The 2025 college football season just started and it’s already time for Week 3 — which features a huge showdown in Knoxville between the Tennessee Vols and the Georgia Bulldogs.

Tennessee and Georgia are both off to 2-0 starts. But the matchup on Saturday will be the first SEC game for both programs.

In other words, we’re about to find how good (or not good) both of these teams are.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum joined the The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday morning and he shared some thoughts from both sides of the rivalry on the upcoming game between the Vols and the Bulldogs.

“I think this is a tremendous moment for Tennessee,” said Finebaum. “Where is this program? I don’t know if it’s possible to get less out of the playoffs than Tennessee did last year. It didn’t really carry over because of the Nico (Iamaleava) controversy. (Joey) Aguilar looks good, but this is Tennessee’s best shot at Georgia in a very long time — certainly since Josh Heupel has arrived.

“Georgia is still a mystery. There’s a lot of criticism of Mike Bobo the OC (at UGA). There’s still some doubts about Gunner Stockton. And this is going to — this will define the Dawgs. I think we know the setting. We know the situation. If they don’t look good and lose this game, the doubts are going to creep in. If they can be impressive, then Georgia may be back to its old tricks.”

Paul Finebaum wasn’t been paying attention to the Tennessee Vols this offseason

Finebaum was apparently paying more attention to teams like Alabama, LSU, and Georgia during the offseason than Tennessee.

Because if he had been paying attention to the Vols, then he would’ve never made the comment about how little Tennessee got out of last season’s loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

It’s true that Nico Iamaleava, who started at quarterback for the Vols in that game, is no longer in Knoxville. But plenty of players who played in that game are back at Tennessee this fall. And those players (and UT’s head coach) made it clear during the summer that getting blown out by Ohio State left a bad taste in their mouth.

“Obviously, we left a lot on the table,” said Vols defensive lineman Jaxson Moi last month of the loss to Ohio State. “But we’ll use that as fuel for the next season.”

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel made it clear at SEC Media Days in July that remembering the bad taste from the loss to the Buckeyes was a big part of the Vols’ offseason approach.

“You want to play here in Atlanta and play for a conference championship, win it, and then get in the playoff and go win that thing, too,” said Heupel. “Everybody inside of our program will tell you that the taste that was left in our mouth in December — make sure everybody understands that’s not the goal. We want to get in it, but you got to go win. And it’s been a part of helping us be challenged every single day throughout the course of the winter, through spring ball, and certainly through the course of the summer.” 

“Everybody inside of our program didn’t like the taste in their mouth as the season finished up in late December,” reiterated Heupel on the main stage at SEC Media Days. “That’s been a part of spurring us on throughout each quarter of our offseason. It’s been a part of how intentional and how focused that we’ve been throughout the course of the summer.”

Tennessee senior tight end Miles Kitselman essentially said at SEC Media Days that the Ohio State game was a measuring stick for the Vols.

“It was a great learning experience,” said Kitselman when asked about the loss to Ohio State. “We’re not going to cut around corners — it sucked. But at the same time, that’s the taste that we have in our mouth right now. And we’re going to come out, we’re going to play hungry and play fast because of that.” 

“Ohio State’s a great team,” added Kitselman. “They have a lot of great players. But that just puts it into perspective of how close we were. And then all of a sudden it’s, OK, it’s time to reflect — what do we need to do better? What do we need to do differently? And that’s all of us. That’s the coaching staff. That’s players. How do we need to attack this offseason where we don’t end up in that same situation this upcoming year?”

I’d say there’s plenty of carryover for Tennessee when it comes to the loss to the Buckeyes.

That loss fueled everything Tennessee did this offseason. And it’s a constant reminder of where the team needs to be better to reach its ultimate goal of winning a championship. Despite what Finebaum says, that’s something that will be invaluable for the Volunteers this fall.

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