UPDATE: I was actually not that far off on this prediction, just switch the names Georgia/Dawgs with Tennessee/Vols and I was exceedingly prescient.

GEORGIA WILL BEAT TENNESSEE AND HERE IS WHY...

Georgia will be facing a Tennessee team that has both scored a lot of points and also yielded a lot of points. I have some concern that UT will score over 20 points against Georgia, but I also feel confident that Georgia will score over 20 points against the Vols. So, in my mind, this game comes down to whether Georgia can keep the UT offense off the field. This means that the Dawgs need to limit the Vols to minimal yardage on first down and force them into longer 2nd and 3rd down situations. If we do this, our defense will be able to stop Erik Ainge and the Vols enough to allow our offense to do what several other offenses have done against the Vols this season... post over 30 points.

When we have the ball, I expect us to show a significant commitment to running the ball, which means that Thomas Brown and Knowshon Moreno will get ample opportunity to bust some runs into the UT secondary and showcase their open field prowess turning several runs into 25+ yard gains. If these two backs can establish some success on the ground, then Stafford will have an easier time running the play-action passing attack that will hopefully utilize heavy doses of Mohammed Massaquoi and Sean Bailey.

Of course, in this game, we are all expecting Mikey Henderson to take a punt back for a touchdown, as has become the trend for UGA returners in this series. I keep saying that it is not a matter of if, it is a question of when. Hopefully today in Knoxville.

What I expect is that our offense will have consistent success moving the ball and posting scores. I just hope we will be getting touchdowns instead of field goals. Also, I expect Ainge to have some success throwing the ball. I only hope that all of his 250 yards come between the 20's. If we shut down the UT running game, we will win.

Part of me wants to say that this game will be really close and that the only way we can win is to win the turnover battle. Typically, I am always concerned that anything can go wrong and we will be caught in a battle for our life out there. However, last year we experienced what happens when everything goes wrong against Tennessee. This year, I think we get to re-live what it feels like when everything goes right against the Vols. Georgia's offense will dominate this contest and will establish that the Dawgs are truly contenders this year. By the end of the day the story will be about how the Dawgs tagged UT with 45 points while limiting the Vols to 20 points. So my pick is UGA 45-20.

Also, I expect Tripp Chandler to have a big night with 4 catches for 55 yards and our first touchdown.

GO DAWGS! G.A.T.A.