‘College GameDay’ returning to Athens for No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 2 Tennessee

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s on. It’s happening. College football’s latest “Game of the Century” is upon us.

No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Tennessee each took care of business Saturday to arrive at the season’s 10th week with 8-0 records. One of them will fall from the undefeated ranks next Saturday when the teams collide in the highest-ranked matchup in the history of Sanford Stadium. The Vols and Ohio State are tied for second in the latest Associated Press poll.

ESPN’s “College GameDay” announced Saturday night that it is coming to Athens for the first time this season to stage its football preview show. That announcement came out shortly after the Vols (8-0, 4-0) put the finishing touches on a 44-6 win over No. 19 Kentucky in Knoxville. It will be Tennessee’s third time this season playing before Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit and the boys.

The Bulldogs improved to 5-0 in the SEC with a 42-20 win over Florida in Jacksonville, Fla., earlier in the day Saturday. Tennessee defeated the Gators 38-33 on Sept. 24 in Knoxville.

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be announced during a live show Tuesday night on ESPN. Though the Bulldogs have been ranked No. 1 for most of the season in the opinion polls, there’s no guarantee they will be chosen for that spot by the selection committee, which disregards any previous rankings and places great emphasis on strength of schedule. Tennessee’s schedule strength was ranked 51st and Georgia’s 56th heading into this past weekend’s games. No. 2 Ohio State, which defeated Penn State in Happy Valley on Saturday, carried a No. 25 SOS heading into the weekend.

Regardless, Georgia-Tennessee is the highest-rated matchup in Sanford’s 93-year history. Auburn was ranked No. 3 and the Bulldogs No. 4 when they met on what’s now called Dooley Field on Nov. 12, 1983. The Tigers won 13-7. Tennessee was ranked No. 3 and Georgia No. 11 when the Vols defeated the Bulldogs in Athens in 1969. The last time the teams met in a Top 10 matchup was Oct. 12, 2002, when No. 6 Georgia defeated the No. 10 Vols 18-13. No. 5 Tennessee beat No. 7 Georgia 22-3 in Athens in October 1998.

In the postgame news conference at TIAA Bank Field, Georgia coach Kirby Smart wasn’t ready to talk much about the anticipated matchup with the Vols beyond the fact he’s glad the Bulldogs are coming off a resilient win over Florida.

“Any win (produces) confidence,” Smart said. “You guys criticize the wins; I’m great with the wins. In the SEC, when you beat Florida, any win, they’re all hard to come by. They’re tough. They’re physical. They’re hard-fought. I’m proud of the way our guys played.”

Saturday’s win was Georgia’s fifth in the last six meetings against the Gators. The Bulldogs have now won 23 consecutive regular-season games, including their last 16 SEC games. UGA has won five straight against Tennessee.

“Every game is a big game for us,” tight end Brock Bowers said. “I’m excited. The energy in Athens is going to be awesome, I’m sure. We’re just trying to keep going, just keep winning, keep chopping.”

Following are five things we learned from the Bulldogs’ win over Florida:

1. Jalen Carter back, Nolan Smith out

The Bulldogs suffered a potentially major blow in the injury department when senior outside linebacker Nolan Smith left the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury. Smith left the field after a defensive series, was examined on the sideline, told trainers he was in intense pain, then did not return.

“I want to say it’s a separated shoulder,” Smart said. “I don’t know how severe it is. We’ll find out.”

Smith had two tackles, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry when he left the game. Chaz Chambliss and Robert Beal filled in because Marvin Jones as battling the flu. Chambliss, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound sophomore, had three tackles and recorded one of Georgia’s three sacks. Backup outside linebacker M.J. Sherman played only two snaps and did not record any stats.

Offensive linemen Xavier Truss (toe) and Amarius Mims (knee) also left the game with injuries, but Smart insists they weren’t serious. Freshman Darris Smith also had to be helped off the field after a kickoff, but the nature of his injury was not immediately known.

The Bulldogs saw defensive tackle Jalen Carter return to the field after sitting out the last four weeks with a Grade 2 MCL knee sprain. The 300-pound junior played almost exclusively on third downs. He recorded one tackle, his first since the Missouri game Oct. 1.

The hope is that Carter will be able to play more snaps against the Vols. He’d played only 65 coming into Saturday’s game because of ankle and knee injuries.

