Bad Advice, Bold Prediction and Something Else: Hate Week

(Will this be Jonathan Dwyer's last game in Bobby Dodd Stadium?)

Well, friends, the great day is upon us. Tonight, the Jackets and Bulldogs do battle again, as they always will on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

General wisdom says this is Georgia Tech's game to lose, and general wisdom would be correct. The Jackets are stronger offensively, they take care of the ball, and they have the confidence of a winner.

Still, Georgia has a lot to gain and not a lot to lose by letting it all hang out, so to speak, on Saturday night. Could make for an interesting game.

So let's not waste time.

Bad advice

Hold onto the ball early.

Nothing cues an upset like some well-placed turnovers, and the more control Tech has over the game, the better. All turnovers are to be avoided, but early ones would be especially dangerous.

Bold prediction

This will probably be the last home game for Derrick Morgan and Jonathan Dwyer (and maybe Morgan Burnett and Demaryius Thomas). Expect most, if not all, to play like it.

Morgan has been unstoppable all season, and for the second year, Dwyer has gotten stronger as the season has gone on. Look for those two especially step up their games as a goodbye present to the faithful.

Something else

What couldn't I put here?

The family ties? (Ex: Burnett's brother, Cap, started for Georgia a few years back)

All the great games between the two? (Like last season, 1999, or etc. etc. etc.)

Seriously, there's just too much history, too much emotion, too much culture between these programs to single out any one "something" to put in this space. In lieu, I invite each of you to please contribute your own "something else," be it a memory, or a story, or just a prediction, below. Go to it.

Finally, a score

The veteran readers of my BABP piece will have, by now, taken note that this is probably the shortest column I've written to date. That's because I wanted to save my space for right here, given the annual magnitude of the game in question.

Possible outcomes for Saturday's action have touched either end of the scoring spectrum, but as I said above, the consensus (and Vegas) seems to place Georgia Tech in the favorite's chair. Last odds check had them at seven points.

Make no mistake, please. Georgia is talented enough to win this game. Offensively, defensively, (es)special(ly) teams, the Bulldogs are more than capable of pulling the upset. Just as they were more than capable of beating Kentucky.

Add that to the fact that it's obviously not been a good year for football in Athens, and you can expect one hungry team to come running out of the tunnel tonight.

But that doesn't mean they're going to win.

By now, surely we are all familiar with the requisite chestnuts for beating the triple option: focus, discipline, strong technique, and of course, talent.

Georgia has about 1 1/2 to 2 of those, shall we guess which ones?

Seriously, Georgia's lack of discipline on and off the field has been its albatross for some time now, but it's really shone out this year.

Out of 120 teams in in the FBS, Georgia is No. 119 in turnover margin, No. 116 in penalties committed, and No. 116 in yards penalized per game. In essence, no discipline.

The Bulldogs have shown an alarming ability to lose focus when it matters most, and against Tech, it matters most at least three times a drive.

A much more talented Georgia team let the Jackets go for 400-plus on the ground and 38 points (one touchdown came on an interception return) last season in Athens. So I guess the question is, why would this one suddenly perform better?

The grander issue for Georgia is that the Bulldogs sometimes can't save themselves from themselves.

Last week against Kentucky, Georgia outgained the Wildcats by more than 200 yards at home. Joe Cox had more passing yards than Kentucky had total yards, and yet his team still lost, because four turnovers negated all those yards, plus a two-touchdown halftime lead and a six-minute edge in time of possession.

What's the old joke about shooting yourself in the foot? Do it enough, and you'll start screwing even that up?

Seriously, if Georgia had an off week to prepare for this game, (like Georgia Tech has) I might be inclined to pick the Bulldogs in an upset, if only because practically no one else will.

But problems like these can't be fixed overnight, A.J. Green might not play, and while thousands of Georgia fans out there will disagree, Tech honestly is the better team this year—both on the field and on the sideline.

Jackets pull away early, Georgia pulls close again, then Tech closes out.

Jackets take it, and tie the school record for wins in a season, 42-24.