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NCAAF 2025 College Football Season Do you want to share your predictions, analysis or thoughts on Saturday’s Georgia-Tennessee game? Get involved with our coverage at live@theathletic. com. Kirby Smart’s Georgia teams have defeated Josh Heupel’s Tennessee teams in the four years they’ve played, which lands way down the list of Smart achievements in that time — two national championships, a 55-5 record, four College Football Playoff appearances among them. Advertisement Smart tries to get to 5-0 against Heupel on Saturday when No. 6 Georgia (2-0) visits No. 15 Tennessee (2-0). It’s the last major SEC hurdle for Heupel to clear, at least until his first crack at Texas. It’s an early look at where this Georgia team might end up in the program’s range of acceptable outcomes, between a dreamlike juggernaut (29-1 combined in 2021-22) and merely a great team that counts as a contender (2023 and 2024). It’s the fourth straight meeting in which both teams are ranked. “They’ve been really good games, right? ” Smart said this week. “When you play in the SEC and you’re in these really tough top-10 matchups, top-25 matchups, they can go either way a lot of times. At the end of the day, they’ve played us physical, we’ve played them physical. ” Back up a minute. No, they have not been really good games. Not one of them. Last season’s tussle between two eventual Playoff teams was the closest, a 17-17 tie at halftime in Athens that ended 31-17 Bulldogs. The headliner of the bunch, No. 1 Tennessee at No. 3 Georgia in 2022, also ended with a two-touchdown deficit (27-13), but it was less competitive than that suggests. Georgia has won the four games by an average score of 34-14, consistently stifling a Heupel offense that has erupted at least once on the other SEC flagship programs it has encountered — 52 points on Alabama, 40 on LSU, 38 on Florida (all in 2022). Heupel has turned things around with rivals Alabama and Florida, winning two of the past three against each. He hasn’t yet approached the SEC’s top dog. Former Georgia quarterback Carson Beck hurt the Vols the most last season with 347 yards and two touchdowns passing. Now Tennessee faces Gunner Stockton, whose play will have much to say about the season ahead after warmups against Marshall and Austin Peay. Heupel’s late-scramble replacement for Nico Iamaleava at quarterback, Joey Aguilar, was excellent in wins over Syracuse and East Tennessee State. Here comes his intro to the SEC. Two weeks ago, this game wasn’t circled on many calendars. Then the first two weeks happened — Georgia looking uninspired, Tennessee clicking on offense — and the upset watch is on. (If a ranked team that’s only a 3. 5-point underdog at home can be considered much of an upset. ) Advertisement How much stock should we put in Tennessee dominating its first two opponents, even the opener against Syracuse, which proceeded to barely beat UConn at home? Were Georgia’s first two wins, especially the lackluster Week 2 win over Austin Peay, just a team not putting much on film, or red flags? The biggest unknowns in the game are at quarterback. Stockton, who will start his first college road game Saturday, didn’t look great in those first two home games. He was too reliant on check-downs and scrambles, even when receivers were running open downfield. Against a Tennessee defense missing its top two cornerbacks, the receivers should be open again, so this is a prove-it game for Stockton. Aguilar, as good as he looked in the first two games, will be playing an SEC team for the first time. Last year at Appalachian State, in his only game against a ranked team, Aguilar completed just 43. 9 percent of his passes in a 66-14 loss to Clemson. WR Zac Branch: The Bulldogs are in better shape at receiver this year, fortifying themselves in the transfer portal via Branch (Southern Cal) and Noah Thomas (Texas A&M), plus getting Colbie Young back from suspension and moving Dillon Bell to his more natural spot. Branch (112 yards receiving in two games), who brings speed to the slot, is also a threat on punt and kick returns. S KJ Bolden: A key part of Georgia’s success against Tennessee’s offense has been limiting explosive plays. If the past four years are a guide, Georgia will again keep the front seven near the box to stop the run, and let the corners play single-man coverage. The safeties then have a key role, either manning up an extra receiver or playing the run. Bolden, a preseason All-SEC player, needs to have a mistake-free game. RT Earnest Greene: The Georgia offensive line is a question, with no sure star in the bunch. Greene could come the closest, starting much of the past two years. He sat out the Austin Peay game with an injury. He’s expected back, and if he and left tackle Monroe Freeling can consistently give