Kirby Smart makes definitive statement on Tennessee matchup, win streak: 'It'll be completely different'

History is on Georgia‘s side as it heads into its meeting against No. 15 Tennessee on Saturday. The Bulldogs have won their last eight meetings with the Volunteers. However, UGA head coach Kirby Smart clarified his team isn’t allowing the win streak to affect their approach to the game.

“After that first kickoff, there’s not going to be one person on either team that are thinking about that,” Smart said during an appearance on SportsCenter. “If they are, then that team’s in trouble because they’re not thinking about what they got to do to win the game.

“We say it all the time: Every game has a history and life of its own. So within this game, it’ll be completely different than the previous games. And, that’s just the way we look at it. That has nothing to do with the outcome of the game and our guys know that.”

Georgia’s eight-game win streak against Tennessee is even more impressive than it might first appear. The Bulldogs have won each of the eight contests by double-digits, most recently defeating the Volunteers 31-17 last season.

Alas, both Georgia and Tennessee have revamped rosters this season and the Volunteers are hungry to break the curse. Tennessee has looked strong through two games, particularly its offense. In fact, Tennessee is averaging 605 total yards of offense per game, the second-most in college football.

Transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar is largely responsible for the Volunteers’ success. Aguilar boasts 535 passing yards and five touchdowns this season, while throwing zero picks.

In contrast, Georgia’s Gunner Stockton has completed 40-of-his-58 pass attempts for 417 yards and two touchdowns, without throwing any interceptions. On Friday evening, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy argued Georgia needs to open up its offense on Saturday to have a chance against the Volunteers.

“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.”

On Saturday, Georgia and Tennessee will face off at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ABC.