A win Saturday against No. 1 Georgia would almost certainly hand No. 3 Tennessee the SEC East and give the Volunteers a wider range of pathways into the College Football Playoff. It would also buck recent history: Georgia has won five in a row in the series, all by at least 23 points.
But this is a new year for the Volunteers. Saturday will be about strength against strength, as the nation’s best passing game meets a defense that has taken a slight step back from last season but remains among the very best in the Bowl Subdivision.
As a team, Tennessee leads the FBS in quarterback efficiency rating (198.5) and yards per attempt (11.3), ranks second in yards per game (353.4), ranks sixth in completion percentage (71.3) and ranks fourth in touchdowns (26). The Volunteers have also thrown just two interceptions in 251 attempts.
Georgia comes in third in efficiency rating (101.3), fourth in yards per attempt (5.3) and has given up just five passing touchdowns. The Bulldogs have only one interception in the last five games, however, part of a larger issue creating takeaways.
Doing to the Bulldogs what he did to No. 6 Alabama, when he blitzed the Crimson Tide for 385 yards and five touchdowns, would give Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker a nearly insurmountable lead for the Heisman Trophy over Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud. Those two continue to top the USA TODAY Sports list of the best quarterbacks in the FBS:
Follow every game: Live NCAA College Football Scores
1. Hendon Hooker, Tennessee (1)
Hooker threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns on 9.8 yards per attempt as the Volunteers hammered Kentucky 44-6. That makes three consecutive games completing at least 70% of his throws, three straight games with at least three touchdown passes and 11 in a row with at least two touchdowns dating to last season.
2. C.J. Stroud, Ohio State (2)
Stroud and the Buckeyes exploded with a 28-point fourth quarter — with every score coming in a six-minute span — and pulled away to beat No. 16 Penn State 44-31. While he failed to throw multiple scores for just the third game in his career, Stroud completed 78.8% of his attempts for 354 yards to keep the Buckeyes unbeaten.
3. Caleb Williams, Southern California (6)
Williams is in the midst of the best stretch of his young career. After finishing with 381 yards and five scores in last month’s 43-42 loss to Utah, Williams threw for 411 yards and another five touchdowns as the Trojans beat Arizona 45-37. This has left him with 24 touchdowns, third nationally, and as one of four Power Five quarterbacks with just one interception in at least 200 attempts.
4. Max Duggan, TCU (3)
Duggan continues to deliver in key moments as No. 7 TCU racks up close wins in Big 12 play. In the second half and overtime this season, Duggan has nine touchdowns and just one interception while a quarter of his 84 pass attempts have gained 15 or more yards. He came up big in Saturday’s win against West Virginia, leading the Horned Frogs to a pair of field goals and then tossing the game-clinching touchdown with 20 seconds left.
5. Bryce Young, Alabama (3)
Look for Young to have a strong night against No. 17 LSU in a game that should decide the winner of the SEC West. While the Tigers have made noticeable strides in Brian Kelly’s first year, the defense has given up at least 7.5 yards per attempt against Power Five competition, tied for 64th nationally.
6. Bo Nix, Oregon (5)
Nix did toss two interceptions in a 42-24 win against California, nearly doubling his previous season total. But he also eclipsed the 400-yard mark for the second time this season and hit on 77.1% of attempts, giving him a completion percentage of 78.4 in his past three games.
7. Drake Maye, North Carolina (9)
Like No. 15 North Carolina, Maye is becoming hard to ignore. The Tar Heels have risen into playoff contention behind the redshirt freshman, who is tied for the FBS lead with 29 touchdown passes after tossing five touchdowns to beat Pittsburgh — his third game with five touchdowns in just eight career starts.
8. Michael Penix Jr., Washington (8)
Washington has fallen off the pace in the Pac-12 race, which has contributed to Penix largely staying out of the national limelight despite his prolific passing totals. The nation’s leader in yards per game (366.8) could change that with headline-grabbing performances in upcoming games against Oregon State and No. 8 Oregon.
9. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas (NR)
Arkansas has reversed a three-game losing streak by following Jefferson’s lead to wins against Brigham Young and Auburn. In these two games, Jefferson has thrown for 601 yards on 9.4 yards per attempt, run for 77 yards and accounted for eight touchdowns, two coming on the ground.
10. Jayden Daniels, LSU (NR)
Another SEC quarterback has started to make a name for himself in the past two weeks. Criticized amid some early struggles, including a miserable, injury-influenced dud against Auburn, Daniels has turned his season around — and dramatically increased LSU’s playoff odds — in wins against Florida and No. 10 Mississippi. He had 369 yards of total offense against the Rebels and could duplicate that impact against the Crimson Tide if able to find lanes in the running game.