It’s Georgia Tech hate week for Georgia football fans, and the name of this rivalry says it all. Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. Nothing else needs to be said.
Georgia football is 10-1 on the season, sitting at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, with the SEC East wrapped up and looking to take on LSU in the SEC Championship Game. So it would be easy to look past the game with struggling Georgia Tech.
But in the words of ESPN’s Lee Corso… “Not so fast my friend.”
This is Georgia Tech hate week, and Georgia should never look past the Jackets. It is that time of year where the Dawgs square up against their in-state rival and remind everyone who runs the state. With the way Georgia has dominated this series over the last 19 years — with the Dawgs winning 15 of those meetings — they may as well move the capital of Georgia to Athens.
What does matchup of these longtime rivals have in store this year?
Georgia’s offense is struggling as of late, especially through the air. Georgia’s passing offense is ranked No. 81 nationally, averaging 215 yards through the air per game. Jake Fromm hasn’t had a completion percentage over 50 since the Florida game on November 2.
When Kirby Smart was asked about Fromm’s last three games this is what he had to say, per UGASports.com:
"It’s hard to put a finger on it, Auburn, they play really tight coverage, there’s no real easy throws, their pass efficiency defense is really stellar. Makes it tough at time, but at times you gotta hit the open guy. Jake would be the first to tell you that. We missed a couple and made a couple. There’s no easy throws. You try to get high percentage throws. We had a couple of those to the back in the flat and to Charlie (Woerner) and to the swing passes. We’ve gotta do a better job of helping him out and he has to do a better job of hitting them when they are open."
The Bulldogs will look to improve their passing offense against Tech who is ranked No. 32 nationally in pass defense, giving up 201 yards per game.
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On the flip side, expect Georgia tailback D’Andre Swift to have a big day against Georgia Tech’s rushing defense. The Yellow Jackets are No. 119 in the nation, giving up 215 rushing yards per game. The Bulldogs’ running game is the strength of their offense, even though may not appear as strong as previous years. Georgia has the No. 33 rushing attack in the nation averaging 193 yards per game.
Georgia Tech has gone through a transformation on offense. The days of watching the Yellow Jackets run the triple option are over. They are in their first season under head coach Geoff Collins who has brought a more traditional offense to The Flats.
Tech’s offense is struggling, as you would expect it to be since they are learning a new system playing with recruits who were brought in for Paul Johnson’s offense. They are No. 122 in scoring offense averaging 18 points a game, No. 71 in rushing offense averaging 157 yards per game, and No. 122 in passing offense averaging 143 yards per game.
The Yellow Jackets are about to run into a buzzsaw (no pun intended). Georgia has one of the best defenses in the nation. They allow just 10.7 points per game, No. 2 in the nation, 69 rushing yards per game, No. 2 in the nation, and 199 passing yards per game, No. 29 in the nation.
As stated at the top, it would be easy to look past Georgia Tech. They just do not have the talent to match up with Georgia. However, this game means too much to overlook it. If you don’t believe that, just ask Kirby Smart.
When asked about Georgia-Georgia Tech as a big rivalry Smart said, “You don’t think it’s important, then lose it and then it will be really important.”
Records against rivals matter.
Jim Donnan, who was the head coach of the Bulldogs from 1996-2000, had what could be measured as a pretty successful career in Athens. His record at Georgia was 40-19, 25-15 in the SEC. He also led Georgia to a 4-0 bowl record. However, he was 2-3 against Georgia Tech.
You don’t put up a losing record to the North Avenue Trade school and expect to be kept as a coach in Athens. Georgia football fans and alumni do not take kindly to losing to Georgia Tech. That can get a coach kicked off campus faster than anything. That should tell you all you need to know about this rivalry.
Thanks to Mark Richt and Kirby Smart, Georgia has run this state for the last 19 years, here’s to another 19. Go Dawgs!
All stats via CFBStats.com