It’s been a successful season overall for the Fearless Prediction, but we’ve got some bumps and bruises along the way, as is bound to happen. Still, at 8-2 on our picks, we have a good shot at double digits — better than the 7-3 Vols, in fact.

On Saturday, Tennessee will take on Georgia, a team that hasn’t lost a game in nearly 3 years. This is a massive challenge for the Vols, and if last week’s performance at Missouri is a precursor for UT, it could be a very long afternoon.

The Vols didn’t move the football effectively and couldn’t stop the Tigers from running through their defense. When your punter is your player of the game, it was a lousy day. Tennessee’s 36-7 loss to Missouri was the worst defeat in the Josh Heupel era.

And now, the Bulldogs roll into Knoxville coming off their best performance of the year. The Bulldogs’ 52-17 win over 13th-ranked Ole Miss proved again that when playing at their best, UGA is a serious problem for the rest of the sport.

Georgia’s offense is elite. Ranked 5th nationally in total offense (504.8 yards per game) and 6th in scoring offense (40.6 points per game), they’ve been tough to stop this season.

QB Carson Beck might not be Stetson Bennett, but for this offense he’s a good fit. Beck has completed 72% of his passes for 3,022 yards and 18 TDs. Senior RBs Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton have rushed for a combined 1,113 yards and 17 scores, making them a solid 1-2 punch.

WRs Dominic Lovett, Ladd McConkey and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint give Beck lots of options, but his go-to in the passing game is TE Brock Bowers. One of the best players in the country, Bowers missed a month of action following ankle surgery. He returned for the Ole Miss game, making 3 catches for 34 yards and a score.

The Georgia defense is just as good as the offense. It is ranked 9th nationally in total defense (289.2 yards allowed per game) and 6th in scoring defense (15.6 points allowed per game). Six Bulldogs have at least 33 tackles, with ILB Smael Mondon, Jr. leading the way with 48. DB Tykee Smith has 6.5 tackles for loss.

Despite losing 10 players to the NFL Draft in April, this is a team with few weaknesses.

As for Tennessee, the Vols rushing offense, which was so good most of the season, came crashing back to Earth with only 83 yards against Missouri. The Vols still rank 8th in the nation in rushing, but their performance against the Tigers is a concern.

Like the rest of the offense, QB Joe Milton struggled in the 2nd half against Mizzou, which prompted many Vols fans to call for 5-star backup Nico Iamaleava to get more run. That might happen in the regular season finale against Vanderbilt, but there’s no way Josh Heupel starts Iamaleava against Georgia’s defense.

Speaking of defense, Tennessee’s defense played its worst game of the year against Missouri. Truman State great Cody Schrader ran for 205 yards and added 115 receiving yards, making him the 1st player to eclipse 200 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards in the same game in the history of the SEC.

Not great, Bob!

A guy that really has made a jump this season for the Vols’ defense is sophomore LB Elijah Herring. He leads UT with 65 tackles. Herring will probably need to be one of the best players on the field if the Vols are going to have any chance of pulling an upset against Georgia.

Tennessee will have the advantage of playing this game at Neyland Stadium, a place where they have won 14 games in a row. The old barn is once again one of the loudest and most intimidating buildings in all of college football. UT’s last home loss came back on Nov. 13, 2021 … against Georgia.

The Bulldogs have already clinched the SEC East and a spot in the conference title game against Alabama. UGA is riding a 27-game win streak, and that’s not coming to an end this weekend.

Fearless Prediction time …

Georgia 42, Tennessee 24