Nick Saban identifies the key positional matchup in Georgia-Tennessee game

Ahead of the Top-15 matchup between No. 7 Tennessee and No. 12 Georgia tomorrow in Athens, Nick Saban has broken down the game, including a key or two that could decide it in the end.

Saban assessed Volunteers vs. Bulldogs while on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Friday. He mentioned injuries as something to note about this game as well as the Tennessee defense when discussing the overall outlook on it.

“Well, I think Georgia’s beat up a little bit. They’ve had some injuries, guys that haven’t been able to play for them consistently on defense,” Saban said.

“But I’ll tell you what, Tennessee is a good football team. They’re running the ball more. But their defense, man, I don’t think people talk about their defense that much,” continued Saban. “I mean, how many teams have not given up 19 points so far this season? Their defense is phenomenal and I think they’ve played behind their defense a little bit. That’s why they’re running the ball more, shrinking the game, not scoring as many points, not making as many explosive plays — I’m talking about Tennessee. But Georgia has played them well and I think when you play this team, how you prepare for them is really important is really important.”

Tennessee’s D-line on that unit is a part of the key aspect of the game for Saban. The Volunteers’ defensive line will be facing a Georgia offensive line that has had its struggles, including just a week ago in their loss in Oxford. Whoever wins that meeting in the trenches could make a difference in the game.

“Yeah, well, I think that’s going to be the key to the game. How does Tennessee’s front match up with Georgia’s offensive line, who struggled against Ole Miss?” Saban asked. “Now, I don’t think they’ve struggled all year but they certainly struggled against a really good front at Ole Miss and Tennessee has got a really good front. So that’s going to be a key matchup in this game.”

As part of that, Sanford Stadium may also have an effect on what happens for the lines facing one another. Saban said that the noise could affect both offensive lines and allow the defensive ones to be in position to make plays because of it.

“I do think that it is really, really hard to play on the road in this league. Tennessee is a hard place to play, LSU is a hard place to play, A&M’s a hard place to play. So, noise does create a problem for the offense,” said Saban. “So, some teams are impacted by that, some teams are not. But, when you’re a passing team and you can’t keep the defense honest, alright? And they can jump that snap count in pass rush and put a lot of pressure on your offensive tackles? That really is a problem and it was a problem last week for Georgia at Ole Miss.”

Tennessee and Georgia will have plenty on the line against one another tomorrow night. With that, Saban is taking those keys, specifically the respective lines for both teams, into consideration ahead of kickoff between them.