From The Athletic
Tennessee was on an eight-game winning streak, capped by a dominant win against a Missouri team that returned home and beat LSU.
Georgia was, well, Georgia, but its offense looked shaky, and an ugly half against Arkansas made plenty of folks around Rocky Top wonder if the Vols could surprise the Bulldogs.
But stars never (well, almost never) lie. When competently coached, teams like Georgia don’t lose to teams like Tennessee very often.
The Vols didn’t get embarrassed, but they still have a wide talent gap to close and are another couple of recruiting classes and development away from having the kind of roster that can face off against Alabama or Georgia and not need to play a near-perfect game or get a disastrous performance from the other side to win.
Tennessee did not play particularly well, but most of the game’s biggest plays were because Georgia’s great players made great plays. And don’t forget that Georgia quite literally handed Tennessee seven points to start the game on a bad snap that more than half the time would get recovered by Stetson Bennett inside the 5 and turn into a punt, not an immediate seven points for Tennessee.
Jeremy Pruitt’s postgame summation that the difference is simply not turning the ball over three times in a half isn’t wrong, but it’s not comprehensive. Those three turnovers were somewhat avoidable, but all three came because of pressure in the pocket produced either by scheme or Georgia players winning 1-on-1s.
Tennessee isn’t getting bullied like it did in 2018 and less so in 2019, but it is still not controlling the line of scrimmage in these games. Until that changes, Tennessee is going to constantly bang its head against a 10-win ceiling.
Georgia’s defense is Georgia’s defense, and it’s going to grind down most offenses in the same way it did Tennessee’s offense. If the offensive line isn’t better, the Vols just don’t have an answer for an overwhelming front seven and a solid secondary. Saturday’s game didn’t tell us too much that wasn’t already known about either team.
Tennessee has to find a way to close the gap. Better recruiting is the simplest, most difficult way. A game-changing playmaker at quarterback is an easier, more complex solution.
Georgia did the former and caught up to Alabama in a hurry. Texas A&M did the latter and looked like the best team in the SEC by the end of the 2012 season. LSU didn’t have the top-to-bottom roster that Georgia and Alabama had, but the Tigers rode a No. 1 pick at quarterback and a stable full of playmaking receivers to a dominant national championship run.
Tennessee’s path ahead is not a matter of time. It is not easy. It will require catching some breaks, finding some gems on the recruiting trail and winning some battles for players every team in the league wants. Right now, Tennessee is still not very close to where it wants to be.
Tennessee was on an eight-game winning streak, capped by a dominant win against a Missouri team that returned home and beat LSU.
Georgia was, well, Georgia, but its offense looked shaky, and an ugly half against Arkansas made plenty of folks around Rocky Top wonder if the Vols could surprise the Bulldogs.
But stars never (well, almost never) lie. When competently coached, teams like Georgia don’t lose to teams like Tennessee very often.
The Vols didn’t get embarrassed, but they still have a wide talent gap to close and are another couple of recruiting classes and development away from having the kind of roster that can face off against Alabama or Georgia and not need to play a near-perfect game or get a disastrous performance from the other side to win.
Tennessee did not play particularly well, but most of the game’s biggest plays were because Georgia’s great players made great plays. And don’t forget that Georgia quite literally handed Tennessee seven points to start the game on a bad snap that more than half the time would get recovered by Stetson Bennett inside the 5 and turn into a punt, not an immediate seven points for Tennessee.
Jeremy Pruitt’s postgame summation that the difference is simply not turning the ball over three times in a half isn’t wrong, but it’s not comprehensive. Those three turnovers were somewhat avoidable, but all three came because of pressure in the pocket produced either by scheme or Georgia players winning 1-on-1s.
Tennessee isn’t getting bullied like it did in 2018 and less so in 2019, but it is still not controlling the line of scrimmage in these games. Until that changes, Tennessee is going to constantly bang its head against a 10-win ceiling.
Georgia’s defense is Georgia’s defense, and it’s going to grind down most offenses in the same way it did Tennessee’s offense. If the offensive line isn’t better, the Vols just don’t have an answer for an overwhelming front seven and a solid secondary. Saturday’s game didn’t tell us too much that wasn’t already known about either team.
Tennessee has to find a way to close the gap. Better recruiting is the simplest, most difficult way. A game-changing playmaker at quarterback is an easier, more complex solution.
Georgia did the former and caught up to Alabama in a hurry. Texas A&M did the latter and looked like the best team in the SEC by the end of the 2012 season. LSU didn’t have the top-to-bottom roster that Georgia and Alabama had, but the Tigers rode a No. 1 pick at quarterback and a stable full of playmaking receivers to a dominant national championship run.
Tennessee’s path ahead is not a matter of time. It is not easy. It will require catching some breaks, finding some gems on the recruiting trail and winning some battles for players every team in the league wants. Right now, Tennessee is still not very close to where it wants to be.
