Georgia football: 4 things you need to know about Tennessee
Tennessee has been a little bit of turmoil over its first 4 games of the regular season. OK, maybe more than a little. After a heavy loss at Florida on Sept. 21, the Volunteers limped into their open week at 1-3 and with narrow margins to work with if they’re to avoid missing a bowl for a 3rd consecutive year.
Here’s a closer look at the Bulldogs’ opponent Saturday as No. 3 Georgia looks to make it 3 wins in a row against the Vols and improve to 5-0:
A hot seat for Jeremy Pruitt
The hope was that when Tennessee hired Jeremy Pruitt to take over for Butch Jones, he would build on his time with Georgia and Alabama to bring a relentless defense to Tennessee and restore a winning tradition not seen since the Phillip Fulmer days. To be fair to the Volunteers, the defense hasn’t been terrible: it’s allowed just 149.8 yards on the ground and 190 yards through the air across 4 games. (Florida was held to 128 yards on 37 carries despite 2 touchdowns in its win over the Vols despite 313 yards passing.)
The issue is that the wins just haven’t come: Pruitt enters Saturday’s game at 6-10 overall, 2-7 in SEC play. And it has some people thinking whether the program is better off sliding Fulmer from his current athletic director role and back to the sidelines. But Pruitt’s high buyout, plus the fact that Tennessee’s still playing Jones to not coach its team, might not mean an imminent change. Sorry, Vols fans.
A slow start for Jarrett Guarantano
Jarrett Guarantano crested the 300-yard mark for the 2nd time in his career in Week 1 against Georgia State. One caveat: The Vols lost. Since then, he has thrown for just 425 yards across 3 games. Granted, he threw just 8 passes (completing 7) in the win against Chattanooga, but was 10-of-17 for only 107 yards in a loss to Florida.
Guarantano just hasn’t been able to make many big plays with his arm when it’s mattered the most, and that has led to some questions among the Knoxville media as to whether a switch needs to be made behind center. All in all, it hasn’t been good enough for the New Jersey native.
A key target at wide receiver
While Jauan Jennings caught just 1 ball for 12 yards against Chattanooga, the team didn’t really need him in its win against the Mocs. But he has been one of the lone bright spots with 19 catches for 281 yards and 4 touchdowns this season.
It’s been a bit of a redemption tour for the redshirt senior from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. After being kicked off the team in November 2017 after a social media rant levied against the coaching staff, he was extended a lifeline by Pruitt and has fought off injury the past couple of years to become a reliable target for Guarantano. He’s certainly a player that the Georgia defense will need to account for at all times as someone who could make things difficult for the Bulldogs secondary.
A trio of departures
Linebackers Will Ignont and Shanon Reid, plus wide receiver Jacquez Jones, left the team following its loss to Florida. While Ignont, who departed for “personal reasons,” recorded 47 tackles and 2.0 tackles for a loss in 2018 and had been good for 16 tackles in 2019. Reid and Jones weren’t used as much and entered the transfer portal looking for increased playing time elsewhere. (In fact, Jones said that he no longer “fit in (the program’s) scheme” and that they “weren’t using a lot of my ability” despite calling the staff “amazing”.)
That being said, Ignont leaves a bit of hole in the Volunteers’ defensive corps at middle linebacker.
4 Things you need to know about Tennessee
1. They’re bad
2. They will play Rocky top at lease 200 times on saturday
3. Orange is ugly
4. They aren’t good (see #1)
6. Wounded animals fight for their lives when cornered.
“…the Volunteers limped into their open week at 1-3 and with narrow margins to work with if they’re to avoid missing a bowl for a 3rd consecutive year.”
Oh, for crissake! What a fantasy to think the Vols are going bowling.
They lost that fight already.
2007,,,,,, Stanford,,,, Knowshown!!!!! Anything is possible,,,,,,, except this!!!!! Dawgs are stout in all facets!!! Tip the cap
#5 – They are the worst SEC team that I have watched play in the past 30 years.
Worse than the 2017 McSharkHumper lizards?
Tough call, but I’d say yes. That team somehow won 3 SEC games by mostly luck. I don’t see Tennessee winning 3 SEC games this year.
I agree
I will admit, I was a little nervous that Pruitt might be the one to turn UT into a regular contender in the East. I never thought that UGA would face a 1-3 Tennessee squad limping into this game. UT should still not be taken lightly, as is the case with any divisional rivalry.
