TENNESSEE VOLS FOOTBALL: UT hits the road for showdown with George Tech
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Tennessee football is entering the time machine.
The Vols are headed down to Atlanta on Saturday for a Week 2 matchup with Georgia Tech (7 p.m. ESPN). UT is fresh off a blowout of Furman while Georgia Tech is coming off an ugly loss to Colorado.
The series between the two historic football programs began in 1902, but UT holds a 25-17-2 record all-time. The Yellow Jackets, who used to be in the Southeastern Conference, are 12-11 against Tennessee in Atlanta. Bobby Dodd Stadium — named after the former UT quarterback under General Neyland who had a standout career leading the Yellow Jackets as head coach — is the oldest active FBS stadium.
Saturday's bout will be far from the historic showdowns between the two teams.
Tennessee is rolling in with an explosive passing attack led by freshman Faizon Brandon. Brandon is coming off a 13-of-17 performance for 226 yards and three touchdowns while rushing 10 times for 68 yards and two scores against Furman. Georgia Tech will be a step up from the FCS opener.
“They are a physical football team,” UT coach Josh Heupel said. “They’ve had some turnover on their offensive line, but they still have a ton of experience. I think over 90 starts on the offensive line. Their running back room is as deep as anybody in the country. They’re physical. They run downhill. They’ve got great pad level. It’ll be a physical football game on Saturday night, and we have to win with physicality.”
Georgia Tech had quite an embarrassing Week 1 showing on national television.
The Yellow Jackets dropped their opener with Colorado, 14-13, at home on ESPN. Georgia Tech ran for just 51 yards and threw for 237 in an ugly matchup against a team it should've overmatched. Even worse, the Yellow Jackets gave up 183 yards on the ground to Colorado.
The biggest Tennessee win in the series came in 1976 by 35 points, 42-7 in Atlanta. Saturday may be even worse with how Georgia Tech is trending following the poor season opener.
- Tennessee wins if it establishes the run game. Freshman Brandon will be rolling into his first away environment and first power conference college football game — a consistent run game will take stress off his shoulders. And, after the Week 1 showing, UT should be able to run the ball with ease.
- Georgia Tech wins if it gets off the field on defense. The downside to Tennessee's up-tempo offense is that quick drives can lead to tiring out the defense. With a freshman at QB, the Yellow Jackets need to silence the UT offense to have a chance at a victory.
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