Greg McElroy says Tennessee game will be 'toughest test' for Georgia in 2023

Greg McElroy said without a doubt Tennessee will be Georgia’s biggest challenge in 2023, based on the Bulldogs’ schedule.

It was a big showdown in 2022 when Tennessee was the No. 1 overall team at one point going against Georgia. In 2023? It could be a different story.

“Now, you look at the Georgia schedule, just pull up the Georgia schedule for me. Okay. Tell me how many hurdles there are on that schedule,” McElroy said on Always College Football. “I look at the schedule and to be honest with you, they should be a really heavy favorite in every single game. If you disagree, let’s go through it. Tennessee-Martin, Ball State, South Carolina at their place. In Georgia in Athens. UAB. You’re at Auburn. Auburn still at this point is trying to rebuild. You host Kentucky, who you match up great against. You’re at Vanderbilt. You have Georgia and Florida there in Jacksonville on October 28. Missouri comes to you. You have Ole Miss, which is in Athens, you go on the road to Tennessee. And then you have the Georgia Tech yellow Jackets … 

“But you look at that, how many games are going to be a significant test for the Bulldogs? One and a half? Maybe you catch South Carolina on the wrong day. Maybe you catch a Florida team (on a bad day) … But I think all of us view the SEC East and we view it as Georgia, big gap to Tennessee and being on the road at the Tennessee Volunteers, I do think will be by far the toughest test of the season for the Georgia Bulldogs if they’re trying to get to three straight (national championships).” 

McElroy broke down a scenario which could put Tennessee above Georgia, despite other factors.

“Let’s say Tennessee is rolling (going into Georgia),” McElroy said. “Let’s say Tennessee is hot. Remember, you lose a game in the division. Then you’re not just one game behind, but you’re actually a game and a half behind because of the tiebreaker that the team you lost to. They have the tiebreaker in the head to head. So you think about a team last year like LSU beating Alabama at a game and a half lead over the Tide. LSU ultimately finished with three losses Alabama with two didn’t matter. LSU still got to the championship game because they had the same amount of SEC losses too, as Alabama did. 

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“So if they lose and let’s say Tennessee catches fire and we fast forward and Tennessee sitting at 11-1, Georgia’s at 11-1, their only loss is to Tennessee. Tennessee loses to Florida whoever, let’s say Tennessee loses to Alabama and they’re at 11-1. Guess what, the tiebreaker goes to Tennessee. Doesn’t mean Georgia won’t still potentially get to the playoff. We know that that’s a possibility. But that is a massive one.”