It’s that time of year again, the holidays are upon us.  People are with family and giving thanks, but there is one thing that I cant stop thinking about:  Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate!

Number 22 ranked Georgia Tech travels the short 73 mile trip to Athens, Georgia to take on the number 11 ranked Georgia Bulldogs for the 102nd meeting in this storied rivalry.  The two teams enter with one common goal – bragging rights in the state of Georgia for 365 fresh days of taunting.

Both teams enter on two different ends of the expectation spectrum.  UGAy comes into the game expecting to win, having taken the last 7 consecutive games in the series – one shy of Tech’s series record of 8 straight set during the Bobby Dodd era.  UGAy fans also enter the game a bit desperate, needing to avenge a disappointing season. Their anointment as pre-season top contenders for the BCS crown seems like a distant memory after embarrassing losses to Florida and Alabama.  A win over Tech and a New Year’s Day bowl victory would make their season a success, but a loss to the state rivals and a weaker bowl invitation amount to a very underwhelming season.  A loss would be a culmination of what UGAy football represents – more bark than bite.

GT on the other hand enters the game needing to win, wanting to prove that the last seven years were a function of being coached by Mr. Conservative – Chan Gailey.  Tech has been the opposite of UGAy this year, a pleasant surprise.  GT has won 8 games and secured no worse than a share of first place in the ACC Coastal Division – all this after being picked to finish next to last by experts before the season began.  As a matter of fact, a Virginia win over Virginia Tech would put the Jackets in the ACC title game in CPJ’s first year as a coach.  CPJ has turned doubters into believers all season long and it’s about time for the Dawgs to be tamed.  As Mike Vick might say, the most effective way to stop a Dawg is to hit it in the mouth!  What….Too Soon?

This task is easier said than done, however, as the GT defense will square off against the most prolific offense that they have encountered all season.  UGAy is very talented at the skill positions on offense, lead by projected number one NFL pick Matthew Stafford.  That isn’t a misprint; despite his disappearing act in big games, Stafford is being touted as a future star on the next level.  Luckily for Tech, however, this is mostly due to his size and arm strength, not his pocket awareness and decision making ability.  Nevertheless, Stafford is having a breakout season in his third year as a starter, leading the SEC in passing yards.  A huge reason for this is the immediate impact of blue chipper, AJ Green.  As a true freshman Green leads the SEC in receiving yardage and is tied for the league lead with seven td catches.  The kid has great size at 6-4 and even better athleticism and body control in the air.  He has the ability to go up and over defenders deep down the field and win a 50-50 ball that more times than not should probably be knocked down or intercepted.  Needless to say, he will truly be a star on the next level.  On the opposite side not to be overlooked is possession receiver Mohammed Massaquoi, who enters the game third in the SEC in receiving yards and has also caught a respectable 5 touchdowns.

Sheesh…that’s it right?  Wait a minute – I almost forgot.  I have yet to speak about the spark plug that makes this offensive machine go – Knowshon Moreno.  Moreno is easily the best player on UGAy’s roster and he is the heart and soul of their team.  Moreno is one of three Doak Walker finalists (the award given to the best running back in the nation) and he is 11th nationally in both rushing yardage and touchdowns, reaching pay dirt 15 times this year.  UGAy runs a pro-set offense that is heavily dependent on the success of Knowshon.  When he hits for his average of 6 yards per carry it opens up play action for UGAy, which is their bread and butter.  Knowshon has only been held under both 100 yards rushing and 4.0 yards per carry three times this year.  Two of those games were losses and the other was a narrow 14-7 victory over the Gamecocks.  This is my first key to the game – shutting down Knowshon.  This will be a very difficult task for the Jackets because Tech has had difficulty as of late wrapping up some of the better running backs that they have faced.  Knowshon excels at gaining yards after initial contact and I’ll go so far as to say that he thrives on the challenge of breaking the initial tackle.  This is evident by the way he bounces up after every single play, seemingly wanting more.  I hate that crap – that’s why one of my favorite plays this season is when he gets drilled by Gator middle linebacker Brandon Spikes on the second play of the game and he won’t let him up off the ground.  Tech likewise needs to put a big hit on him as early as possible.  Here is video of the hit – it is worth revisiting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQShWogLzw&feature=related

Another key to the game that will make the task of shutting down Knowshon – and the UGAy offense for that matter- a whole lot easier is jumping out to an early lead.  This is more than a bonus rather than a key because it is not necessary for victory, but it would sure be a good sign.  When UGAy has gotten behind this year they have tended to abandon the run and rely on Stafford’s arm.  This is when the system breaks down for UGAy Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo and defenses have then been able to key on the quarterback and force him into making difficult passes.  This is Stafford’s achilles’ heel, he will almost always hopelessly rely on his strong arm to force a pass into double or triple coverage rather than simply throwing it out of bounds and surviving to see another play on offense.  GT enters this game banged up in the secondary and not having to worry about tackling Knowshon all game long would make things a lot easier for them.

