College Football HQ

David Pollack issues blunt reality check to Tennessee before Georgia game

Joe Cox|
ESPN analyst David Pollack had some words of caution for the Tennessee Vols ahead of Saturday's matchup with Georgia.
ESPN analyst David Pollack had some words of caution for the Tennessee Vols ahead of Saturday's matchup with Georgia. | Hannah Mattix/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

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ESPN analyst David Pollack had a warning to issue to the Tennessee Vols. Pollack is a veteran of Georgia football-- before he was an analyst or an NFL standout, he starred at Georgia in the early 2000s. He considered the Georgia/Tennessee matchup on the See Ball Get Ball Podcast. Talking with analyst Brent Rollins, Pollack had some thoughts for the Vols.

Georgia's got Tennessee's number. They've won eight straight.... Heupel averages almost 40 points per game. Against [Georgia coach] Kirby [Smart] and company, he averages 14. How about that? I saw the stat and that just shows you-- Georgia has done a good job matching up. The reason why is because Georgia can match up out wide. They're going to play man-to-man. They're going to play aggressively. They're not going to let you dictate to them, like a lot of teams. Josh Heupel does that to a lot of defenses, but [Kirby Smart] is not going to let you do that.
David Pollack

Pollack's points

Pollack does accurate note the recent Georgia dominance in the series. Not only have the Bulldogs won the last eight games in the series, but they've held Tennessee to no more than 21 points in any of those games. Heupel's UT teams have scored 17, 13, 10, and 17 points in their four battles with Georgia.

Pollack's dissection of the defense is further backed up by the passing numbers. Tennessee has not topped 6.9 yards per pass attempt in any of Heupel's four games against the Bulldogs. Tennessee has thrown just two touchdowns total in those games. In the last three years, Tennessee posted its worst or next-to-worst yards per attempt totals from the season in the Georgia game.

Georgia, meanwhile, has been solid on pass defense in the early season, but those numbers are compiled against Marshall and FCS Austin Peay. One of the many keys to Saturday's game is whether Pollack's thoughts on the Bulldog defense are again proven on the field.

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Joe Cox
JOE COX

Joe is a journalist and writer who covers college and professional sports. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. His last book, A Fine Team Man, is about Jackie Robinson and the lives he changed. Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum show and numerous other television and radio shows. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments with Saturday Down South and still loves telling the stories of sports past and present.

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