“It was great that he fought himself to get back,” Smart said. “He rehabbed himself to get back. He wanted to play. He loves this team. It’s important to him. … He took on the role we wanted him to take on, and hopefully he continues to get healthy. Look, we need him. We’re missing some guys in depth on the front. As we play more snaps, we struggle, and it showed in the second half there.”

2. Secondary breakdowns

Georgia’s defensive backs got beat deep twice Saturday, adding to an uncomfortably high total for the season. Kelee Ringo had decent coverage but did not make a play on a ball that Florida’s Justin Shorter hauled in for a 41-yard gain. Late in the third quarter, freshman safety Malaki Starks busted his assignment and wideout Xzavier Henderson ran free down the Georgia sideline for a 78-yard touchdown.

“Is it a concern? They run the ball really well, guys,” Smart said. “They run the ball really well, which is why they throw the ball well outside, because everybody’s got people inside. They have a perfect storm: They’ve got really fast, elite wideouts, a quarterback with a really strong arm and good run game.”

Perhaps, but it sounds like Georgia might want to pay especially close attention to Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. The junior from Irmo, S.C., had another big night with five catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Also the star of the Vols’ 52-49 win over Alabama, Hyatt enters the Georgia game with 14 receiving touchdowns – a school record – and 907 yards on 45 receptions.

Meanwhile, senior Cedric Tillman, Tennessee’s receiving star coming into the season, returned to the field Saturday after missing the last four games with a leg injury. He had four catches for 22 yards.

3. Georgia moving football

Tennessee is the top offensive team in college football, but the Bulldogs aren’t far off the pace. The Vols average 553 yards a game, while Georgia is gaining 530.1. Tennessee scores 49.4 points a game to the Bulldogs’ 41.8.

Georgia’s 555 yards against the Gators on Saturday was the most ever against Florida in a series that dates more than 100 years. But the Bulldogs turned the ball over three times against the Gators.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett was intercepted twice, one of which was badly underthrown. The 73-yard touchdown to Bowers was almost picked off, and the Gators dropped another potential interception.

“I thought I played well,” Bennett said. “I thought the dude (safety Jadarrius Perkins) just made a good play on the one to Dom (Blaylock). A really good play, actually. The one to Daijun (Edwards), I saw him slip and I thought I could get it in there, but he made a good play. You know, we made some mistakes, but it was a good win.”

4. Domination of Gators

The 42-20 win over Florida on Saturday was Georgia’s fifth in the last six games against the Gators and improved the Bulldogs’ all-time worksheet to 55-44-2 in that series. Smart is 5-2 overall against Florida and 74-15 in his career as Georgia’s coach.

“Well, it’s hard to win any series in the SEC, you know, especially when you’re talking about a top program in the country,” Smart said. “I mean, you know, I don’t look at it as runs. I look at it as each individual year. I mean, I still think we should have won the year we lost here in 2020. That’s the game that probably haunts me the most is that we didn’t play worth a crap two years ago here. That’s why you worry about each individual year. You don’t worry about runs, and (Florida coach Billy Napier is) going to do a great job.”

Smart and Napier worked together at Alabama.

5. Vince Dooley acknowledgment

There was a moment of silence before Saturday’s game in honor of former Georgia coach and athletic director Vince Dooley. The Hall of Famer died Friday afternoon in Athens at the age of 90.

The Bulldogs also honored another former football hero Saturday. Charley Trippi, generally considered the best overall athlete to play at Georgia, died Oct. 19 at the age of 100.

UGA designed stickers that had Trippi’s name and retired jersey number of 62 on them and affixed them to their helmets for Saturday’s game against Florida.

The Bulldogs are planning something similar for Dooley next Saturday. Smart dedicated the Florida game to Dooley, his around-the-corner neighbor in Athens.

“To the Dooleys back home in Athens, I know they’re together and it meant a lot for us to win that game for them and for all that Vince has meant to our university as such an ambassador to our program and really for all of college football,” Smart said after the game. “So, I know if he was looking down on that one, he would have enjoyed the first half. I don’t know if he would have enjoyed the second one.”

There will be a private funeral for Dooley in the coming days, UGA officials said. A public celebration of life ceremony is being planned for a later date.