No one needs to tell Tennessee center Cooper Mays that the Georgia game is a pretty big deal. No one needs to tell him what all is on the line. However, just in case, let’s lay it out.
For the No. 7 Vols, a win against No. 12 Georgia would probably stamp their ticket into the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Of course, Tennessee would still have to beat UTEP and Vanderbilt in the coming weeks. No, the Commodores aren’t the usual door mat they’ve been in the past, but it’s hard to imagine the Vols traveling to Nashville with a playoff spot on the line and dropping a game to Vandy.
Second, Tennessee hasn’t beaten Georgia since 2016. That’s not good. There are recruiting implications at stake that can’t be fully measured as the Bulldogs are most often in the way for the Vols when they recruit the talent-rich Atlanta area.
Lastly, there’s Mays’ legacy on the line. He and his teammates haven’t beaten Georgia since the senior center began his career in 2020. Mays and the Vols have beaten all of their other rivals, most notably Alabama and Florida, during Mays’ tenure, but Georgia is still undefeated against any Vol who takes the field in Athens Ga. on Saturday at 7:30 EST.
“I think it would be pretty cool,” Mays said of the potential for him to top all of his rivals, which certainly didn’t look possible when the Vols went 3-7 in former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt’s last season at the helm. “I don’t really think about it that way as much, but, it’s really important. I don’t know about that as much, but it’s really important for what we want to go do and what our goals are. And, you know, that’s some added stuff on top of it.”
The “added stuff” would be ending the losing streak to Georgia. That would be a pretty good topping. However, all the hype that goes into the Georgia game doesn’t mean the Vols should start a whole new method of preparation. In other words, dance-with-the girl-that-you-brought method.
“I think it’s pretty important,” Mays said of having an even keel and not getting too hyped before the game. “At the end of the day, you’re playing people and not the logo and the organization or whatever. So us just doing our job at a high level and just doing the ordinary the best we can.”
The “ordinary” has Tennessee in a position to win an SEC Championship or more. No one would have thought that would have been possible after the Vols lost to Arkansas 19-14 in September.
“I think it just speaks to our our commitment,” Mays said of the Vols bouncing back and winning four consecutive SEC games to stay in a title hunt. “I don’t know about what a word would be. Maybe persistence. It kind of it shows our cloth as who we are as people and players and teammates.
“I don’t think anybody has blinked about any mistakes we’ve had or any negative points during the season. I don’t think anybody gets down on themselves. I think we kind of have come closer as a team. And, you know, I think we kind of rise our play more and more because of that commitment to that.”
Instead of focusing on the past or what could happen after Saturday, Mays has one focus. He’s zoned in on Georgia and, in particular, Nazir Stackhouse. The 6-foot-3, 320-pound defensive lineman will most often times be lined up on Mays’ nose. That could make for a long day as Stackhouse is considered one of the best interior defensive linemen in the SEC.
“He’s super solid,” Mays said. “He’s a guy that I’ve known since probably my senior year of high school. We ended up doing some camps together and stuff and competing against each other, so I’ve known him for a while. He’s a cool dude.”
He may be “cool” and maybe even friendly, but he’ll be in the way on Saturday – in more ways than one. Mays doesn’t need to be reminded of as much.
