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Josh Heupel shares first thoughts on Georgia matchup

Screenshot 2023-07-18 at 4.54.37 PMby:Riley Gates•10/31/22•

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KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 24: Head coach Josh Heupel of the Tennessee Volunteers arrives at Neyland Stadium before the game against the Florida Gators on September 24, 2022 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)

In just his second season as head coach of Tennessee, Josh Heupel has the Volunteers sitting in national contention at 8-0 on the season and No. 2 in the country. As Heupel continues this run with his team, he must gear it up to face No. 1 Georgia this coming weekend with the SEC East title likely on the line. Heupel was asked for his initial thoughts on Saturday night after leading Tennessee to a 44-6 win over No. 19 Kentucky.

“Certainly going to be a big ball game, great football team,” Heupel said. “We’re going to enjoy this one tonight. I think it’s important that you enjoy the journey. I told the players before the game, enjoy the Vol Walk, enjoy running through the T. You’ve built this type of energy because of the way you’ve worked and competed. They’ll enjoy it tonight and players will be ready when they get back on Monday. Staff will turn it around early tomorrow morning. We understand it’s a really good football team we’re getting ready to play but these are the type of games — you come to Tennessee because you want to be on this type of stage, you want to play in front of an audience that’s gonna be captivated by these two football teams.”

What looked to be a gauntlet stretch of games just a few weeks ago has gone incredibly well for the Volunteers. After beating Akron to improve to 3-0 into the bye week, Tennessee had four ranked opponents in its next five games. The Volunteers won all five games, including a win over Alabama at home. They now sit at 8-0 overall and 4-0 in SEC play.

Quarterback Hendon Hooker has been a key reason for the success that Tennessee has had this year. Hooker has completed 71.2% of his passes for 2,338 yards, 21 touchdowns and just one interception this season, while also adding in four rushing touchdowns.

 “Like I say every time I get up to the mic, it’s business,” Hooker said. “We’re here to accomplish a goal that we set for ourselves back in January. Whether we’re No. 1 or No. 25, it doesn’t matter. We’re going to approach every game the same way, take every opponent seriously and we prepare that way. Our preparation shows that we have been preparing the right way when game time hits.”

Tennessee and Georgia are slated for a 3:30 p.m. ET kick on Saturday. The game will be shown on CBS.