Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel has helped turn around the Volunteers’ football program. Heupel is 35-13 including 19-11 over three-plus seasons as Tennessee’s head coach, but he still has not beat the Georgia Bulldogs and is 0-3 against Kirby Smart.
“Getting ready to go play a great opponent. You look at them really in every phase of the football game – extremely talented, coached extremely well,” said Heupel on Georgia. “They play hard. They play fundamentally sound. They make you earn it in every way, and one that will be a great, great environment and a great opportunity for everybody inside of this program.”
No. 7 Tennessee leads the SEC standings right now with a 8-1 record including 5-1 in SEC games. No. 12 Georgia is looking to stay alive in the SEC championship race with a win over Tennessee. The Bulldogs are 7-2 and 5-2 in conference play.
“He’s an extremely talented quarterback,” said Heupel on Georgia quarterback Carson Beck. “Playing quarterback, man, sometimes what people see isn’t just the quarterback play. It takes all 11 playing together. He’s a really good football player.”
Georgia’s offensive unit needs to play better if the Bulldogs are going to win against a talented Tennessee defense that allows the fifth-fewest points and yards per game.
“More prepared,” said Heupel when comparing the 2022 edition of Georgia-Tennessee to the 2024 version. “We’ve been in all of our systems longer. This football game is different than the last one. Still facing a great opponent.”
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Georgia ended up winning the national championship after taking down No. 1 Tennessee in Athens during the 2022 season.
“You’ve got to do a great job in protection, but it starts with having the ability to run the football, too,” said Heupel on facing the UGA defense. “If you’re one-dimensional, they’re going to make it real tough on you all night long.”
“You put on the tape of Georgia’s defense and their front looks like a Georgia front always looks like,” continued Heupel. “They move like they always move. Their linebackers are athletic, big, physical and they got elite athletes on the back end. What you see on the video is a typical Georgia defense.”
Georgia hosts Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 16.