I also thought that UT would be UGA’s biggest SECE competition over the long term. It’s only been 4 games but UT has been terrible. And, if UT doesn’t turn it around this season their recruiting is going to really take a hit.
Cade Mays thanks his lucky stars every day he left Knoxville.
Like all bandwagon people, there is a shallowness to just rooting (or signing with) the current powerhouse. Cade probably feels like all those bandwagon Bama fans.
I think reducing Mays’ decision to simply signing with the current powerhouse is a gross oversimplification and shows that you probably didn’t follow his recruiting process very closely. While I wont pretend to know how Mays feels, it probably isn’t like “all those bandwagon Bama fans.”
Not all legacy players sign with their father’s former school. One comes to mind…Peyton something…
QB play is hurting us,,, but I do like Pruitt’s staff …Recruiting is crucial and I think we will get better as the season progresses
Pretty easy assumption when up is the only direction there is.
We can’t sleep on Tennessee, regardless of their record. I have faith that the coaches and leadership team will have us in the right mindset, and I definitely want to see us come out of the game healthy.
Four things I know about Tennessee these days
1/ Jack Daniels is King
2/ Nashville is a great place to visit
3/ The Smokies are beautiful
4/ Tennessee Volunteers are horrible.
So in other words, Everything is exactly perfect should be in the great state of Tennessee.
Perfect and as it should be…
When the Oilers moved to Nashville, there was a buzz about what the new name should be. Since the “amateurs” are Volunteers, I suggested that the pro team should be called the “Mercenaries”.
“Titans”? Hmmmm. Well, at least it is alliterative.
It would really be nice to see an article written that says the only people saying the program will be better sliding fulmer into the HC role are sportswriters who cant seem to thi8nk of anymore nasty sh!t to say about UT. I still have yet to read one poster or hear opne person on the radio call-in shows say they want fulmer to take over. This fulmer taking over nonsense is all started and spread by sportswriters. Ok Im sure there is a fan or two somewhere drunk in bar calling for saint phil but that’s about it. Wish I could talk smack with you boyz about the game but it sure looks like it will get very very ugly. Hoping G flips the switch and we sneak up on you.
PJ Fleck seems to improving Minnesota each year. If Pruitt gets fired, I think Fleck would be a much much much better candidate than Fulmer to coach the Vols.
Fleck to Tennessee is one of the better suggestions I’ve ever heard regarding potential candidates for UT.
I live in the Chattanooga area and i haven’t talked to or overheard any vols wanting fulmer back.
The game this year between Vandy and UT should be a nail biter.
Should actually be a real non-dawg fight. Who wants to lose to either one?
We have been F’ed so much, that it(these comments) doesn’t hurt anymore… still don’t like it, but it doesn’t bother me…
Go Vols..
I am right there with you Double O. Good comment.
The fear is, whoever loses to y’all first is going to get it worse.
Yes, and deservedly so.
But Neyland is soooo big!
gO vOlS
Wgwtfa, book it. I am no scared Vols fan, we won’t be down forever. All these puppies running that mouth have as much hardware as we do the past few years. No SEC title, no National championship. I remember when Butch showed Kirby how it’s done, and Pruitt is twice the coach Jones was. So anything is possible.
Edit: SEC title in 17, but lost NCG.
By what ostensible measure is Pruitt twice the coach Jones was?
Yes please enlighten us how Pruitt is twice the coach. Anything is possible,thats why you play the game, but respect your opponent. I have respect for Georgia’s football team. They are good and well coached. I hope their players walk in to Neyland thinking they just show up and get the W. But I am also a realist, and I have seen nothing from Tennessee that says we have a shot.
Kirby today had lots of good and respectful things to say about Tenn and Pruitt. He pointed out that uga recruited many Vol players so dont say they have no talent.
TBH most Dawg fans have a soft spot in their heart for Pruitt. He arrived at UGA and was horrified at how Richt ran things compared to Bama and FSU. He was divisive but his head butting with Richt ultimately was Richts downfall. Pruitt exposed Richt for the loser he had become and hastened his departure.
And his classic rant (after a Ga loss) about having no indoor facility absolutely got that project off of the ground.
Thanks JP
I couldn’t agree more. Pruitt was the catalyst for culture change at UGA. As for Tennessee, the SEC, and more specifically the Eastern division, benefits from a strong Tennessee.
We win our state championship on a very regular basis. You should try it once every 5-6 years.
UGA is 20 wins behind Tennessee all time going into this season. Im thinking about 2021 the Dawgs will put Tenn in rear view mirror forever more.
I was actually gonna try and say something nice about Vols until that last comment by Holiday. Butch really showed Kirby. Once on Hail Mary. Big deal. Then came biggest home loss for UT since 1908. Keep talking like that and we will play you 10 against 11 and still stomp you.
When have you or any of your lil buddies said anything good about UT? It’s always the same comments from you guys. I guess you better enjoy while you can.
How about this, UT became a champion in the real world with its handling of the bullied kid in Florida, the t shirts and scholarship. First class all the way. My respect level for UT went into the stratosphere with that action.
The hail Mary was only necessary because y’all completed one 10 seconds before. Just sayin.
I like to talk good natured spit here about other schools but I respect every school. UGA has so many rivals its hard to hate everybody. Fla, Aub, Tech are our biggest rivals, Clemson is a big rival and was more so when we played them annually. Tenn and SC are border division rivalries that mean a lot each year.
Of those 6 fan bases, based on my 40+ years of Dawg tailgating, IMO Tenn is pretty much on the Dawg non hate list. Fla and Tech hold their own special place at the top of the Dawg hater list. Clemson fans are bad too but we dont have to deal with them much. SC fans are nice in a zero expectations kind of way. But to me , for Auburn and Tenn , I dont see the hate in Dawg fan base. When Tenn or Aub come to Athens you see a lot of mixed tailgating. U dont see that v Tech or in Jax.Same when I go to K town. Just my observations.
Do any other long time Dawg fans see it that way?
While I don’t have the years of experience under my belt (I’m a lifelong Dawg born in the late 80s), I’d still like to weigh in on your question regarding UGA rivalries. For my money, Florida and Auburn are the biggest yearly rivals, with each game holding stakes in the SEC championship race. I do wonder how moving the Auburn game to earlier in the year will effect the feelings/significance around this rivalry moving forward. Second tier rivals would be Tenn, SC (especially with Spurrier), and GT. Go Dawgs!
I absolutely see it that way. I very much look forward to the Tennessee and Auburn games because they do a great job of making us feel welcome while still maintaining the good natured ribbing. Florida, not so much as there is some real hate and as for Tech, those people are just f’ing weird, jealous, and hateful. If you tailgate at these games, tell me it’s not so. Interested in feedback. BTW, the Missouri fans are awesome too and do a great job at sharing food and beverages. Classy folks.
I think it’s all circular. Georgia and Florida rival status is probably because Tennessee hasn’t been good for 10+ years now and Florida is the only one to challenge Georgia except for a couple of good years from South Carolina or Missouri. If South Carolina or Missouri could have maintained that success… while Florida was up and down the past 10 years… your answer might have been a little different.
Spot on about Tech fans. Mostly agree about Auburn and Tennessee fans.
That’s an honor island dawg. It’s fun to talk smack, but football is about having fun after all. I hope we always make opposing fans feel welcome. Not so welcome you move in lol (#dawgsstayhomethissaturday). But it is a game.
Even Spurrier said we had more rivals than anyone else because of history, borders, and tradition. Needs to be 2 levels. I think main rivals are UF, Aub, UT. 2nd level Ga Tech, Clemson, South Carolina. Ga tech is probably one old timers list but they haven’t really been competitive. I remember whe Clemson was top rival but we stopped playing them every year. I think Alabamanis new rivalry as they have been measuring stick last few years.
I think it has to do with the stereotypical Georgia fan. Georgia travels well… and they have no problem going shirtless showing off 300 lbs of gut dancing at the entrance of a rival’s stadium.
Nationally, Georgia and Ohio State typically have the most obnoxious traveling fans. That’s where the ‘rivals’ come from.
That said, I’ve heard more positive things about Georgia fans in the last few years than I’ve heard or witnessed myself in the past 30. Maybe Georgia is turning a new leaf… or a new banjo.
But you gotta admit, Burt Reynolds looked sexy as all get out in that weird puff vest while paddling his canoe down the Cahulawassee
One thing I don’t need to know is three more things about Tennessee.