Tennessee chancellor has 'Beat Georgia' on mind as goal for year

Remember when ‘We want Bama!’ was what you’d see on signs across the country? Well, it’s now Georgia that’s on everybody’s mind, including the Tennessee Volunteers.

University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman saw the way Josh Heupel’s big wins over Alabama, LSU and Clemson last season impacted enrollment this year. At an estimated student population of more than 36,000, it’s the highest the university has ever seen. The only way to keep those numbers improving is another strong season on Rocky Top, and that starts with an emphasis on Georgia.

“I am most excited about all the things that we’re doing in the student success effort,” Plowman told Knox News when asked about excitement and worries for the upcoming school year. “I’ve already in one week seen the results of it on this freshman class. And this year, we’re really gearing up for years two, three and four. And I’m excited for that. What am I most worried about? Well, I want to beat Georgia. I’m not worried about it, but I do want to beat Georgia.”

Georgia took down the then-No.1 ranked Volunteers last season in Athens in what was a dominant showing by the Bulldogs. Jumping out to a 24-6 lead by halftime, Georgia limited Tennessee’s explosive offense to just 13 points in total – well below their season average – and controlled the game all the way through. The win gave UGA the inside track to the SEC Championship and College Football Playoffs, winning both as a part of their perfect 15-0 season.

Tennessee is far from the only program with their eyes on Georgia. Over the summer, it surfaced that Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines have implemented a ‘Beat Georgia’ period in practice. The Bulldogs took it to the Wolverines back in 2021 in the Orange Bowl as a part of the College Football Playoffs on their way to the program’s first National Championship in 41 years while ending hopes of Michigan’s first this century.

“Beat Georgia is a gritty drill where we try to get in and prove ourselves physically – a trench battle we call it,” defensive lineman Kris Jenkins explained at Big Ten Media Days. “Really, we put that in to keep up with that mentality of ‘to be the guy you have to beat the guy’. Right now, that guy is Georgia. Georgia has proven themselves to be a dominating football team. In order for us to walk the walk, talk the talk, we got to improve that emphasis every single day during practice.”

“Emphasis is stopping the run and being able to run the ball when the other team knows you’re running the ball,” Harbaugh added. “That’s what I really respect about Georgia is their ability to run the ball when the other team knows they’re running the ball, and their ability to stop the run. Like our good friend Ric Flair, if you want to be the man, you got to beat the man. Wanted to emphasize it.”

Meanwhile, SEC runner-up LSU also has put an emphasis on Georgia. Head coach Brian Kelly has used the Bulldogs as the standard several times already in the preseason down in Baton Rouge.

“You gotta have some incredible grit,” Kelly told ESPN’s Chris Low on what it takes to be able to win a championship. “You gotta go to Columbia, Missouri like Georgia did (last year), play like shit and find a way to win.”

“You know, it’s a measurement for everybody in here to see it on the field. That’s how everybody measures is the gap closing,” Kelly told reporters at SEC Media Days. “You know, what’s the score of the game, what’s the eye test tell me, what’s the competitiveness of that game. We’ll only have that opportunity if we get into the championship game against Georgia. I know that based upon how we’ve recruited and how we’ll continue to recruit that we’ll have a football roster that will be able to compete against Georgia. Is that right now? No, it’s not. But if we continue to do what we’re doing, we’re going to have a roster that can compete against Georgia, and then it’s just a matter of getting it done on the playing field so everybody then can assess they’ve closed the gap.”

Georgia has plenty to do to uphold the standard this season. From its two National Championship teams, 25 players have been drafted into the NFL. That includes 10 this past spring leaving lots to be replaced.

Two-time National Championship starting quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Stetson Bennett is gone on the offensive side of the ball. So too is offensive coordinator Todd Monken as well as a couple of key players including running back Kenny McIntosh, wide receivers Kearis Jackson and AD Mitchell, tight end Darnell Washington and offensive tackles Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon. Then, on the defensive side of the ball, two players were taken in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft – Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith – while five were taken in total (Kelee Ringo, Christopher Smith and Robert Beal as well). Yes, there’s plenty of talent still in Athens for Kirby Smart and company to work with, but the pieces of the puzzle must fit together perfectly in order to accomplish something that hasn’t been done since the 1930s: a three-peat.

Georgia’s focus won’t be on that championship anytime soon though. The Bulldogs, ranked No. 1 in the country by both the AP and Coaches polls, begin their 2023 campaign against UT-Martin next Saturday – September 2nd – at home.