Georgia football vs Georgia Tech scouting report, bold predictions, injuries
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Georgia football running backs Caleb King and Washuan Easley brought a new slogan into the rivalry with Georgia Tech back in 2009.
They put the message “I Run This State” on their eye black before a 30-24 upset of a No. 7 Yellow Jackets team then.
The words “We Run This State” are still uttered and written on white boards in celebratory moments in what’s known as ‘Clean Old Fashioned Hate.’
Georgia has been able to make that claim not only with what it’s done on the national stage under Kirby Smart but by winning their last seven in the series.
If the Bulldogs make it eight in a row Friday Nov. 28 when the teams meet in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it would be the Bulldogs’ longest winning streak in a series that goes back to 1893. It would match Georgia Tech’s eight in a row from 1949-56.
It’s not something the No. 4 Bulldogs will take for granted even with No. 19 Georgia Tech coming in with two losses in the last three games.
Georgia needed eight overtimes to prevail 44-42 in last year’s game in Athens.
“I definitely remember last year this game being physical,” Georgia linebacker Chris Cole said.
Both teams have six days between games because they play on Friday of Thanksgiving week for the second year in a row.
Georgia eased by overmatched Charlotte while Georgia Tech was smacked 42-28 by Pittsburgh at home.
“You know, as bad as it sucks on Saturday night, probably the only thing good about it was the fact that we have a short week this week,” Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said. “You’ve got to flip the script fast, turn it around.”
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech predictions
This is just the third time in this matchup that both teams have at least 9 wins.
Georgia is 10-1. Georgia Tech is 9-2.
Georgia’s strength of schedule is 16th, according to the Sagarin Ratings. Georgia Tech’s is 63rd.
The Yellow Jackets entered the Boston College game last week at No. 16 in the College Football Playoff rankings behind five other one-loss teams and behind seven two-loss teams.
CFB committee chair Hunter Yurachek cited the strength of schedule and their best wins being against Duke and Clemson, both now 6-5, and in overtime against Wake Forest, which is 8-3, for their spot.
“But there was some controversy on the Wake Forest game,” he said. “It’s a win on Georgia Tech’s side.”
The ACC said that a Georgia Tech offsides should have been called near the end of regulation.
Georgia Tech is 38th in ESPN’s SP+, which ranks sixth among Georgia opponents this season.
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech scouting report
Why Georgia has an advantage: Georgia had an ideal game against Charlotte before this physical matchup when frontline players had a lighter workload. Starting offensive linemen Drew Bobo and Earnest Greene and running back Chauncey Bowens all should return after getting a break from the SEC grind. The Bulldogs have accentuated stopping the run and this is the type of matchup where they hope that pays off. Georgia’s offense is hitting its stride and Georgia Tech’s defense is not.
Why Georgia Tech has an advantage: The Yellow Jackets don’t want to end the regular season with three losses in four games and they very much want to get their first win since 2016 against Georgia. Coach Brent Key hasn’t been shy to talk about how much this game means to him. Quarterback Haynes King and the Yellow Jackets know how close they came to topping Georgia last season and the Yellow Jackets are a big-play offense that is capable of moving the ball on the Bulldogs.
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech injury updates
Georgia: Tight end Ethan Barbour (ankle, out), safety Kyron Jones (foot, questionable), wide receivers Colbie Young (leg, out) and Talyn Taylor (upper-body, out), defensive lineman Jordan Hall (knee, out), linebacker CJ Allen (knee, doubtful), running back Chauncey Bowens (undisclosed, probable), center Drew Bobo (hand, probable).
Georgia Tech: Defensive back Jy Gilmore (lower body, out), DE Andre Fuller (undisclosed, questionable), RB Malachi Hosley (upper body, questionable), WR Dean Patterson (undisclosed, probable) LS Will Benton IV (knee, out)
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech score prediction
Georgia 38, Georgia Tech 24 Georgia was held to just six points until the fourth quarter in last year’s game, but this offense averaged 5.6 points and 35.2 yards more per game in conference games than in 2024. The Yellow Jackets averaged 5.5 yards per carry last season against Georgia, one of five teams to average at least 4.2. Georgia Tech will be the highest-ranked rushing team the Bulldogs have faced, but Georgia is limiting the run this season. Auburn’s 3.9 yards per carry is the highest against the Bulldogs this year.
Georgia vs. Georgia Tech scouting report: What we’re watching
Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King:
King rushed for 110 yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries against Georgia last season while passing for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns.
He’s putting up similar numbers this season, averaging 251.6 yards per game passing and 88.3 rushing. He’s the only player averaging at least 250 passing and 85 rushing this season nationally.
King leads Georgia Tech with 883 rushing yards and his 15 rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the lead nationally among quarterbacks.
“He’s extremely valuable in terms of what they do and what they ask him to do,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He’s hard to defend on all levels, throwing the ball. People think, ‘Well, he doesn’t throw the ball,’ he throws the ball really well, and he’s really efficient.”
Georgia QBGunner Stockton:
The redshirt junior has played his best against ranked opponents.
He’s completed 77.5% of his passes with 11 touchdowns and 1 interception for 952 yards in games against Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas. He’s rushed for 148 yards and 3 touchdowns in those games.
Key was asked to compare Stockton to King in what they mean to the programs.
“He’s a good football player. He’s playing good football right now,” he said. “I don’t think you can compare the two. I’m not in their building. I’m not in their locker room. I’m not around them. So I don’t know.”
