Kirk Herbstreit explains what gives the Tennessee Vols the edge over the Georgia Bulldogs
If the Tennessee Vols take care of business against Kentucky on Saturday, and the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Florida Gators down in Jacksonville, it'll set up a massive college football showdown in Athens on November 5. The Tennessee vs Georgia game on the first Saturday in November could possibly be the biggest college football game […]
If the Tennessee Vols take care of business against Kentucky on Saturday, and the Georgia Bulldogs beat the Florida Gators down in Jacksonville, it'll set up a massive college football showdown in Athens on November 5.
The Tennessee vs Georgia game on the first Saturday in November could possibly be the biggest college football game of the season as it should determine the winner of the SEC East.
And ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit thinks the Vols will have the edge.
His reasoning?
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker.
"At the moment, Kirk, how do you separate Georgia and Tennessee?" asked ESPN's Rece Davis this week.
"Hendon Hooker [is] my answer," said Herbstreit before a long pause. "That's it. Hendon Hooker."
"Josh Heupel and Tennessee's offense man, Hendon Hooker right now is that guy," continued Herbstreit. "Now I'm not saying he couldn't sputter. But right now, based on these first eight weeks, I think if you're looking at separating Tennessee from anybody, it's the way they've outscored anybody that they've played. I know they could slip against Kentucky. They could lose obviously at Georgia. But right now, they are just dynamic on that side of the ball and it's because of Hendon Hooker."
Herbstreit has been a detractor of the Vols at times, but even he's a believer at this point.
Tennessee obviously has a lot of work left to do this season. Beating Kentucky won't be an easy task. Winning on the road against Georgia will be even tougher. But the Vols have set themselves up nicely — even if they lose a game before the end of the season — to make a run at the College Football Playoff.
I'm not sure anyone expected to write that sentence this soon. But here we are. And it's not hyperbole.
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