Weather may end up being the sneaky variable when Tennessee and Georgia Tech line up Saturday night in Atlanta, and if the forecast holds, that could tilt things toward the Vols.
AccuWeather called for a chance of showers and thunderstorms throughout the day Wednesday afternoon, and while nobody knows yet whether that will actually reach the 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the possibility is there. If the game gets wet, the passing game on both sides figures to take a hit. That kind of night usually pushes the focus toward the ground, and Tennessee looks better built for that kind of fight.
The Vols have already shown they can lean on the run game. DeSean Bishop leads that charge, with Javin Gordon behind him, and both backs look like the type who can keep churning in bad footing and muddy conditions. Tennessee also added a wrinkle against Furman that could matter if the weather turns ugly: quarterback Faizon Brandon is becoming part of the rushing plan.
Brandon had designed runs against Furman, but he also showed good feel for when to escape and make something happen with his legs. On one snap, he rolled left under pressure, gave a pump fake to throw off the defender, tucked the ball, and picked up an easy gain before stepping out of bounds. For a quarterback making his first collegiate start, it was a sharp, disciplined decision - and another reminder that Tennessee can attack a defense in more than one way on the ground.
That matters because Georgia Tech’s run defense had a rough opening week. Colorado pushed the ball right at the Yellow Jackets last Thursday night and finished with 183 rushing yards. Georgia Tech may clean that up after a bad showing, but the film still says what it says: the Buffs had success simply lining up and running downhill.
If Tennessee’s offensive line handles the conditions, the Vols should have options to keep the chains moving and the clock rolling, whether that comes from the backs or from Brandon’s legs.
“If Colorado rushed for 183 (yards) against you, do you have any idea what’s coming from Knoxville? Like, they played Furman, they rushed for 330 yards against Furman, whatever.
Georgia Tech’s going to show up a lot better than Furman, I truly believe that. But if Colorado was able to turn around, hand it off, and run it in the A-gap against you at will, which has not been Colorado’s MO with Deion Sanders, Tennessee’s about to feast on the ground,” David Cone of the Crain & Cone podcast said while previewing this game.
Georgia Tech’s own ground game didn’t offer much last week either. The Yellow Jackets finished with just 51 rushing yards against Colorado, and quarterback Alberto Mendoza’s -22 rushing yards made the number look even worse.
Still, Tennessee can’t overlook the fact that Georgia Tech does have a proven back in Justice Haynes, who ran for 857 yards last year at Michigan. The concern for the Yellow Jackets is up front, where the offensive line has more to prove.
Tennessee’s defense didn’t have a ton to take away from Saturday’s game, but senior linebacker Arion Carter is expected to be back from suspension and ready to go.
So if the rain does show up in Atlanta, Tennessee has the better setup to handle it. The forecast still has to play out, but the Vols look like the team better equipped for a game that turns into a slog.
Tennessee’s last downpour game came in a 56-0 win over Vanderbilt in 2022.
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