College football鈥檚 top 5 matchups of Week 12
2. No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 18 Tennessee – Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Although Georgia and Tennessee have played less than some other historic SEC rivalries with 52 matchups all time, the Bulldogs and Vols have produced plenty of classic games, and one more could be in store on Saturday. Georgia leads the all-time series in this matchup 27-23-2, and has been dominant as of late, winning the last six matchups, and 11 of the last 13 overall.
Georgia will be favored again this year as it comes into Knoxville winners of 37 straight regular season games, and on a 27-game winning streak overall. This weekend, the Bulldogs can tie an SEC record with their 28th consecutive win. During this recent run, Georgia鈥檚 defense has been a consistent force, and remains a top-10 unit despite some of the guys it lost to the NFL. What really has the Bulldogs over the top this year, however, is the sixth-ranked total offense in the country led by quarterback Carson Beck who has thrown for over 3,000 yards and completed 72.2% of his passes. With star tight end Brock Bowers back in the fold, this offense will be hard to stop down the stretch, and has helped Georgia to some big wins recently over Missouri and Ole Miss.
Tennessee will be the next ranked team tasked with slowing down the Bulldogs, and had been doing a nice job defensively until the last few weeks. After an early-season loss to Florida, the Vols have also fallen to Alabama, and were surprisingly blown out by Mizzou last week, 36-7. Even so, this team remains in the top 25 in part thanks to a top-20 total offense that is particularly strong on the ground led by Jaylen Wright. Offensive production could be hard to come by again this weekend, but the Volunteers should be fired up to avenge last weekend鈥檚 loss, and a defeat in Athens last year where the Bulldogs ended No. 1-ranked Tennessee鈥檚 perfect season.
