Tennessee Might "Score Fifty" vs Georgia, Sources Tell ESPN

In the latest ESPN+ article an anonymous source from the SEC told Pete Thamel that he wouldn't be surprised if Tennessee scores 50 against the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia and Tennessee are in the middle of the college football microscope this week. With perhaps the biggest game of the 2022 season just days away, there are plenty of talking points and bulletin board material circling the internet.

ESPN's Pete Thamel released his latest SEC Football Insider, filled with several quotes from sources around the conference as well as the NFL, and well let's just say the anonymity provided a bit of freedom with the quotes.

One coach told Thamel, "I won't be surprised if Tennessee scores 50," He would go on to say that Georgia's front is average, their DBs below average, and that Tennessee's receivers are simply going to "run right by those corners."

One of the consistent concerning points from sources in Thamel's article was the absence of Williams Poole. Poole was dismissed from the team for personal reasons early in the year. He was the "answer" in the contest a year ago against this Tennessee football team. His coverage abilities, particularly when isolated in one on one scenarios, was the adjustment for Georgia in the middle of the game a year ago. 

Perhaps that's the advantage that Josh Heupel and Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh will attack. One thing is for certain about this offense from Tennessee, there is no one right answer defensively. If you have a weakness like Alabama did in their matchup with the Volunteers in the form of the coverage — or lack thereof — from safety Demarco Hellams.

It wasn't just that for Alabama that cost them 49 points and the win, it was their inability to stop the run when they needed it most. They allowed 189 yards on the ground, but more importantly, they allowed 4.7 yards per carry. And the moment they needed to add bodies to the box to stop the run or their safeties felt as if they needed to add in on run-support at all, Hooker, and Hyatt were gashing this defense over the top.

Look through the 21 games Heupel has coached at Tennessee. There are three games on the game logs that stand out.

• 10/23/21 vs Alabama - Loss (52-24) *Held to 65 yards on 2.4 YPC*
• 11/13/2021 vs Georgia - Loss (41-17) *Held to 55 yards on 1.5 YPC*
• 9/10/2022 @ Pittsburgh - Win (34-27) *Held to 91 yards on 2.6 YPC*

Tennessee has averaged nearly 45 points, and 515 total yards of offense, with 209 of those yards coming the ground since Josh Heupel has taken over. They have been a scoring machine, without a doubt. However, there is a direct correlation between football teams who can stop them from rushing the football and those teams' chances of keeping them out of the endzone.

Georgia is currently ranked fifth in the country in rushing yards allowed per game at 85.5, and has held opponents to 3.2 yards per carry on the season.