ESPN College GameDay host Kirk Herbstreit appeared on the Pardon My Take podcast this week and he discussed the best way to beat the Tennessee Vols while talking about the upcoming national championship game between Georgia and TCU.

Herbstreit's comments essentially reveal the one thing that Tennessee needs in order to win a national championship.

And it's not something on the defensive side of the ball (though improvements on that side of the ball will certainly help).

Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content

"Other than Oregon early, I don't know if they (Georgia) really played a dynamic offense," said Herbstreit this week. "Tennessee's good but they just beat them up at the line of scrimmage."

"That's the equalizer against Tennessee's system. That old Art Briles system, if you can beat them at the line of scrimmage, you don't have to commit numbers (in the box) you can beat Tennessee. And Georgia was able to do that — especially at home in Athens."

"Tennessee puts the receivers as you know, [they don't] just spread you, they go to the sidelines with their receivers," continued Herbstreit. "And what they do is they make you have to account for ok, we're going to take away the pass, and then you're a man short against the run. Or we're going to load up against the run and now you're playing man-to-man. And Tennessee made everybody pay for that. Well, Georgia could play against the pass and still hold up at the line of scrimmage against the run. And that's the difference with what Georgia was able to do (against Tennessee)."

Herbstreit didn't make a lot of friends in East Tennessee this weekend after he spread unsubstantiated rumors about the Vols locker room on national television back in November, but his assessment of UT's offense is spot on.

Getting pressure on Tennessee's quarterback without having to bring extra defenders is the secret to beating the Vols.

Not many teams can do that. Even Clemson, which has one of the better defensive lines in the sport, couldn't get enough pressure on Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton to beat the Vols (UT beat Clemson 31-14 in the Orange Bowl).

Georgia, though, has elite defensive linemen. And they were able to consistently get pressure on Hendon Hooker to prevent him from finding open receivers down the field.

And make no mistake — despite what Bulldogs fans will tell you, the Vols had receivers open downfield against Georgia.

Can we stop comparing Tennessee’s loss to UGA and Oregon’s loss? If Vols hit this, it’s a one score game late. Maybe they get an onside kick or they stop Georgia and get a Hail Mary chance. Unlikely but possible. Yeah, UGA dominated. But Vols had chances to make it interesting. pic.twitter.com/Z1zupucbEl

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) November 8, 2022

Tennessee had a really good offensive line in 2022, but it wasn't good enough to beat Georgia.

And for the Vols to win a national championship or an SEC championship, they have to get past Georgia.

Beefing up the offensive line is the only way. If the Vols can't stop Georgia's defensive front, they aren't winning the SEC.

When folks talk about Josh Heupel's offense, they tend to focus on the passing game. But it's really the running game and the offensive line that makes the offense work.

The Vols have to find a way to get even better on the offensive line. They have to go from "really good" to "elite". The best way for that to happen is through recruiting. Building an elite offensive line through the portal just isn't going to work. The elite guys that lead programs to championships usually aren't transferring. You gotta sign those guys out of high school.

Tennessee can get there. And I think they will. But they're going to have to start beating Georgia and Alabama in recruiting battles for offensive linemen.

If you want an indication of when Tennessee might win a national championship, keep an eye on offensive line recruiting. That will be the telltale sign.

Featured image via Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK