Georgia Tech hosts #1 Georgia as the top-ranked team for the first time since 1982. The Jackets are on the other end at 3-8 entering the game hoping to spoil the Bulldogs National Championship aspirations. However, it is quite a mismatch as the schools renew the rivalry after the first break in the series since 1924.
Georgia (11-0) at Georgia Tech (3-8)
Date and Time: Saturday, 12 p.m.
TV: ABC, WatchESPN.com
Radio: 680 AM/93.7 The Fan FM/Sirius 98/XM 203
Last Week: Georgia Tech lost 55-0 at Notre Dame, Georgia won 56-7 at home vs. Charleston Southern
Series History: Georgia leads 68-41-5
Last Meeting: Georgia won 52-7 at Georgia Tech on Nov. 30, 2019
Stat Comparison: Points per game (Georgia Tech 26, Georgia 40.3), Points allowed per game (Georgia Tech 32.5, Georgia 7.5), Total offense (Georgia Tech 385.2 yards per game, Georgia 440.1 yards per game), Total defense (Georgia Tech 454.5 yards allowed per game, Georgia 236 yards allowed per game)
GEORGIA TECH Key Offensive Players: Jahmyr Gibbs (RB, Fr.), Adonicas Sanders (WR, RS-Jr.), Devin Cochran (LT, RS-Sr.)
GEORGIA Key Offensive Players: Stetson Bennett (QB, Sr.), Zamir White (RB, Jr.), Jamaree Salyer (LT, Sr.)
GEORGIA TECH Key Defensive Players: Jordan Domineck (DE, RS-Soph.), Quez Jackson (LB, Jr.), Wesley Walker (DB, RS-Fr.)
GEORGIA Key Defensive Players: Jordan Davis (DT, Sr.), Nakobe Dean (LB, Jr.), Lewis Cine (FS, Jr.)
Game Preview Analysis: There is really no other way to put it than to say this season has been a failure in Year 3 under Geoff Collins, especially the second half of the season. Instead of showing improvement over the course of the final weeks of the schedule, the Jackets have gone the complete other way. The defense has been about as bad as it’s been in the last two decades, and the offense can’t seem to consistently do much successfully, other than turn the ball over and hurt itself tremendously with untimely penalties.
And guess what the gift is for Tech at the end of a forgettable 2021? That’s right, a date with No. 1-ranked rival Georgia, who is trying to further stomp the Jackets into the depths of despair not only in the rivalry series but in the state of the program overall. Oh yeah, and the Bulldogs are in prime position to get into the College Football Playoff and erase 40 years of national championship misses.
So with all that said and with Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury reaffirming this week that Geoff Collins will be back next year to lead the team, the Jackets are going into this game with absolutely nothing to lose. Not sure what is left in the tank after some truly bad losses over the last month and a half, but it’s time to pull out all the stops.
You can’t really sugarcoat things. Georgia is really good on both sides of the ball. The offense has playmakers in the backfield and on the outside, and those guys are able to do what they do thanks to a big and nasty offensive line. Stetson Bennett has been solid at quarterback despite many, even some in his own fan base, saying he can’t do the job. But that should be where Georgia Tech puts the responsibility on the Bulldogs’ offense beating them. They need to sell out against the run and make Bennett make throws downfield to move the sticks. He might just do it, and with the way the Tech secondary has played of late, he might do it pretty easily, but that is really the only way the Jackets have any chance of holding Georgia to any reasonable offensive totals.
Defensively, Georgia is just flat-out dominant. Their defensive line is the best in college football, and their linebackers are sideline-to-sideline players that can chase down plays in space as well as wreak havoc in the backfield. The secondary is good as well, but that is the one area that could possibly be taken advantage of by a good quarterback and receiving unit.
It’s going to take an unbelievable, miracle-like effort for Georgia Tech to stay within four scores of the rival Bulldogs, much less win the game. But that’s why they play the games.
Prediction: Georgia wins, 49-10.
