The Georgia Bulldogs will have a depleted running backs room for Saturday’s showdown against the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers.

Starting running back Trevor Etienne is not expected to suit up Saturday while nursing an upper body injury. He initially sustained the injury during Georgia’s win over Florida earlier this month and despite featuring in limited snaps against Ole Miss last week, he won’t take the field against the Vols.

Etienne had been considered questionable for the game at Samford Stadium, but Thursday’s injury report saw him downgraded to out.

In addition to Etienne, the Bulldogs could be without running backs Cash Jones, who is listed as questionable, and Branson Robinson, who has been out for a few weeks. Nate Frazier, a true freshman, would be in line for a big workload if Jones is unavailable.

Etienne, a junior, is in his first season at Georgia after transferring from Florida during the offseason. He’s rushed 95 times for 477 yards with seven touchdowns this season.

A critical SEC rivalry kicks off packed with College Football Playoff implications as two-loss, No. 11 Georgia welcomes No. 6 Tennessee with everything on the line. Let’s check in with the latest prediction for the game from an expert analytical football model that projects scores and picks winners.

Georgia faces a November must-win situation with two losses and coming off an ugly performance at Ole Miss, as the selection committee keeps a close eye on what happens between the hedges after dropping the Bulldogs out of the top dozen in this week’s bracket seeding.

Tennessee has more room to maneuver with one loss sitting atop the SEC standings, but still needs to impress the selectors with a good performance on the road against a ranked rival.

What do the analytical models suggest will happen when the Volunteers visit the Bulldogs in this SEC rivalry clash?

For that, let’s turn to the SP+ prediction model to get a preview of how Georgia and Tennessee compare in this Week 12 college football game.

The models are siding with the Bulldogs over the Vols in this matchup, but in a very close game.

SP+ predicts that Georgia will defeat Tennessee by a projected score of 27 to 23 and will win the game by an expected margin of 4.4 points to avoid a third loss.

The model gives the Bulldogs a 61 percent chance of outright victory against the Vols.

SP+ is a “tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency” that attempts to predict game outcomes by measuring “the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football.”

How good is it this season? So far, the SP+ model is 292-263-8 against the spread with a 52.6 win percentage after going 30-19-1 (61%) last weekend.

Georgia is a 10.5 point favorite against Tennessee, according to the updated lines posted to FanDuel Sportsbook for the game.

FanDuel set the total at 47.5 points for the game (Over -114, Under -106).

And it lists the moneyline odds for Georgia at -385 and for Tennessee at +300 to win outright.

If you’re using this prediction to bet on the game, you should take …

If you do, you’ll be in the majority of bettors who expect the Vols will give the Bulldogs a scare, according to the latest spread consensus picks for the game.

Tennessee is getting 66 percent of bets to win outright in the upset or to keep the final margin to 10 or fewer points in a loss.

The other 34 percent of wagers project Georgia will win the game and cover the big spread.

Tennessee ranks No. 10 nationally by averaging out 19.9 points better than its opponents this season when counting all the points in the wins and its one loss.

Georgia has been 8 points better than the competition on average in 2024.

Those averages have drawn closer over the last three games.

Tennessee has been 12 points better than other teams in that span, while Georgia has played things close, coming out 3.7 points better than the competition over that time.

Things look about even when considering the venue, although the Vols have a slight edge.

Tennessee has averaged 15.3 points better than opponents when playing on the road this season, compared to Georgia coming out 14 points better than the competition when at home.

Most other analytical models also favor the Bulldogs over the Volunteers in this SEC clash.

That includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times to pick winners.

Georgia has emerged as the favorite at home, coming out ahead in 61.7 percent of the computer’s most recent simulations of the game.

That leaves Tennessee as the presumptive winner in the remaining 38.3 percent of sims.

But those figures represent a mere win-loss calculation. What do they suggest about a possible margin of victory in the game?

Expect a very close one.

Georgia is projected to be 4.3 points better than Tennessee on the same field in both teams’ current composition, according to the model’s latest forecast.

More … Georgia vs. Tennessee prediction: What the analytics say

Georgia is second among SEC teams with a 75.5 percent chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff, according to the FPI’s metrics.

That model projects Georgia will win 9.6 games this season.

Tennessee has a 74.3 percent chance to make the playoff, sitting third in the conference, and will win 10.3 games in ‘24, according to the index.

When: Sat., Nov. 16
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern
TV: ABC network

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, please call 1-800-GAMBLER.

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The Tennessee Titans host the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at Nissan Stadium, with the Titans’ season slipping toward the bottom of the league.

Tennessee (2-7) lost 27-17 at the LA Chargers last week and is now one of five two-win teams in the NFL.

Minnesota (7-2) continues to excel with an opportunistic defense and a steady offense, though Sam Darnold did struggle to complete drives in last week’s 12-7 win at Jacksonville.

The get-in prices for tickets to Sunday’s game are on the higher end for home matchups this season, which might signal a large presence of Vikings fans in the building on Sunday.

Here’s how you can buy tickets for Vikings-Titans:

CB1 RETURNING SOON? Tennessee Titans injury report: What’s taking so long with L’Jarius Sneed’s quad?

The Tennessee Titans’ Week 11 NFL game against the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 17 at Nissan Stadium has a get-in ticket price at $72 per ticket before fees, via StubHub, for two tickets together.

All times central

Regular season

• Week 1 (Sept. 8): at Chicago Bears, L 24-17
• Week 2 (Sept. 15): New York Jets, L 24-17
• Week 3 (Sept. 22): Green Bay Packers, L 30-14
• Week 4 (Sept. 30): at Miami Dolphins, W 31-12
• Week 5: OPEN DATE
• Week 6 (Oct. 13): Indianapolis Colts, L 20-17
• Week 7 (Oct. 20): at Buffalo Bills, L 34-10
• Week 8 (Oct. 27): at Detroit Lions, L 52-14
• Week 9 (Nov. 3): New England Patriots, W 20-17 OT
• Week 10 (Nov. 10): at Los Angeles Chargers, L 27-17
• Week 11 (Nov. 17): Minnesota Vikings, Noon on CBS
• Week 12 (Nov. 24): at Houston Texans, Noon on CBS
• Week 13 (Dec. 1): at Washington Commanders, Noon on FOX
• Week 14 (Dec. 8): Jacksonville Jaguars, Noon on CBS
• Week 15 (Dec. 15): Cincinnati Bengals, Noon on FOX
• Week 16 (Dec. 22): at Indianapolis Colts, Noon on CBS
• Week 17 (Dec. 29): at Jacksonville Jaguars, Noon on CBS
• Week 18 (Jan. 4/5): Houston Texans, TBD

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