Greg McElroy reveals his biggest question for Georgia ahead of matchup vs. Tennessee

After two ramp-up games to start the season, Georgia will face its toughest test yet with a showdown against No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday. During an appearance on SportsCenter, ESPN’s Greg McElroy revealed what he’s looking for from the Bulldogs.

“The biggest question, for me, with Georgia is we know they’re great on defense. It’s Kirby Smart. That’s established,” McElroy said. “They have kind of altered their identity to being a little bit more blue-collar offensively. And what we haven’t seen from Georgia here these last few weeks is a competent passing attack down the field.

“Gunner Stockton‘s averaging 5.5 air yards per attempt. That is 119th in college football. They’re not trying anything downfield. So the question is, can they do it? Or are they incapable of doing it? That’s, I think, the big question mark.”

Gunner Stockton is in his first season as Georgia’s full-time starter. He took over the role at the end of last season after quarterback Carson Beck suffered a season-ending UCL injury in the SEC Championship.

Following Beck’s decision to transfer to Miami this offseason, Stockton was named Georgia’s QB1. Through two games this season, Stockton has completed 40-of-his-58 pass attempts for 417 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing any interceptions.

While his numbers are solid, they certainly don’t jump off the page. In contrast, Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar boasts 535 passing yards, five touchdowns and zero picks this season.

Greg McElroy believes Stockton must step up his game if Georgia wants to defeat Tennessee. On Tuesday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart seemingly insinuated his team will allow Stockton to air out some deep balls against the Volunteers.

“Nothing’s inherently perfect or safe. Passing the ball down the field is not necessarily [dangerous], it’s one of the lower turnover rates there is,” Smart said. “You can’t turn the ball over in a good offense. You gotta prevent turnovers, but you also have to have the ability to throw it down the field and hit some shots and be explosive.”

Tennessee certainly won’t be afraid to throw down field. Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel is known for his high-powered offenses and this year is no different. Tennessee is averaging 605 total yards of offense per game, the second-most in college football.

It won’t be long before Georgia and Tennessee can settle their differences on the field. On Saturday, the Bulldogs and Volunteers will face off at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ABC.