This week, the 2025 NCAA football season heads into Week 3. Two perennial powerhouses bring 2-0 records and high rankings into Saturday’s high-stakes matchup. In that must-watch SEC contest, the Georgia Bulldogs face the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. The 3:30 p.m. ET contest is the national ABC game for that time slot.
Georgia, the 2021 and 2022 NCAA champions, opened the 2025 NCAA football season with wins over Marshall (45-7) and Austin Peay (28-6). The Bulldogs are the No. 6 squad in the AP rankings heading into Week 3. Meanwhile, Tennessee, who last won the NCAA championship in 1998, began this year with victories over Syracuse (45-26) and East Tennessee State (72-17). The Volunteers are ranked at No. 16.
Saturday’s game is the first SEC matchup of the season for both teams.
The Bulldogs and Volunteers have met 54 times over the years. Georgia leads the series 29-23-2. The Bulldogs, who are the visiting club this year, are riding a run of eight straight wins. If Georgia wins this weekend, they will match the longest win streak in the series, which Tennessee set with nine consecutive victories between 1989 and 1999.
| Teams |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | -170 | -170 | -170 |
| Tennessee | +149 | +145 | +146 |
| Georgia -3.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Tennesee +3.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Over 49.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under 49.5 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
With the 2025 NCAA football season fast approaching, be sure to check out our NCAAF playoff odds, as well as all of our NCAA football odds.
Most of the focus on the SEC for 2025 has been on Arch Manning and Texas. While the Longhorns deserve their share of the spotlight, the Georgia Bulldogs should not be overlooked when it comes to winning that conference or the 2025 national championship.
Like Texas, Georgia has a new starting quarterback in Gunnar Stockton. The team will also have four new offensive linemen in front of Stockton. Georgia needs its receivers to be more dependable this year. Last year the team had the most dropped passes in the Power 4. The Bulldogs also need to improve their running game to help Stockton.
Georgia did a great job recruiting ahead of this season, picking up the No. 2 ranking by adding five five-star players and a whopping 20 four-star recruits.
The Bulldogs did not look great in Week 2, struggling to move the ball on offense, and failing to score on four straight plays from the 1-yard line against Austin Peay. Stockton is still getting his legs under him, but the Georgia defense has been very good. They will need to hold the Volunteers if they hope to win on Saturday.
The Tennessee Volunteers were a long shot in the preseason odds to win the SEC in 2025, but the team has come out of the gate hot, and this early-season meeting with the Georgia Bulldogs, who were one of the betting favorites to win the SEC and the National Championship, might be the most important game of the year for the squad.
Senior quarterback Joey Aguilar, who transferred to Tennessee from Appalachian State, had a fantastic showing in Week 2, throwing for 288 yards with a completion percentage of 74.2 (23-for-31). He has thrown for five touchdowns in two games for the Volunteers with no interceptions.
The Tennessee offense has been strong this year, racking up 717 yards in two games with a 100 percent conversion rate inside the red zone.
One issue the Volunteers and their fans will be concerned about is the health of the defensive line. Three starters missed the East Tennessee State game with Jaxson Moi, Daevin Hobbs, and Tyree Weathersby sitting out. Things could get tricky for Tennessee if the team is without Moi this weekend against the Bulldogs.
This is a winnable game for the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Georgia Bulldogs should be worried about how well the opposing club is playing early in the 2025 NCAA season. However I expect the Bulldogs to shake off their “rough” start to this season and pick up the win in Knoxville.
The betting pick is for Georgia to beat Tennessee in Week 3.
When the spread opened for this game, Georgia was favored by 4.5. That has come down to 3.5 as game day nears. While this will be a close game and Tennessee has a chance, look for a dialed in Bulldogs squad to cover the spread.
See below the best online betting sites. You can read our comprehensive reviews to help determine the best option for your 2025 NCAA football betting.
