Eager to snap a prolonged losing streak against their hated rival, the No. 15 Tennessee Volunteers host the No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs in Knoxville, Tenn., in each team’s Southeastern Conference opener.
Tennessee (2-0) has breezed past Syracuse and East Tennessee State, but an entirely new energy will surround Neyland Stadium on Saturday. With ESPN’s “College GameDay” coming to town for the 55th all-time meeting between the longtime SEC foes, the Volunteers are out to end an eight-year skid against Georgia.
“We know the test that we have in front of us facing a really good Georgia football team,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “It’s a great weekend. It’s an opportunity for ‘GameDay’ to be here on the biggest stage in college football.”
Following the offseason drama surrounding the exit of Nico Iamaleava, fifth-year quarterback Joey Aguilar has taken the reins under center and impressed through two weeks. The transfer from Appalachian State (2023-24 seasons) and UCLA (spring 2025) has thrown for 535 yards and five touchdowns across the two blowout victories ahead of his biggest test.
“I’m super excited,” Aguilar said of facing Georgia. “But it’s another team on our schedule that we have to go out and play. Excited for the week of preparation, going out there and trusting my guys and playing how we play.”
Tennessee hasn’t beaten Georgia since Joshua Dobbs hit Jauan Jennings on a Hail Mary as time expired in 2016, providing a 34-31 victory in Athens in arguably the rivalry’s most iconic moment — at least from the Vols’ perspective.
Since first-year Georgia head coach Kirby Smart lost that game, the Bulldogs have had a stranglehold in the series, including three consecutive ranked wins over the Volunteers. Nonetheless, Smart knows as well as anyone that last year’s 31-17 win has little to do with Saturday.
“When you play in the SEC and you’re in these really tough Top 10 matchups, Top 25 matchups, they can go either way a lot of times,” Smart said. “They’ve played us physical, we’ve played them physical. I think being at home usually helps either team, but I don’t know that you can attribute it to anything, because this year has nothing to do with previous years.”
Like Tennessee, Georgia (2-0) hasn’t faced a true challenge through two home games. After beating Marshall by 38 points, the Bulldogs sleepwalked through a 28-6 win over FCS opponent Austin Peay in Week 2.
Quarterback Gunner Stockton is slated to make the first road start of his career in front of 101,915 fans in Knoxville, signaling his first “welcome to the SEC” moment.
“Me being in this league for a long time, it plays a factor on the ability to execute when you’re in an environment that someone’s never been in,” Smart said. “As a coach, you have to be smart about what you’re asking them to execute, because at the end of the day, that’s what it is. Who can execute, who can block and tackle, and who can be physical.”
Stockton has thrown for 417 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 86 yards and a pair of scores on the ground through two home starts.
“I think he’s going to be great,” Smart said of Stockton’s first road start. “It’s something that we practice all year round. I don’t believe in waiting till the week of the game. We do it in spring. We do it all preseason camp. We put a lot of pressure on the players in practice to communicate.”
