. Going back to the second half of an Oct. 19 victory over Alabama, he has completed 65% of his passes for 1,879 yards, 11 TDs and four interceptions.
If Iamaleava is unable to play Saturday, it’s a big step down to fifth-year senior Gaston Moore.
Georgia has its own quarterback issues, but not because of an injury. Carson Beck has thrown more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (10) over the last six games, hardly looking like a guy who came into his final college season hyped as a Heisman Trophy contender and possible first pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Bulldogs desperately need Beck to turn things around if they’re going to have any shot at winning their third national championship in four years. The offensive line isn't doing him any favors. A week ago, Beck was sacked five time by Ole Miss.
Beck will have his hands full against a Tennessee defense that has allowed just 12.6 points per game, ranking fifth nationally. The Vols have yet to give up as many as 20 points in a game and they are one of the SEC's top teams in pass efficiency defense, having surrendered only six touchdowns through the air.
“They play hard, and they have bought into the culture," defensive coordinator Tim Banks said. "We talk about being tough and playing for each other and with great respect for the game. I just think we’ve got a great group.”
Tennessee's quest to become one of the SEC's elite programs has been stymied time and time again by the Bulldogs. Georgia has a seven-game winning streak in the series, and none of those games have been closer than two touchdowns.
A year ago, the Bulldogs romped to a 38-10 victory in Knoxville. Their average margin of victory during the current run is a whopping 26.4 points per game.
Tennessee’s most recent success against Georgia was an improbable 34-31 triumph in 2016, when the Vols completed a Hail Mary pass for a touchdown on the final play.
Running back Dylan Sampson has been a scoring machine for the Volunteers.
The junior already has a school-record 20 rushing touchdowns and leads the SEC with 1,129 yards on the ground. After sharing the load with Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small over the last two seasons, Sampson has the spotlight all to himself — and he's sure taken a shine to it.
“When he gets hot, the whole team rises up,” running backs coach De'Rail Sims said. “When he makes a big run, the whole entire sideline becomes energized. He’s a spark plug for the whole entire unit on offense.”
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