Why Tennessee needs Georgia to lose before the Vols and Bulldogs play in late November
The Tennessee Vols could use a Georgia Bulldogs loss before the two programs meet in Neyland Stadium in late November. And it has nothing to do with the standings (though that's something worth watching, too…depending on how UT's game against Alabama turns out this weekend). Regardless of what happens over the next couple of weeks, […]
The Tennessee Vols could use a Georgia Bulldogs loss before the two programs meet in Neyland Stadium in late November.
And it has nothing to do with the standings (though that's something worth watching, too…depending on how UT's game against Alabama turns out this weekend).
Regardless of what happens over the next couple of weeks, the Vols badly want to get a win against the Bulldogs in Neyland Stadium in November. It doesn't matter if Tennessee is or isn't in the playoff hunt, the Vols will be eager to get their first win against Georgia since the miracle in Athens in 2016.
Earlier this week, news broke that Georgia tight end Brock Bowers underwent surgery on his ankle and he's expected to miss at least several weeks. On Tuesday, Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart said he has no timetable for Bowers' return.
Bowers is one of the best players in college football — if not the best player — and if he's able to return this season, it would be right around Georgia's late November matchup with the Vols.
Brock Bowers could have a big decision to make
The ridiculously talented tight end is expected to be an early-round draft selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Would Bowers be willing to risk impacting his draft stock or missing combine workouts to come back and play for Georgia late in the season?
I'm guessing if the Bulldogs are a lock to play for a national championship, he'll likely do all he can to return. No one has won three straight national championships in college football since Minnesota in the 1930s. I'm betting that Bowers will return to action, if he gets healthy, if a three-peat is in play for Georgia.
But if the Bulldogs lose to Missouri or Florida ahead of that late-season matchup with Tennessee, maybe Bowers sees a three-peat as less of a sure thing and decides to shut it down in preparation for the 2024 NFL Draft. In years past, that would be a red flag in the eyes of NFL executives. But thanks to the changing landscape of college football, that's no longer the case (most people probably don't even realize that Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase sat out his junior season at LSU after initially saying he'd play….and that didn't impact his draft stock at all).
Georgia is going to be a tough to beat whether or not Bowers is on the field. But a Bowers-less Bulldogs squad is certainly more vulnerable than a full-strength Georgia team with Bowers on the field.
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe’s comments about Tennessee Football are being blown out of proportion
Not everyone is talking trash in college football
