The Bulldogs have already secured their spot in Atlanta to face Alabama in the SEC title game, but they will have to be fully focused on this rivalry game on Saturday. Georgia crushed UMass 66-27 last Saturday, while the Yellow Jackets picked up a three-point win over Virginia in overtime.
By Steve Wright
Here are the three keys:
Defend the option
This is a simple key but it is the one that will have the biggest impact on the game.
The Georgia Tech offense is unique in the word of big time college football. The Yellow Jackets are the only Power Five team to run the triple-option offense as their base. They are also very, very good at doing so. Georgia Tech is running on a four game win streak headed to Athens and this is a team that is designed to cause problems for the Bulldogs on defense.
Georgia just doesn’t see offenses like this regularly enough to be fully prepared. The Bulldogs need to play sound, assignment based football. This means making tackles in space and not being overrun by an offense that rolls for a FBS high 353.8 yards per game.
Last year Georgia held the option to just 188 yards rushing and the Bulldogs won 38-7. Roquan Smith was a huge part of that, so the linebacker play in 2018 will have to be just as solid for Georgia to win this battle.
Be efficient on offense
One of the big issues when facing an option team is that they tend to eat up the clock when they have the ball. The Yellow Jackets rank fifth in the country in time of possession, holding the ball for an average of 34:26 per game.
Georgia actually stacks up well in this category too (23rd at 32:17) but the Georgia Tech attack is predicated much more on limiting the number of possessions for the other team by grinding down the game and making it a much shorter contest.
The counter for this is for Georgia to play at max efficiency. The Bulldogs have the running game to keep the clock moving themselves, but Jake Fromm is going to have to make sure his throws are on point when he drops back to pass. The Yellow Jacket pass rush is limited, meaning Fromm should have the time to make Georgia a threat every time they have the ball.
Win the turnover battle
The triple-option is great when it is working well, but one of the problems with the offense is that turnovers can kill it. A badly timed pitch or a pass tossed up and picked off are far more damaging to triple-option teams than they are to teams that can increase their tempo and score in a hurry.
If Georgia can force Georgia Tech into turnovers while not giving the ball away, then they will be working with positive field position all game long and the Yellow Jackets will find it difficult to stop the Bulldogs attack.
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