Both Georgia and Tennessee are coming off heart-breaking losses. The Volunteers suffered a loss to Florida off a missed field goal before falling to Arkansas. The Bulldogs come in after getting demolished by Alabama in a game they were favored to win. Now the two teams must try and bounce back as they face off in a long-standing rivalry game that factors into the SEC East.
Georgia has faced a lot of criticism this week. The team was expecting to beat Alabama, but instead managed just 10 points in a 38-10 loss. It dropped the Bulldogs to No.19 in the polls while they now face questions about their quarterback position. Grayson Lambert completed just 10 of 24 passes for 86 yards. He was benched in the second half as his replacement, Brice Ramsey, came in an immediately tossed a pick-six while recording two interceptions. The only star of the team was Nick Chubb and even he had a quiet day with 146 rushing yards while scoring on an 83-yard run. Head coach Mark Richt understands players and fans are not happy.
"We do feel like we put it behind us," Richt said, via ESPN.com. "We feel like we've made the corrections we need to make and we're moving forward and hopefully be better because of the changes."
The Volunteers are facing similar questions. This was supposed to be the Volunteers' year as they came in with a more experienced roster ready to compete. The Volunteers are familiar with slow starts. They started 3-5 last year before rattling off four wins in its last five games to get a bowl game appearance. However, losses to Florida, Oklahoma and Arkansas are disappointments in the eyes of the program that had a lot of hype around it.
Tennessee is dealing with depth issues. Marquez North is expected to return against Georgia after missing the game against Arkansas with lower back issues. However, Pig Howard will not be available. The running back was kicked off the team Wednesday for violating team rules. He missed this first game for undisclosed reasons while missing the next two with a concussion. The Volunteers are hoping they have enough to get the big rivalry win over Georgia.