ATHENS – DawgNation Invasion is back in 2023, this time floating through a sea of orange and white along the Tennessee River.

The DawgNation Riverboat Cruise is a three-hour “sailgate” with food, drinks and entertainment before Georgia faces Tennessee on November 18. The Bulldogs have all the momentum in the rivalry, having won 11 of the last 13 matchups.

Kirby Smart’s seven seasons at Georgia have radically changed the program’s standing in college football. Back-to-back national championships, two SEC titles and a 25-game win streak headline a long list of Smart’s accomplishments in Athens.

Perhaps one of Smart’s most notable changes is his effect on the Georgia-Tennessee rivalry. The Volunteers held a narrow 22-21-2 all-time series lead over the Bulldogs when UGA hired Smart in 2016.

Georgia, now 27-23-2 against Tennessee, has comfortably seized that lead under Smart’s leadership.

Smart’s wins over Tennessee are especially impressive considering their dominance. UGA has outscored Tennessee 234-77 in the last six years.

The Bulldogs will ride a six-game win streak against the Vols into Knoxville, where Smart is 3-0.

A large part of Georgia’s success in the notoriously raucous Neyland Stadium - which hosts over 100,000 fans - can be attributed to the team’s composure.

Smart has repeatedly preached the importance of composure at Georgia. The Bulldogs face plenty of hostile rival crowds annually, namely at Tennessee, Auburn and Florida.

Smart has won 11 of the 14 games he has coached in Knoxville, Auburn and Jacksonville.

The head coach harped on composure again last Saturday during a halftime interview with CBS’ Jenny Dell. Smart addressed an altercation between UGA tackle Xavier Truss and Florida’s Princely Umanmielen that resulted in offsetting personal foul penalties.

“We’ve got a mission, and then we’ve got team, and then we’ve got me,” Smart said. “The mission over team, over me.”

Indeed, maintaining emotions during heated rivalry competition has kept the Bulldogs out of trouble on the field, but it also offers a competitive advantage.

Georgia has overcome sluggish starts to its last three games over Tennessee. The Volunteers have scored first each time and held second quarter leads in two of them.

That is when the Bulldogs’ composure has taken form, perhaps most remarkably in second half defense.

Tennessee has scored a total of 26 second-half points on Georgia over the last six years. The Bulldogs have outscored the Vols 47-14 in the second half since 2020.

Tennessee’s offense has taken many forms over the last six seasons, but none have found sustainable success against Smart’s defense. The Volunteers have thrown balanced attacks, physical run games and one of the most explosive pass attacks in recent SEC history at the Bulldogs with little to no avail.

Tennessee’s football program has improved mightily since Smart’s first win in Knoxville in 2017.

The Bulldogs silenced Neyland Stadium with a 41-0 win that year, Georgia’s first time shutting Tennessee out since 1981. The Volunteers finished the 2017 season 4-8, winless in SEC play.

Tennessee earned its first No. 1 CFP ranking days before visiting Georgia in 2022. The Bulldogs handled business as usual anyways, claiming a resounding 27-13 win.

Georgia exploded for a 21-6 halftime lead before pinning Tennessee in a defensive chokehold. The Volunteer offense sputtered with pre-snap penalties and assignment errors before a deafening Sanford Stadium crowd.

Georgia’s higher level of composure has helped it own one of its fiercest rivalries. Smart aims for his fourth-straight win at Tennessee on November 18 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

DawgNation also plans to conquer international waters in April. The four-night Cruise with DawgNation upon Royal Carribean’s Independence of the Seas will make stops at Perfect Day at CocoCay and Nassau, Bahamas, while enjoying an NFL Draft watch party, Georgia football trivia and more.