Tennessee Vols' SEC East rival will face same unfortunate hurdle this weekend that UT faced a year ago
One of the Tennessee Vols' SEC East rivals will face the same unfortunate situation that UT faced almost exactly a year ago. The Missouri Tigers are set to take on the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend in Athens. And it's a game that Tennessee badly wants the Tigers to win. If Missouri beats Georgia, and then the […]
One of the Tennessee Vols' SEC East rivals will face the same unfortunate situation that UT faced almost exactly a year ago.
The Missouri Tigers are set to take on the Georgia Bulldogs this weekend in Athens. And it's a game that Tennessee badly wants the Tigers to win.
If Missouri beats Georgia, and then the Vols beat Mizzou the following week, and then beat the Bulldogs the week after that, Tennessee would win the SEC East (assuming the Vols beat Vanderbilt in the final week of the season).
It's a long shot that this all works out in Tennessee's favor, but it's a scenario that's still in play for the Vols.
One thing that happened on Tuesday night, however, is going to make Missouri's attempt to knock off Georgia this weekend a bit more difficult.
On Tuesday night, the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were revealed. And the Bulldogs weren't ranked No. 1. Instead, that honor went to Ohio State (UGA is No. 2).
That means Missouri will play a fired-up and motivated Georgia team in the most hyped game of the weekend. Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart is one of the best in the business when it comes to using perceived "disrespect" to motivate his team. And it's served up on a platter this week with the Bulldogs coming in at No. 2 in the playoff rankings despite Georgia's 25 game winning streak.
This is essentially the same situation that Tennessee faced a year ago when they went into Athens the week of the first College Football Playoff rankings. The Vols had it a bit worse since they were ranked No. 1 over Georgia. But either way, it's obvious that Smart has plenty of material this week to use to motivate his team ahead of a huge game that has major playoff implications.
It didn't work out too well for the Vols last season. And honestly, it's hard to have much faith that it will work out any better for Missouri. This is a game that Tennessee needs Georgia to lose, but it feels like it's going to be a Game of Thrones "Red Wedding" type of game in Athens this weekend. I don't think the Tigers will be leaving Sanford Stadium with a smile on Saturday night.
(Note: Tennessee could still win the SEC East if they win out and Georgia loses to Ole Miss on November 11.)
There’s one uniform choice that Tennessee absolutely can’t make for Missouri game
They just can’t make that choice
