For the first time since the 2005 season, the Georgia Bulldogs have a scheduled bye week prior to the yearly matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers.

In 2005, the bye week gave the Dawgs, then ranked fifth, ample time to prepare for the Vols, then ranked eighth in the BCS rankings.

Remember the BCS?

Georgia left Neyland Stadium as victors that night en route to winning an SEC title two months later.

The 2019 edition, however, brings third-ranked Georgia back to Knoxville to compete against a team with only one win out of four games. The Vols’ first game of the season resulted in a loss to Georgia State, a Sun Belt team which accumulated only two wins in 2018. Their lone win came against Chattanooga, a team that competes in Division I FCS.

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, formerly Georgia’s defensive coordinator from Todd Grantham’s 2014 departure until Mark Richt’s resignation twenty months later, has led a lackluster start following a five-win season in his first campaign as a collegiate head coach. After their most recent loss to Florida, some Tennessee fans don’t expect Pruitt to return for a third season if the downward trend continues.

Kirby Smart’s undefeated Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a too-close-for-comfort-but-oh-so-satisfying win against Notre Dame. The Dawgs remain mentioned in the same breath as perennial playoff contenders Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State. In stark contrast to Pruitt, Smart has inspired such a high level of confidence in Georgia fans that his job security has never really come into question.

During the coaching turnover following the 2015 season, Smart was named Richt’s successor at Georgia, Pruitt was not retained at Georgia, and Nick Saban hired Pruitt to replace Smart at Alabama. As Smart agreed to stay on as defensive coordinator for Bama’s postseason and eventual National Championship weeks after being appointed head coach at his alma mater, he and Pruitt shared the Alabama defensive coordinator’s office (yes, the actual room in the Tuscaloosa football facility) until the end of the season.

Today, the two share only share the same title of “Head Coach,” and that may not even be true for much longer.

The Bulldogs are heavy favorites in this meeting and have won the previous two against Tennessee by a combined score of 79 to 12. If Tennessee wants to take the lead in rivalry now tied at 23-23-2, they’ve got their work cut out for them. Rocky Top is close to hitting rock bottom.