David Pollack believes Tennessee ‘has a Georgia problem,’ must prove itself

One of the marquee games of college football’s week three slate will see No. 6 Georgia traveling to No. 15 Tennessee for a top-15 clash between SEC foes. This matchup is extremely important for both programs. The Bulldogs look to show the college football world that they haven’t gone anywhere as a top team in the sport, while Tennessee looks to get over the bump in its road known as Georgia.

Georgia has won eight consecutive games over Tennessee, dating back to the 2017 season. The Bulldogs have won 13 of the last 15 meetings, with that number potentially jumping to 14 had the Volunteers not stolen the 2016 game on Josh Dobbs‘ game-winning Hail Mary with no time remaining.

Ahead of this weekend’s marquee matchup (and site of ESPN‘s College GameDay), college football analyst David Pollack took to the ‘See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack‘ podcast, where he declared that Tennessee has a Georgia problem

“Tennessee‘s got a Georgia problem and has had a Georgia problem for a while now,” Pollack said. “Is it eight straight losses (for Tennessee)? And the last (win) was the Hail Mary. That’s crazy, but a win’s a win. I know Georgia‘s defense is really good. Their defense is going to present a lot of problems for Tennessee‘s offense. Their coverages and coverage in the backend are really good. I think they’ve got solid matchups across the board and really good cover guys. I think they’ve got some physicality up front that can handle the run-game of Tennessee and they have some depth they can rotate in.”

Tennessee will present itself as Georgia‘s first challenging game of the season, as the Bulldogs opened against Marshall and Austin Peay. Although Georgia won those two games by an average of 30 points per game, it didn’t quite look dominant. The Volunteers however have opened their season with a 45-26 win over Syracuse and a 72-17 beatdown of East Tennessee State and seen more than warmed up for this challenge.

“I know Tennessee‘s banged up on the defensive line,” Pollack continued. “I know they’re not as deep as they were a year ago, but they are physical. They do a good job of being physical up front. I know that Joey Aguilar has got some moxie and some stuff to him. I know enough watching him at the QB position to know that he is going to make plays. Did I say he’s gonna make plays just for his team? Probably not. He’s probably gonna make some mistakes, but he’s a really good athlete.

“The system needs to continue to tweak and I think it has a little bit. But I know they can throw the football. I don’t look at last week much when you play really inferior competition, but when you do what you’re supposed to do, I like that. I like when you club people. Tennessee‘s offense is still Josh Heupel offense with speed and tempo, and the ability to make big plays.”

Through two games, the Tennessee offense is averaging 605 yards (1st in SEC) and 58.5 points (1st in SEC). Georgia’s defense meanwhile is allowing just 201.5 yards (2nd in SEC) and 6.5 points (1st in SEC). The meeting of that Volunteer offense and Georgia‘s stifling defense is sure to make for a classic in Knoxville on Saturday.

“I feel more comfortable about the Georgia pieces than I do about Tennessee,” Pollack said. “But Tennessee as a unit with their offense and their system is probably a bit more dependable than Georgia‘s.”

Kick-off between the top-15 teams is scheduled for Sept. 13 at 3:30 PM on ABC.