Smart said of King: “I know the play he puts out, and the product he puts out, and the production he has put out has really been incredible for what he has been able to do. The toughness, and the durability he has done that with has been similar for Gunner. He just hasn’t done it as long as Haynes has.”
Raylen Wilson and the Georgia linebackers:
CJ Allen had 10 tackles and 2 pass breakups in the eight-overtime win over Georgia Tech last year.
With the Butkus Award finalist sidelined by a knee injury, Raylen Wilson has stepped into the role as quarterback of the linebacker unit.
Wilson is second on the Bulldogs with 61 tackles. Sophomore Chris Cole has stepped up with 16 tackles over the last three games and Justin Williams shared the team lead in tackles with 5 against Charlotte last week.
Georgia Tech is 17th nationally in rushing at 215.2 yards per game, with Malachi Hosley (628 yards, 7 TDs) and Jamal Haynes (493 yards, 5 TDs) backfield threats.
“A lot more challenging this week in terms of vision, eye control, keys,” Smart said. “There’s a lot of stuff going on in the backfield. There’s a lot of motion shifts. You’ve got the extra element of the quarterback run, so fitting things properly, being thick on things, keying things, striking and getting all blockers, no one for ones – they’re all things that will be important in this game.”
Said Cole: “They do a lot of shifts and motions to try to get our eyes just everywhere. Staying fit, having our eyes on the right things will help us.”
Georgia Tech’s defense:
In terms of total yards allowed, Georgia Tech will be the worst defense Georgia has played this season (409.5 yards per game) other than Charlotte when the Bulldogs didn’t need to pull out all the stops or go full tilt once the outcome was at hand.
Georgia Tech has a first-year defensive coordinator in Brent Gideon, who spent the past four seasons as safeties coach at Texas.
Pittsburgh scored touchdowns on four straight offensive possessions in the first half last week of a 42-28 Panthers win. The Yellow Jackets defense did not give up another point until a 56-yard rushing touchdown to ice the game with under three minutes to go.
“We lit them up,” Key said. “Blitz from the upper deck. That’s what we did. I mean, we brought a lot more pressure. I’m not saying anything that’s not on tape that people can’t see. So, you know, and we’re able to get to the ball, make plays. …You’re playing everybody down in there trying to, you know, trying to stop the run and get the ball back. And, you know, if one spits, it does. And it sure did.”
Bold predictions for Georgia football vs Georgia Tech
Haynes King puts up bigger numbers, but Gunner Stockton keeps Heisman chances alive
This is a matchup of two quarterbacks who teammates rally around with similar skill sets and who seem to relish lowering their shoulder to fight for extra yards on designed quarterback runs or scrambles.
“The stories are all over his success and of where he’s been and the injuries he’s been through,” Smart said of King. “You see the hits he takes, he just gets stronger with each hit.”
Stockton is returning to Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the first time since he came in for an injured Carson Beck in the second half of a game Georgia rallied to beat Texas for the SEC championship in overtime. Stockton got rocked so hard on a run that his helmet came off.
Stockton is fourth in the SEC in passing efficiency and has 19 touchdown passes with 4 interceptions to go along with 361 yards rushing and 8 rushing touchdowns, tied for the lead among SEC quarterbacks.
A big game against the Yellow Jackets could catch the attention of Heisman voters who have three names to put on their ballots.
Quarterbacks have had some success rushing this season against the Yellow Jackets: Clemson’s Cade Klubnik rushed for 62 yards on 17 carries, Virginia Tech’s Kyrone Drones rushed for 83 yards on 16 carries and N.C. State’s CJ Bailey 34 yards on 5 carries.
Nate Frazier runs for 100-plus yards
Nate Frazier has led Georgia in rushing the last three games and he will get his second 100-yard rushing game of the season. Frazier rushed for 181 yards on just 12 carries at Mississippi State.
Georgia Tech is 96th nationally in run defense, allowing 167.82 yards per game.
Frazier rushed for 50 yards on 11 carries against Georgia Tech last year. His two-point conversion run won the game for Georgia.
“It was unreal,” Frazier said. “I thought I was dreaming. It didn’t feel real.”
Bulldogs will give up some big plays, but it won’t be crippling
Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, the former Bulldog offensive staffer, has an offense that hits big plays.
The Yellow Jackets rank tied for seventh nationally in plays of 20 or more yards with 68 and tied for ninth in plays of 30 or more with 33, according to cfbstats.com.
“He knows where things are, where all the nuggets are on defenses,” Smart said. “He knows how to attack them. He knows the answers for things when you do them. At the end of the day, they got to block, we got to tackle and somebody’s got to do it better. That’s a very tough thing when you play them, because they stretch you horizontally, they stretch you vertically, they stretch you with tempo, they stretch you with numbers counts because of their quarterback.”
Zachariah Branch will be hard to keep up with on Mercedes turf
USC transfer Zachariah Branch will pass Brock Bowers for No. 2 on Georgia’s single season pass catch leader with his next reception.
Branch is tied for the SEC lead with 63 catches for 638 yards and 3 touchdowns. Brice Hunter holds the Georgia record with 76 catches in 1993.
Branch has 9 catches of 20 or more yards. Georgia Tech is 106th nationally in pass plays of 20 or more yards against with 39 and 113th of 30 or more yards with 20.
Branch led Georgia in receiving in the last five SEC games.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia vs. Georgia Tech scouting report, score prediction
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