If the playoffs were to begin today, the Georgia Bulldogs would be sitting on the outside looking in after Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings and seeding predictions for Week 2 were revealed showing Georgia as the first team out ranked at No. 12, placing more urgency for a victory on Saturday when they host Tennessee, who was ranked at No. 7 and placed as the No. 8 seed.
On Wednesday, Steak Shapiro and Sandra Golden were joined by ESPN and SEC play-by-play commentator, Tom Hart, as they discussed the CFP ranking and the impact a loss to Tennessee on Saturday could have on the Bulldogs’ playoff hopes, with Hart explaining Georgia will be facing their former selves.
“I think the most simple way to think of Tennessee if you’re a Georgia fan is they are who Georgia used to be,” Hart told Shapiro and Golden sharing his thoughts on why he believes Georgia will be facing a Tennessee team built very similarly to how the Bulldogs were when they won back to back national championships.
“They are built on as strong a running game you’ll find and Dylan Sampson is a top 10 running back in the country,” Hart said of the Volunteers junior running back, who Hart says is an important reason the Volunteers are leading the SEC in rushing. As Hart continued, he noted the performance of the Tennessee defense, which ranks second in SEC total defense.
“Just a lock down, but at the same time, penetrating defense and they’ve really done it with incredible depth,” Hart said, explaining how the Volunteers are benefitting from their ability to rotate multiple players on their defensive front.
“I think that’s the secret to their success this season, is having that depth on the defensive line to be able to get after your quarterback and to be fresh in four quarters of grind it out games. It doesn’t matter how long their defense has been on the field because their elite players have only been on the field for a fraction of the time,” Hart said.