Knowshon has also sparked an interesting side bet through some comments that he made to the media a couple of days ago.  When asked about the success of GT’s starting tailback, Jonathan Dwyer, Knowshon replied, “Who?”

Ohhhh Snap!  Well Noshow, first of all don’t think that those comments went unheard by both Dwyer and the GT defense, but secondly let me educate you about your fellow Georgia high school product that you surprisingly know nothing about.  Dwyer currently ranks 15th in the nation in rushing yards, only a miniscule 60 yards behind Knowshon (roughly 5 yards per game) while averaging 7 yards per carry, more than a full yard per carry more than Knowshon!  It appears that Moreno may cross the orange pylon much more than Dwyer, but when you pry a little deeper – Moreno averages 1 score per 14.5 touches and Dwyer averages 1 score per 15.9 touches, a remarkably similar stat line.  Furthermore, Dwyer easily appears to be the more dangerous scoring threat having score on runs of 88,85,79,66, and 43 yards.  Moreno on the other hand has only one td scamper of 40+ yards.  The facts are all out on the table, but this a battle that will need to be settled on the field mano-a-mano.  The day of reckoning is coming Knowshon and you will soon come to know the name of the one and only Earth, Wind, and Dwyer!!

Anyways, I could go on for awhile displaying my dislike of the UGAy running back but moving on to the other side of the ball, UGAy brings a defense that has slipped as of late.  UGAy is still very good against the run, ranking 15^th in the nation in yardage per game and they also have the added benefit of an extra week to prepare for the Jackets.  The last time GT was faced with a similar predicament was against the Tarheels, their biggest loss of the season.  However, CPJ has stated that most of the problems in that game were due to missed blocking assignments rather than what UNC did on defense.  This is very true, especially considering that the game was the first starting gig for several offensive lineman and they appeared shell-shocked and a bit lost at certain times on the field.  That all changed in hurry last week after GT demolished the U in route to ringing up their largest single game rushing total of the season.  Our O-line needs a repeat performance against UGAy and we also need to once again protect the ball on the road.  Luckily for GT, UGAy is nearly dead last in the nation in fumbles recovered and struggles to force turnovers, having actually lost one more turnover than they have gained all season long.  UGA’s defense is lead by linebacker Ronnie Curran who is second in the SEC in tackles and also ranks among the leaders in tackles for loss.  Their secondary is lead by Jim Thorpe Award semi-finalist, Asher Allen, who at 5-10 will more than likely have the difficult assignment of matching up with man-child Demaryius Thomas.

The sometimes forgotten category, special teams, will also play an important factor in this game.  One stat that stands out is that UGAy is 4th in the nation in punt return yardage.  A big punt return can sometimes swing the momentum of a close game and GT’s defense will need to step up and prevent this from happening at a key moment in the game.  Another important battle will be the kicking battle.  UGA starts a freshman, Blair Walsh, and GT starts a kicker that plays like a freshman, Scott Blair.  Both kickers rank near the bottom nationally in field goal percentage and both will be starting their first rivalry game.  This will be my second key to the game – The Battle of the Blairs.  In a close game, which I think this game will be, kicking will become a crucial element of the game.  Which Blair will put up and which will shut up and go home?

Another thing to monitor closely in this game will be the officiating.  UGAy is next to last in the nation in penalties committed while GT is disciplined enough to be in the top half nationally.  UGAy’s lack of discipline won’t go away overnight, especially in a rivalry game so watch to see if they are flagged early and often.  If they aren’t GT might have an extra hill to climb in Sanford Stadium.

Up until 1964, GT held a 27-26 advantage in the annual state of Georgia rivalry.  Since then, Georgia has won 33 of the last 44 match ups to take a commanding 59-38 advantage in the series.  The bleeding has gotta stop and it has gotta stop now.  CPJ realized this after being hired at GT and the number one goal for the season has been to beat UGAy.  This goal has taken even more priority than winning an ACC title.  For the time being, shutting up the Rednecks that support UGAy and never even sniffed going to school there is rightfully a top priority.  Pretty soon, however, GT will be eyeing a larger prize and defeating UGAy consistently is a key to achieving that level of national prominence.  CPJ is well known for squashing winning streaks, having ended the largest win streak of one team over another in college football history when Navy prevented Notre Dame from beating them for the 44th consecutive time.  CPJ has also had success turning the tide in a rivalry, defeating Navy’s rival Army all 6 years as head coach – this after Army had won the previous 11 out of 16.

There is no way to sugar coat it – this is a huge game!  UGAy comes in with a much more talented team and to go into their Stadium and beat them to end the streak and add a sour taste to their already disappointed Redneck fans would be symbolic for years to come.  The CPJ era – The Yellow Jackets don’t take crap from nobody and dish it out to everybody that stands in their way.  What’s the good word….TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!