I don’t really have a lot of time this morning before I head out to Laguna Seca, so I’ll be kind of brief. Tennessee ain’t winning today. All that’s up for debate is the margin of victory.
I’m nervous about predicting the Dawgs cover the enormous spread because Kirby likes to call off the dogs in the second half if Georgia gets out to a decently sized lead. The Vols are overmatched in a number of areas — don’t be surprised if that dormant pass rush many have been concerned about awakens against a pretty sorry offensive line — so that’s not an unlikely scenario.
All bets are off, of course, if Tennessee bleeds turnovers as it did against Florida last week, six in all. That, plus a safety, is how you let a mediocre Gators team run up the score at home.
I suspect UT plays it as conservatively as possible to keep things from getting out of hand for as long as possible. How long will that work? Probably not as long as Pruitt would like.
The other intangible to keep tucked in the back of your head today is how the coaches have gone about their business this week getting the players to flush the inconsistent play that marked some of what showed out against Missouri. On defense, things are helped by the Vols not having a dynamic downfield passing game that Smart and Tucker focused on stopping. I do expect a notable effort made to slow down Tennessee’s run game.
Add your thoughts in the comments and keep ’em coming through the game. I’ll be watching Porsches race and heading to the hospitality suite at game time to check out the game on my cell phone, WiFi be willing and the creek don’t rise.
Get The Picture 