Vols and 'Dawgs meet Between the Hedges

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10/08/2008 - Athens, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tennessee Volunteers travel to Athens to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in what figures to be a hard-fought SEC contest.

At 2-3, Tennessee is desperate for a victory. Sure, the club managed to squeak by Northern Illinois last weekend by a 13-9 final, but both conference games that the Vols have played thus far have resulted in defeat. They will play four of their final six regular season games at home following this weekend's tilt, and the level of competition is somewhat favorable. Still, head coach Phil Fulmer does not want to attempt to climb out of a 2-4 hole.

As for Georgia, it opened the season with four consecutive victories before falling to Alabama two weeks ago. The Bulldogs have had two weeks to prepare for this weekend's game and hope to move to 2-1 in conference. They are playing their second of what will be three straight home games against league foes, as nationally-ranked Vanderbilt comes to town next weekend.

Tennessee holds a 20-15-2 edge in the all-time series with Georgia, and the Vols crushed the Bulldogs by a 35-14 final last season.

Since scoring a combined 59 points in the first two games of the season, Tennessee has only managed 31 total points the last three times out. The fact that the Vols were limited to 13 points by Northern Illinois in Knoxville is downright scary for fans of the program. The lone touchdown came in the third quarter on a 52-yard pass from Nick Stephens to Denarius Moore. All 13 of the team's points came in a 12-miunute span that bridged the second and third quarters. For the rest of the game, the Tennessee offense did absolutely nothing. The club finished the tilt with nine first downs and 69 rushing yards, embarrassing to say the least. "I felt like we moved the ball well tonight," said Nick Stephens. "We did a great job at times and we stopped ourselves. We left some points on the field but it's time to go back to the practice field and get better for next week."

Clearly, Tennessee is staying optimistic, but the offense must play much better this weekend in Athens. The Vols are averaging just 18.0 ppg this season to go along with 317.6 total ypg. Arian Foster, the team's top running back, has yet to get into the end zone, but he is averaging 5.2 ypc. Stephens, who appears to be the team's new starter, is still inexperienced and needs the help of the running game during his acclamation to the speed of SEC football.

While the Tennessee offense struggled mightily against Northern Illinois last week, the defense played quite well. The Huskies were held without a touchdown and finished the clash with 190 total yards. They averaged 2.1 ypc on the ground and 8.4 yards per pass completion. Clearly, the Vols were up to the challenge and limited NIU to 5-of-16 success on third down conversion attempts while also posting four sacks. "I feel like we came out and gave a good effort against a good Northern Illinois team," said defensive end Robert Ayers. "We knew they were going to be tough to slow down on offense. There is a lot to go back and look at and get better for next week."

Foes are generating only 16.6 ppg and 244.4 total ypg against Tennessee, which has been tough defensively for most of this season. The Vols are solid against the run, permitting only 90.6 ypg and 2.7 ypc. In 20 quarters of action, they have yielded one rushing touchdown, impressive by any standards. They have allowed only five total touchdowns to opposing offenses and are surrendering fewer than 10 yards per pass completion.

Georgia is averaging 424.8 total ypg this season, and the offense has a couple of major stars at key positions. Start with tailback Knowshon Moreno, who may be the most talented player in the nation at his position. Moreno has rushed for 489 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging a stellar 6.3 ypc. The fact that he is averaging just over 15 carries per game is somewhat surprising, but expect his workload to increase beginning this weekend if he is able to fight through an elbow contusion. At quarterback, Matthew Stafford possesses a strong arm and plenty of big-game experience. He has completed 59.7 percent of his throws for 1,193 yards with seven touchdowns and one interception. A.J. Green has been the team's top receiver, as he has made 22 catches for 388 yards and three scores.

Against Alabama, Green caught six passes for 88 yards and a score, while Stafford threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, Moreno only carried the ball nine times, as Georgia was forced to abandon the run after falling behind by a huge margin. "We may consider going with more four receiver sets or change up our personnel grouping," said Georgia head coach Mark Richt after the loss to Alabama. It will be interesting to see how the team responds this weekend.

The strength of the Georgia defense has been its play against the run, as the team is limiting its opponents to 62.4 ypg on an average of 2.3 ypc. The Bulldogs are permitting 286.3 ypg overall, as they have surrendered a rather high amount of yardage through the air. Still, this defense is quite strong and has played outstanding football with the exception of the first half against Alabama. While the Crimson Tide did score 41 points against Georgia two weeks ago, the Bulldogs held 'Bama to 334 total yards.

Still, Georgia knows it made mistakes and must correct them before Saturday, although Tennessee isn't nearly as potent offensively as Alabama. Richt is clearly frustrated with the amount of penalties that his team has committed, and penalties played a major role in the loss to Alabama. "It's been 10 at least every game, and I've got to send a stronger message to this point," said Richt on the penalties. "Whatever we've done, it hasn't worked, so we'll have to do something else."