It is Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate on Black Friday to keep Week 14 of the college football season rolling as Georgia faces Georgia Tech. Georgia looks to cap off an 11-win season and secure a spot in the College Football Playoff. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech looks to avenge last year's eight overtime loss.
Georgia is 10-1 this year, and in a prime position to make it to the College Football Playoff. After opening the season 3-0, including an overtime victory over Tennessee on the road, the Bulldogs fell to Alabama 24-21. Since then, the team has been perfect, rallying off seven straight wins, including victories over Ole Miss and Texas. Georgia can also still make the SEC Championship, but will need a loss from Alabama or Texas A&M.
Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is 9-2 on the season. They started the season 8-0, but then fell to NC State on the road 48-36. After a rebound win over Boston College, they lost to Pittsburgh 42-28 last weekend. It did not completely knock them out of the race to win the ACC, but both SMU and Virginia would need to lose this weekend for Georgia Tech to make the game.
This will be the 119th meeting between the two schools. Georgia leads the all-time series 72-41-5. Georgia has won seven straight in the series. Georgia Tech has not won in Atlanta in this series since 1999. Each of their four wins since then was in Athens.
Nate Fraizer has a major day
The Georgia offense has been stellar this year. They are 20th in FBS in points per game while sitting 26th in yards per game. The passing offense is ranked 54th, while the run is 26th. Multiple players have contributed to the success of the ground game. Quarterback Gunner Stockton has run for 361 yards and eight touchdowns this year. Meanwhile, Chauncey Bowens has run for 493 yards and six touchdowns.
Still, Nate Fraizer has led the ground game for the Bulldogs this year. He has run for 701 yards and five touchdowns this season. He has had some solid games this year as well. Against Mississippi State, he ran for 181 yards and a touchdown. Last time out, he took just 12 carries against Charlotte. While he ran for just 54 yards, he scored twice.
Georgia Tech has struggled against the run this year. While the team is 77th in opponent points per game and 106th in opponent yards per game, they have struggled against the run heavily. Georgia Tech gives up 172.9 yards per game on the ground, which is 94th in the nation. Fraizer is going to have a big game, running for almost 100 yards and a touchdown.
The ground game is the key for Georgia Tech
Georgia is not the only team with a solid run game. Georgia Tech is 22nd in FBS in points per game and ninth in yards per game. The pass game is ranked 38th, but the ground game is 13th in the nation. Jamal Haynes has been solid for the Yellow Jackets on the ground. He has run for 493 yards and five touchdowns this year on the ground. He has not been as great in recent games, running for just 61 yards in the last three games. He has scored twice, though.
Meanwhile, Malachi Hosley has run for 628 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He has three games over 100 yards this year, but ran just once last week against Pitt for three yards. The ground game is not led by a running back overall, but is led by quarterback Haynes King. He has run for 883 yards with 15 touchdowns this year. Further, he has run for 50 yards or more in nine of ten games, while also scoring touchdowns in nine of ten games. Meanwhile, he has five games over 100 yards and five games with multiple touchdowns.
Georgia has been great against the run this year. They are seventh in the nation in opponent rushing yards per game this season. The Bulldogs have not faced a quarterback like King this year. He is going to have a big game, running for at least 75 yards and a touchdown in the game.
It is a quarterback-driven shootout
Georgia has been great on defense overall, sitting 14th in the nation in opponent points per game and 14th in opponent yards per game. They have struggled somewhat against the pass, though, sitting 53rd in opponent passing yards. Not only has King been solid on the ground, but he is also throwing well. He has thrown for 2,516 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. He is going to need to throw plenty in this game to keep the Yellow Jackets in it.
Meanwhile, Stockton will also be slinging the ball. While the ground game is solid for the Bulldogs, Stockton is going to be a major part of the offense with his arm. He has passed for 2,465 yards and 19 touchdowns for the campaign. He also has two four-touchdown games this year.
Odds at the time of writing, provided by DraftKings, have the over/under set at 59.5 points. The over has hit in seven of the Yellow Jackets' 11 games this season. Meanwhile, it has also hit in each of the last four games. The over is 3-1 in Georgia Tech games when the point total is 59.5 points or more. The over has hit in just five games for Georgia this year, but it has hit both times the total was over 55 points. This will be a high-scoring back-and-forth affair. Expect the over to clear with ease in this one.
