Tennessee’s offense has played a significant role in their success this season. Last Saturday, the Vols. dominated Mississippi State 33-14.

Josh Heupel’s key player, Nico Iamaleava, stood up again and threw a 73-yard touchdown pass and extended their lead. Unfortunately, he left the field in the third quarter due to an injury and did not return. Volunteers are going to play their next game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Now the big question is, will he participate in the next game? While we ponder that, let’s hear from a college football analyst who thinks the Vols can still dominate the Bulldogs.

Georgia Alumni and former NFL player David Pollack previewed the Bulldogs vs. the Volunteers matchup on his YouTube channel. We all know the common theme with Kirby Smart’s team in the last two months: a weak offense. Pollack thinks that

Tennessee has the weapons to get at Georgia. “That’s exactly why Tennessee is where they’re at; they’re not elite in the back end; they’re not elite at linebacker like they’re good, but the reason they dominate is because of that group upfront; what we saw from Georgia last week was the weakness of their offense,” he said. 

The main reason why Tennessee could dominate Mississippi State is because their defense did not allow them to move the ball. They held a team under 20 points for their eighth straight game. The Vols limited their Week 11 opponents to 271 total yards, out of which 179 were rushing yards. How did the Bulldogs fare against Ole Miss? 245 total yards, including 186 passing and 59 rushing yards. It gets worse. They had another three-turnover game, and the worst bit- of the 10 points they managed, only three weren’t off turnovers. If the Bulldogs’ defense can’t force a possession change, the offense gets hopeless. Can we pin it on Carson Beck? Pollack doesn’t seem to think so.

“We can talk about Carson Beck all you want; nobody throwing off their back; nobody making those plays consistently that he’s had to make, especially with the weapons not being as good and being able to win as fast as they have been in the past and then you couple that with no running game.” We all know that Beck has disappointed fans with his poor performance this season, but he is not the only one who should take all the blame. In fact, he did not get the support he needed from his other players.

It may come down to who has the better defense. That’s how Georgia went to Austin and defeated the Longhorns. That has been the key to their success. Kirby Smart has made it clear that he isn’t benching Carson Beck, but the head coach must also be aware that it’s all over if they lose to the Volunteers. For the away team. Nico is in concussion protocol after he was hit last Saturday, and the team listed him as questionable for the game. Moving forward, let’s see if Tennessee is ready to take on the Bulldogs defense.

Josh Heupel and Rodney Garner changed the culture at Tennessee

Since Josh Heupel joined Tennessee, he has made certain changes in their defense. He joined the team in 2021 and immediately realized that the team had only won 38% of its SEC game but struggled badly with defense. To make the team more competitive, he brought in Rodney Garner. Garner needs no introduction; he is an experienced coach in the SEC. Heupel and Rodney knew this kind of change would require time.

And now we can see the results. Garner had a conversation with ESPN when he said, “We wanted to change the culture from the very essence of it. It wasn’t easy — I’ll tell you that. That first spring, I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what I signed up for.’ But the guys who stuck it out bought in. They saw that there was some logic behind the madness.” 

Commenting on their preparation for the Bulldogs, he mentioned, “They play a lot of players, which allows them to play really hard and really physically.”. While Tennessee is ready to take on the Bulldogs, Garner’s statement clearly highlights that they have very well-analyzed the Bulldogs’ strengths and weaknesses.

How can Smart have no opinions about Tennessee? Earlier this week he said, “You can see the strength in the guys that come in to play. There’s really no drop off when they go from their first-line guys to their second-line guys.”

It will be interesting to see who wins. It is week 12 and we are sure it is going to be a thrilling game. Will Carson Beck have a turnaround and help the Bulldogs win over Tennessee?