Tennessee DC Tim Banks should take notice of Georgia QB Carson Beck's comments after Bulldogs' win against Clemson
If everything goes according to plan for the Tennessee Vols over the first couple of months of the 2024 season, their game in November against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens will have major College Football Playoff implications. Georgia will likely be favored to win that matchup against the Vols, but Tennessee will obviously go into […]
If everything goes according to plan for the Tennessee Vols over the first couple of months of the 2024 season, their game in November against the Georgia Bulldogs in Athens will have major College Football Playoff implications.
Georgia will likely be favored to win that matchup against the Vols, but Tennessee will obviously go into that game with the intentions of winning.
There's a long way to go before that game — and Tennessee has to first take care of business against teams like Oklahoma, Florida, and Alabama for it to really matter — but it's never too early for coaches to start storing information on how to beat an opponent.
And when it comes to beating Georgia, there's a comment that was made by Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck after beating Clemson this past weekend that Vols defensive coordinator Tim Banks should probably store in his memory bank.
Beck noted after Georgia's 34-3 win against Clemson that the Tigers' defensive looks were exactly what they showed on tape last season. And once Georgia saw that Clemson was sticking to those looks, they were able to attack the Tigers' defense and put up 34 points over the final three quarters of the game.
“Once we got in that second half, looking at the iPad, seeing what they were doing against us, it was everything that we saw on film that we watched from last year,” said Beck after the game. “So we just kind of deciphered which ways we wanted to attack them and maybe tried to be a little bit more aggressive coming out at the half.”
Georgia is going to have a season's worth of film on Tennessee's defense by the time November rolls around. By that point in the season, there won't be many secrets about what any college football team is trying to do.
Banks and the Vols, however, would be wise to save some unique looks for the Georgia game. If they can combine some new looks/formations with approaches they see during the season that are effective at stopping Georgia's offense, then the Vols will have a chance to leave Athens with a win. But if they go into that game and they give Georgia the looks that the Bulldogs are expecting, it could be a long night for Tennessee's defense.
And that's not because I don't think Tennessee's defense is incapable of winning one-on-one matchups against the Bulldogs — I certainly think this UT defense is talented enough to win some of those matchups.
But there's no reason to make things easier on an elite Georgia team by being predictable on defense. The Vols can't get ahead of themselves — coaches and players have to stay focused on the week at hand — but it wouldn't be a bad idea to start to filing away some unique defensive looks that can be used later in the season against Georgia.