Stockton time and seal the edge in the run game, the Bulldogs can do some damage. Advertisement WR Chris Brazzell: The Vols have entered this matchup with more accomplished groups of receivers and have been stymied by Georgia’s NFL-ready defensive backs. Tennessee hasn’t hit 200 yards passing in the past three games against Georgia. But the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Brazzell is giving off shades of Cedric Tillman, the last UT receiver to have a big game against Georgia. He has 14 catches for 187 yards and two scores so far. OT Jesse Perry: He’s supposed to be OG Jesse Perry, a redshirt freshman with a lot of promise for the Vols. But five-star true freshman David Sanders Jr. , hurt his shoulder during preseason practice, missed the first two games and is officially questionable for Saturday. It doesn’t seem wise to make Georgia the first eyeful of college football for a banged-up freshman, so expect Perry to start outside again. He was Pro Football Focus’ top-rated offensive tackle (92. 2) last week, for whatever that may be worth. Probably not much to Georgia. CB Colton Hood: Hood began his career at Auburn in 2023, played at Colorado last season and has provided much-needed relief for the Vols’ banged-up corner group. Starters Rickey Gibson III and Jermod Mc Coy — a prominent NFL prospect — are both injured and out for this one. Hood allowed just one reception so far this season, and freshman Ty Redmond has been good on the other side. Here comes the real test. The formula for the previous four meetings needs to hold up: Georgia’s defense contains the run and forces Aguilar to complete big passes, while Georgia’s offense relieves pressure with productive drives. This is also an early intangibles test for the Bulldogs. It’s the first road game, and in each of the past two years, the Bulldogs nearly lost in this spot (at Kentucky in 2024, at Auburn in 2023). If Stockton and Georgia’s defense have good games, something wild will have to happen for the Dawgs not to win. Reaching the 20s on the scoreboard would be nice, and likely necessary. That isn’t happening without some explosive plays. And those have been virtually nonexistent through the air against the Bulldogs. Tennessee has four pass plays of 20-plus yards in the four Heupel-Smart matchups, none last season. Brazzell, Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley have connected well with Aguilar so far, and that’s no small thing. Signs of a stagnant passing game were apparent in the past two seasons in early games against inferior foes. But can Tennessee protect well enough? And can it win enough on the outside? Georgia has not been afraid to blitz the Vols, and it has been rewarded for doing so. Defensively, Branch has to be a priority, and a good Tennessee front needs to force third-and-longs and rush Stockton with disciplined lanes. Advertisement Both teams made the College Football Playoff with two losses last year, so they know this isn’t an elimination game. But there will be more pressure on whoever loses. That would seem especially the case for Georgia, whose next game is home against Alabama, and who still has to play Auburn, Florida, Ole Miss and Texas. (All but the Gators are currently ranked. ) A loss here, and Georgia has a lot of work to do. A win, and it’s back where it started the season, a contender but not a shoo-in. Tennessee only plays two more teams that are currently ranked (No. 19 Alabama and No. 13 Oklahoma), but it’s too early to know if others will be better. If the Vols win this, they jump into the CFP conversation. Emerson: The immediate reaction after watching Georgia putter around with Austin Peay was to pick Tennessee. That changed after a week of remembering Smart’s past mastery of Heupel’s offense, looking at Tennessee’s injuries on defense, and considering that the way the first two weeks played out may have been perfect for Georgia. There’s no reason for the Bulldogs to be overconfident, and with a bye week ahead, they can pour everything into this. Then again, maybe Stockton and the offense just aren’t any good this year. We shall see. This pick falls back on everything we’ve seen the past four years, and thinks this isn’t the Tennessee offense that finally solves the Georgia defense. Georgia 20, Tennessee 13. Rexrode: The schedule works in Tennessee’s favor on this one. Aguilar has executed with surprising precision and tempo so far, and the Vols will try to go fast on a hot, sunny day and catch Georgia on some shots. The Bulldogs have been a bit clunky on offense, which is to be expected, but this isn’t the ideal opponent/atmosphere to get right. Georgia wins this game in October. As the SEC was reminded many times in 2024, hypothetical wins don’t count. Tennessee 23, Georgia 20. (Top photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle