No. 6 Georgia will face its first test of the season next Saturday in its SEC and road opener against No. 15 Tennessee.
The Bulldogs (2-0) are coming off wins against weaker competition in Marshall and Austin Peay. They also dropped two spots in this week’s AP Poll after a poor offensive showing against the Governors last week.
On the other hand, the Volunteers are confident after climbing seven spots in the poll. They defeated a Power Five team in Syracuse in week one, followed by a dominant win over East Tennessee State, an FCS opponent.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is looking forward to seeing his team finally play a road game.
“Really excited about this matchup. [Neyland Stadium] is one of the toughest places to play in all of college football. It’ll be as loud as it ever is. It always is. One of the loudest in the SEC for sure,” Smart said on Monday. “They’ve done a great job. [Tennessee head coach] Josh (Heupel) has a great team and program.”
Tennessee’s offense is its strength, averaging 45 points per game through the first two weeks of the 2025 season. The Vols have a balanced offensive attack with their ability to run the ball, which helps set up the pass.
New quarterback Joey Aguilar will be making his first SEC start. The transfer has completed 65 percent of his passes for 535 yards and five touchdowns so far this year. Aguilar’s favorite targets are wide receivers Chris Braswell II, Mike Matthews, and Braylon Staley, along with tight end Miles Kitselman.
“He’s playing really efficiently,” Smart said of Aguilar. “He’s got great arm talent. He’s a really good athlete. You can tell he understands the system. He gets the ball out quickly. He’s been very accurate, had some really well-thrown balls. A couple they’ve dropped in crucial times, but he makes some good throws, and he’s really a good deep ball passer. He puts air under the ball, gives the receiver the opportunity to run under it. He’s made plays with his legs, which you have to do in this league at quarterback, and he’s been very, very impressive in the two games they’ve played.”
After losing SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson, tailbacks Star Thomas and DeSean Bishop have stepped up their game for the Vols.
Tennessee’s offensive line also has been impressive, not allowing a sack so far this season.
“They’ve always played a lot of backs, so they have multiple backs that come in the game. They’re very physical; they’re all 210-, 215-pound guys. They run downhill. They don’t sit there and try to attack the sideline,” Smart said.
“They get vertical.
They hit us last year on a vertical run, very patient runners, well-coached. They have a lot of schemes in their run game because of the formation variation they use. They’re committed to it. It’s physical within the trenches, and their offensive line play is extremely physical.”
Heupel likes to run an efficient offense, which doesn’t give opposing defenses time to rest.
Smart said playing an offensive unit like that is different, but that’s what he’s been preparing his defense for the last few weeks.
“Not give them anything. You have to make them earn it, and we say go the long, hard way,” Smart said when asked about how to stop the Vols’ offense. “Make them execute. Make them drive the ball down the field all the way through the red area, and just make them make it hard to score, and that starts with stopping the run and not giving up big plays. Those are the two key ingredients to Tennessee: can you stop the run, and can you not give freebies? They go with tempo, and they do spread you out, and it’s a challenging prep.”
Georgia has defeated Tennessee eight straight times. The Bulldogs and Vols will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.