ESPN insiders reveal which team needs to win Georgia-Tennessee game the most

It’s well-documented how much weight the game between No. 2 Tennessee and No. 1 Georgia will hold in Athens this weekend. The matchup between the Vols and Bulldogs will determine a lot in both the SEC and the College Football Playoff Race. As the game is further broken down throughout this week, both Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum see it as the game of the season because of what’s at stake.

Dinich and Finebaum shared their thoughts on the game in an appearance on ‘Get Up’ on Tuesday morning. Dinich went first and went bigger picture on her take. In her opinion, it’s Georgia who needs this win the most because Tennessee already holds a win over Alabama. If the Bulldogs were to lose, Dinich believes their playoff hopes would be hanging by a thread.

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“A spot in the playoff is at stake. Georgia needs the win more than Tennessee. If Tennessee doesn’t win and Alabama wins the SEC, they’re sitting there with one loss saying, ‘Hey, we beat the SEC champs.’ And if Tennessee wins, they play Bama, and they lose? Alabama and Tennessee are in this thing. That’s a no brainer if Tennessee splits with the Tide. They’re still in regardless,” said Dinich. “Georgia has to win this game because I think if they lose to Alabama in the SEC Championship game, they’re still in. We’ve seen this movie before. If they lose to Tennessee, they’ve gotta pray. They need a hope and a prayer because that’s when you’re talking about the possibility of three SEC teams.”

The SEC race started the season with two teams in the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide. The Volunteers have crashed that party, though, specifically because of their win over Alabama. If Tennessee were to win in Athens, that’d give them six wins over AP Top-25 teams in nine games, including two over the best the SEC has to offer. That resume is the threat to Georgia because, besides Oregon in the opener, their schedule doesn’t compare to what the Volunteers have done so far.

As for Finebaum, he went smaller picture and shared his biggest focus on Saturday’s game. He thinks it’s the matchup between Hendon Hooker and the Georgia defense. Finebaum already saw what Hooker did to the Alabama defense earlier this season. If the Bulldogs are to remain undefeated, they’ll need to be the first team all year that finds a way to slow Hooker down.

“I’m really interested in what the Georgia defense can do against Hendon Hooker. We saw what happened against Alabama. He threaded them. He just absolutely trashed an elite defense for five touchdowns,” Finebaum said. “Georgia, I think, has a better defense. They’re not as elite as last year with maybe one of the best defenses we’ve ever seen. But I still think Georgia is a notch above Alabama defensively. That’s where this game will be won or lost.”

We’re all hoping that this game lives up to the hype it’s going to create throughout this week. However, all that’s going to matter in the end is the outcome. That final score will have so much say in how the SEC plays out and which of Tennessee or Georgia is more likely to be in the CFP. All of those storylines and stakes will come to a head come kickoff inside Sanford Stadium this weekend.