NO. 5 GEORGIA (10-1) VS. GEORGIA TECH (7-4)
Noon › Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. SEC Network & 102.3 FM
THE MATCHUP
Since Paul Johnson arrived at Georgia Tech in 2008 and coached the Yellow Jackets to a 45-42 upset of a Georgia team that had begun that season ranked No. 1, this rivalry has come down to whether the Bulldogs can stop his triple-option-based offense. The intrastate rivals have split their past four meetings, with the Jackets averaging 312.5 rushing yards in their two victories and 191 in their two losses. Tech rushed for 188 yards in last season’s 38-7 loss and was 2-of-9 passing for 38 yards and an interception. “We didn’t have much success last year,” Johnson said this week on his radio show. “They got after us pretty good. Roquan Smith was all over the field and was a man among boys against us. We left some things on the field, and we’ve got to tweak some of the stuff we do. We will give them a couple of things they haven’t seen.” Tech leads the nation in rushing offense and rushes of more than 10 yards, but Georgia ranks in the top 10 of both categories and has shown an ability to control the clock.
ONE TO WATCH
Georgia sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm was brilliant in his debut against Tech, completing 12 of 16 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns and guiding an offense that amassed 471 yards. David Greene, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray are recent Georgia quarterbacks who compiled multiple wins over the Jackets, but each had to encounter at least one close call in the rivalry. Could that be this one for Fromm? “He’s got another year of experience, and he was really good a year ago,” Johnson said. “I think he’s an intelligent guy who understands what they’re trying to get done. He’s a good player, and he’s surrounded by good players. They don’t have any shortage of talent, that’s for sure.” Fromm has completed 68.2 percent of his passes and is on pace to set a single-season school record.
IN THE END
The Bulldogs didn’t look ahead to the Southeastern Conference championship game last year when they throttled Tech the week before, so they must not look past against a tougher Jackets squad. “We know that we have to finish strong in order to do what we want to accomplish,” Georgia junior tight end Isaac Nauta said. “We just have to go out and do what we have been doing the second half of the year. We have really been clicking and playing well.” That should continue today.