ATHENS, Ga. -- The defense is only the second most consistent element of the Tennessee football season. It's second to the assessments of opposing coaches.

UAB coach Watson Brown started it all. Brown, who coached against UT's 1998 national championship team, said these Vols looked even more talented.

Other opposing coaches have followed Brown's lead. Georgia coach Mark Richt is no exception.

The Vols have no weaknesses, according to Richt. As he lauded the Vols from one position to the next, I wondered what he might say about No. 1-ranked Southern Cal.

"Tennessee is a great team, not a good team," he said.

That was his opening line at Tuesday's press conference. He spent the rest of the interview session providing supporting evidence.

I only mention this because Richt is one of the more candid coaches in the SEC. And the UT team he describes from studying videotape only halfway reminds me of the one I watch on Saturdays.

Maybe Richt's candor is in decline. Or maybe the Vols, like some TV-types, look much better on the screen than in person.

I'm speaking offensively, of course. So I won't bother to pass along all the praise Richt had for an offense that ranks 90th in the country.

On the other hand, I won't argue with Richt's glowing evaluation of UT's defense, which leads the SEC and ranks fourth nationally against the run.

It's the heart of that UT defense versus the middle of the Georgia offense that could provide the game's most intriguing matchup Saturday. Unfortunately, many of those battles will be lost to the viewing public, obscured by a mass of 300-pound bodies.

UT cornerback Jason Allen and defensive end Parys Haralson are having All-SEC-caliber seasons, but the strength of UT's defense -- in fact, it's entire team -- is in the middle, where the Vols have All-American candidate Jesse Mahelona at one tackle, Justin Harrell at the other, Tony McDaniel in reserve and Kevin Simon at middle linebacker.

"Those are the best tackles I've seen (on one team) in a long time," said Georgia offensive line coach Neil Callaway, who has spent most of his 27-year career in the SEC.

But that's only half the matchup. No one else on UT's schedule is as capable as Georgia of dealing with the middlemen of UT's defense.

Georgia senior offensive guard Max Jean-Gilles is a three-year starter and preseason All-American. Junior guard Nick Jones is a two-year starter. Senior center Russ Tanner is a three-year starter.

As good as Tanner has been, he doesn't have the center job to himself. He alternates with fellow senior Ryan Schnetzer.

"We've got two guys who are about equal," Callaway said. "It's worked well for us, so we're going to stick with it."

Jean-Gilles is 6-foot-4 and looks every bit of his 340 pounds, but Jones (6-3, 285) and Tanner (6-4, 297) and Schnetzer (6-3, 278) are under-sized by offensive-line standards. For example, UT's starting guards and center average 324 pounds.

"I'm not hung up on size," Callaway said. "I recruited and signed Nick when he was probably about 270. I'll take all the Nick Jones I can get."

Jones and company have helped the Bulldogs rank second in the SEC in rushing with an average of 198 yards per game and 5.5 yards per carry. But that was against Boise State, South Carolina, Louisiana-Monroe and Mississippi State.

"It's going to be a challenge," Richt said of the matchup in the middle, "Russ and Nick are not super big men, so we've got concerns about them getting knocked back (against UT's defensive front). Not just in the running game but in the passing game as well."

That sounded more like genuine concern than pregame hype.