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Vols hope history bites Dawgs again
Last year's win over Georgia turned season
ATHENS, Ga. -- The last two football seasons, Georgia has been Tennessee's golden parachute.
Can the No. 10 Bulldogs provide another soft landing for the sinking Vols today at 2:30 CST in Sanford Stadium?
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After beating Georgia in 2006 and last season by a combined 86-47, the Vols (2-3 overall, 0-2 in the SEC's Eastern Division), need a lot of help again this year to jump-start an offense that has yet to impress.
Tennessee would certainly welcome the same 28-0 lead it held on Georgia last year in Knoxville before coasting in with a 35-14 victory. The win gave the Vols, then 2-2, a boost to finish 10-4 with an appearance in the SEC championship game as co-Eastern Division winners with Georgia.
"Last year was the same situation we're in right now," Vols offensive guard Anthony Parker said. "Our backs are against the wall, and we have a lot to prove. When we beat Georgia last year, it showed us we could beat a good team."
The Vols will start Nick Stephens at quarterback for the second straight week. He wasn't flashy in last Saturday's 13-9 victory over Northern Illinois, but he was effective enough to complete 11-of-17 passes for 156 yards and one touchdown.
Stephens' biggest challenge this week in practice has been getting the soreness out of his body. It had been so long since he had played a full game that he wasn't used to being hit that much.
"I was pretty sore after the game," Stephens said. "I haven't been hit that hard since last spring."
Stephens needs to avoid getting hammered by the Georgia pass rush. He has shown so far that he makes quicker decisions than Jonathan Crompton, who started the first four games of the season.
But one way the Vols can keep the Bulldogs' D-line guessing on the pass rush is to resurrect a running game that has become increasingly worse.
The difference in Georgia's running attack and Tennessee's is that the Bulldogs have 12 rushing TDs to the Vols' seven. And Georgia's prime-time back, Knowshon Moreno, has scored 10 TDs, while Tennessee's Arian Foster is yet to score this season.
Georgia (4-1, 1-1 in the Eastern Division) has some questions to answer of its own. The Bulldogs have been physically whipped at the line of scrimmage in both of their SEC games, a 14-7 win over South Carolina and a 41-30 loss to Alabama in which the Bulldogs trailed 31-0 at the half.
That was two weeks ago, and after an open date, Georgia has healed some bruises and egos, and is eager to prove something to itself and the rest of the SEC.
But Georgia coach Mark Richt doesn't think it's going to be easy.
"They (Tennessee) could just as easily be 4-1 as they are 2-3," Richt said. "We're probably in the same boat, too. I don't think there are a whole lot of differences between both of our teams as far as their personnel and ability to win the game. I think it's going to be a barnburner. I think it's going to be physical, and we better be ready for that type of ballgame, because that is exactly what Tennessee brings year after year."
Vols at No. 10 Georgia
When, where: 2:30 p.m. CDT today at Sanford Stadium, Athens, Ga.
TV, radio: WREG (3), WSMB-AM (680)
-- Ron Higgins: 529-2525
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