Georgia Tech vs. Georgia: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More
Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate has never looked so great.
The Georgia Bulldogs predictably enter the 2014 edition of the instate rivalry with a 9-2 mark and dreams of an SEC East title. As an added bonus, the Bulldogs have won the last five games in this particular series.
The Yellow Jackets are more game than usual, though. Paul Johnson's team is ranked and touts the same record with an ACC Coastal title within grasp.
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Not that either team needs motivation to play one another, but both enter on lengthy winning streaks with plenty to lose.
Rivalry week to close the season could not start on a better note.
Brute-Force Tactics
There is no sugar coating what the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets do offensively.
The Bulldogs have a top-15 rushing attack thanks to the duo of Nick Chubb and Todd Gurley. Of course, the latter will be missing in action due to a knee injury, but the freshman Chubb has stepped up big this season when called upon with 1,152 yards and 11 touchdowns on a 7.2 per-carry average.
As ESPN CollegeFootball illustrates, Chubb has been good enough to hear his name whispered when it comes to a certain individual award:
The Yellow Jackets are much of the same and actually rank better than the Bulldogs this season thanks to a bevy of names that are proficient with the ball in their hands, including starting quarterback Justin Thomas:
| Justin Thomas | 153 | 827 | 5.4 | 65 | 5 |
| Zach Laskey | 124 | 608 | 4.9 | 26 | 5 |
| Synjyn Days | 101 | 592 | 5.9 | 53 (TD) | 3 |
| Tony Zenon | 43 | 289 | 6.7 | 57 (TD) | 4 |
| Broderick Snoddy | 28 | 283 | 10.1 | 46 | 3 |
| Charles Perkins | 27 | 272 | 10.1 | 63 | 0 |
| Tim Byerly | 45 | 204 | 4.5 | 37 | 7 |
To be blunt, there seems to be no stopping the Georgia Tech option attack.
Even in losses the offense puts up gaudy numbers. In a 48-43 loss to North Carolina, the team still rumbled for 376 yards and three scores on the ground. A 31-25 loss to Duke still birthed 282 yards and three scores.
Georgia does seem perfectly built to counter this attack, though.
The Bulldogs allow just 20.5 points per game on average, good for 18th in the nation. Chubb and a number of other backs can help the team grab the lead and keep the complementary defense off the field.
This, of course, relies on the notion that the Bulldogs can get out to an early lead.
Surprise Flights
The aforementioned Thomas in no way gets the respect he deserves as a passer.
Those 827 yards and five scores on the ground are nice, but the sophomore has shocked the globe this year with his 1,396 yards and 15 scores to four interceptions through the air.
Even Johnson admits that there was a time he considered getting Thomas off the bench as far back as last season, as captured by ESPN.com's Matt Fortuna:
"We did but he wasn’t quite ready I don’t think. He’s gotten better as the year has gone on, too. He’s more confident. He’s starting to get a really good understanding of what we’re trying to do. Just like (against Clemson), he came over and before I even talked to him and he told me exactly what they were trying to do to him on the option. He’s got a pretty good understanding, pretty calm. He’s a good leader.
"
Thomas has the arm to go over the top of defenses focused on the run and do major damage.
Some of his success can certainly be accredited to leading wideout DeAndre Smelter, who has 671 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Mired in a run-first attack, those are great numbers.
Smelter torched the Bulldogs in an overtime loss last year to the tune of two grabs for 33 yards and a pair of touchdowns, a clear signal that the deep ball can and will catch the Bulldogs off guard with Thomas under center.
When: Saturday, November 29, Noon ET
Where: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
Television: SEC Network
Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):
- Over/Under: 65.5
- Spread: Georgia (-13)
Team Injury Reports
| Shawn Green | DT | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia | Questionable | knee |
| Jalen Johnson | S | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia | Questionable | neck |
| Austin McClellan | RB | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia | Questionable | concussion |
| Nick Menocal | LB | 09/03/2014 | has left the team | Out | personal |
| Michael Preddy | DL | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia | Questionable | foot |
| Rusty Scott | LB | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia | Questionable | ankle |
| Broderick Snoddy | RB | 11/16/2014 | is expected to miss the remainder of the season | Out | leg |
| Brady Swilling | QB | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia | Questionable | hand |
| Roderick Tyler | DB | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia | Questionable | ankle |
| Sheldon Dawson | S | 10/01/2014 | has left the team | Out | personal |
| Michael Erdman | WR | 11/19/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | wrist |
| Shattle Fenteng | DB | 09/25/2014 | is expected to miss the remainder of the season | Out | shoulder |
| Todd Gurley | RB | 11/16/2014 | will miss the remainder of the season | Out | knee |
| Merritt Hall | FB | 08/14/2014 | will miss the entire season | Out | concussion |
| Rico Johnson | CB | 10/02/2014 | is out indefinitely | Out | illness |
| Shaq Jones | CB | 10/06/2014 | was dismissed from the team | Out | disciplinary |
| Keith Marshall | RB | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia Tech | Questionable | ankle/knee |
| Ryne Rankin | LB | 11/23/2014 | is questionable for Saturday's game against Georgia Tech | Questionable | wrist |
| Dominick Sanders | S | 11/23/2014 | is probable for Saturday's game against Georgia Tech | Probable | shin |
| Jon Taylor | DT | 07/23/2014 | was dismissed from the team | Out | disciplinary |
Injury reports per The Sports Network, via USA Today.
Prediction
Georgia is more than ready for the challenge its instate rival presents.
This is a Bulldogs team that silenced an elite Auburn attack a few weeks back, holding the Tigers to seven points and 292 total yards.
Last year in this scenario, the Bulldogs fell behind by 20 on the road with Hutson Mason getting his first start in the rivalry and still won. It would be unwise to expect this one to be as close thanks to Chubb's emergence and an elite defense firing on all cylinders.
Prediction: Bulldogs 34, Yellow Jackets 24
Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.
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