Nico Iamaleava is predicted to start out at quarterback for No. 7 Tennessee because it takes on No. 12 Georgia on Saturday in Athens, CBS Sports activities’ Matt Zenitz stories. Iamaleava, who entered concussion protocol after leaving Tennessee’s sport in opposition to Mississippi State final week, has progressed all through the week, a very good signal for the Vols in a sport that has critical SEC Championship and Faculty Soccer Playoff implications.
Iamaleava is averaging 8.5 yards per try, good for No. 19 nationally, however total Tennessee’s offense has not been as explosive as common beneath Josh Heupel. The Vols are No. 38 nationally in yards per play.
Faculty Soccer Playoff choice committee chair Warde Manuel mentioned Tuesday night time that Iamaleava’s harm “had nothing to do” with the committee’s choice to carry Tennessee regular at No. 7 this week.
The Vols acquired extra excellent news Friday night time when Dont’e Thornton acquired the inexperienced mild to play, in keeping with ESPN. Thornton, who leads the Vols with 505 receiving yards, was additionally listed as questionable Wednesday and Thursday.
Georgia enters the matchup as a 9.5-point favourite. the Bulldogs have gained 28 straight dwelling video games, the longest energetic FBS streak and actually Georgia’s longest in program historical past. Per CBS Sports activities analysis, Georgia doesn’t even have any gamers on its roster who have been energetic throughout its final dwelling loss (2019 to South Carolina).
The Volunteers have gained simply as soon as of their final eight journeys to Georgia, and that victory, which got here in 2016, was fairly actually a miracle. Josh Dobbs lofted a last-second Hail Mary cross that discovered the fingers of receiver Jauan Jennings, lifting Tennessee to a 34-31 win. Since then, the Volunteers have misplaced their final seven video games in opposition to Georgia by at the very least 14 factors every. The Bulldogs gained in Knoxville final season, 38-10.
There is a cause analysts are hyping Saturday night time’s showdown as a must-win for every. Seven SEC groups might end the common season 10-2: Alabama, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas and Texas A&M. Solely two SEC video games stay matching any of these 7 groups: Tennessee at Georgia in Week 12 and Texas at Texas A&M in Week 14.
