Hendon Hooker analyzes play in Georgia loss, ready to look ahead

Hendon Hooker didn’t have his best game against Georgia. The Tennessee Vols‘ star quarterback couldn’t get into his usual rhythm against the stout Bulldogs defense and for the first time this season wasn’t able to find the end zone at all.

The 27-13 loss saw Hooker complete 23-of-33 passes for a season-low 195 passing yards and one interception – one of two times he’s been picked off all year long. Now, Hooker will look to attack practice early this week in the hopes of a major bounce back performance this Saturday against Missouri.

“Looking back at it, I didn’t hold on to the ball too long in any circumstance, honestly,” Hooker said. “Maybe sometimes when I get out of the pocket I throw it away, but just me being me, I’m always trying to make a play. In the game of football, you’ll have bumps and bruises and soreness, so yeah I’m sore. It’s Monday so we want to get a nice shake out, get the blood flowing and get back into the groove so Tuesday we can hit the ground running.”

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Looking forward, the Volunteers have three more SEC East games where they’ll likely be heavy favorites for. They’ve opened up as 21-point favorites against Mizzou, and will also likely be heavily favored against Vanderbilt to close the season out. They have a tricky road matchup against South Carolina next weekend, though.

If Tennessee can finish the regular season 11-1, its road to the College Football Playoff – even without a SEC Championship berth – is certainly plausible. All the Vols can do from this point on is play the schedule that has been laid out in front of them.

Kickoff between Tennessee and the Tigers is set to kickoff live from Neyland Stadium at noon ET with CBS carrying the national broadcast.