Published Nov 28, 2024
Behind Enemy Lines: COFH Edition
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Kelly Quinlan  •  JacketsOnline
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Georgia Tech and Georgia will square off on Friday night in Athens, renewing one of the most intense rivalries in college sports. There is a lot on the line for the Bulldogs with College Football Playoff seeding or even a berth on the line while the Jackets aim to end a six-game skid in the series after playing a couple of closer games in recent years. We caught up with UGASports Managing Editor Anthony Dasher who has witnessed more UGA-Tech games than any other active reporter to get his take on the game.

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1. It has been a weird season, but Georgia has made it to the SECCG after the wild Saturday in college football. Does that turn this into a must-win for the Dawgs' playoff aspirations? How are Kirby Smart and Georgia viewing this game?

That's a good question.

But the short answer is yes. With the committee being clear as mud about what it's focusing on when determining its rankings, the last thing Georgia needs to do is go into the SEC Championship as a three-loss team. If that happens, the Bulldogs will have to win the game to advance to the playoffs. With a win over the Yellow Jackets and a loss in the SEC title game, there's still a chance Georgia could earn a spot. But even if a spot in the playoffs wasn't on the agenda, this game is huge for the Bulldogs. The rivalry is alive and well in Athens, and Kirby Smart has made sure his team understands why.

2. Carson Beck entered the season as one of the top quarterbacks in the country, but he has not been consistent this season. Has there been a specific reason for his struggles, especially the multi-interception games?

Been several reasons, not all on Beck, although he certainly deserves his share of the blame.

The offensive line hasn't been consistent while the receivers have dropped more passes than I can recall in one year. It's been comical at times.But as I said, Beck, too, has been to blame.

Missing Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers, in my opinion. Another possible reason, there was so much preseason hype about Beck, that you wonder if he was trying to do too much.

But the biggest problem is the receivers and Beck just have not been in sync. We've seen guys late to spots, Beck throwing the ball respecting them to be in position, and throwing the ball too early and into coverage, and hence the interceptions.In the last two games, however, he's looked more like the Beck we saw last year. Against Tennessee and UMass he combined to complete 45 of 71 passes for 644 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.

3. What happened to Georgia's running game this season? They are normally a top 40 or top 25 rushing attack and they are barely in the top 100 this season.

It certainly has not been what Georgia has been used to.

Run blocking has not been the best, but that's not the only or main reason. It hasn't happened. Trevor Etienne has been effective, but he's dealing with a rib injury and is not expected to play.

The Bulldogs also haven't had sophomore Roderick Robinson (turf toe) all year and Branson Robinson (MCL) hasn't played since Week 7 against Mississippi State. Oddly enough, Smart hinted this week that both could play this week, although I'm personally not expecting either of them to make a big difference just yet.

That's left the bulk of the running to freshman Nate Frazier, who actually flashed in the opener against Clemson and last week carried 21 times for 136 yards and three touchdowns.

The Bulldogs do have Cash Jones, but he's more of a receiver out of the backfield. That leaves Frazier, along with fellow freshmen Chauncey Bowes and Dwight Phillips Jr. to handle the bulk of the backfield chores.

4. Defensively it seems like the Bulldogs losing so many draft picks over the last few years caught up with them finally. The bar has been set very high under Smart but this unit hasn't been as lights out as normal especially against the run. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this group and has there been a theme in the games where the defense has struggled?

They have struggled. Last week, UMass ran for 226 yards, the most the team has surrendered all year. Tennessee rushed for 152, and Alabama rushed for 173.

The run defense is definitely an area they need to shore up, and some of that is due to the defensive line. There are good players, but maybe not the dominant ones you may remember from recent years. Tackling has not been to standard, either.

That said, the group still plays with a lot of energy, especially linebacker Jalon Walker, who is one of five finalists for the Butkus Award.It's also a group that puts good pressure on the quarterback, depending how much defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann wants to dial it up.

5. How do you see this game playing out and a prediction would be great?

It should be a great game.

I'd definitely take the points, as I'm not sure Georgia has covered a spread the entire year. The atmosphere should be fun. Against Tennessee, Sanford was as live as I've seen in recent years.

As for the game itself, this has been a hard Georgia team to predict due to a lot of the inconsistencies we've talked about.

If the crowd is as loud as it was for Tennessee, then that could become an issue for the Georgia Tech offense. We'll see, In my opinion, this is the best Georgia Tech team to come into Athens since 2016, the last time the Yellow Jackets won a game in this series.

Nothing that happens Friday would surprise me, as I've been wrong predicting Georgia three times this year (Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee). I think the homefield advantage will be huge, and the margin will be closer than many might think. I'm thinking Bulldogs by four or seven points. But based on what we've seen in college football this year, nothing would shock me.