Monday, December 30, 2013

Music City Bowl Preview: Georgia Tech vs. Ole Miss

Hey y'all! Today in a few hours Georgia Tech and Ole Miss will be going to war in Nashville for the Music City Bowl. It looks to be a great game with both sides bringing plenty of offensive power. Ole Miss comes into the game with a 7-5 record, looking to rebound an Egg Bowl loss a few weeks ago. Similarly, Georgia Tech comes into the game with an identical record, also looking to rebound from a loss to in-state rival UGA. 3:15 EST, these teams go to war. May the best team win, and now let's move on to the preview.

Ole Miss Players to watch:
Bo Wallace - QB
Wallace started every game for the Fighting Admiral Ackbars this year at QB. He had a pretty solid year, throwing for 3000 yds, but only 17 passing TDs. Against a suspect secondary for GT, he could potentially have a field day, so long as he decides to show up for this game. He also added 269 yds on the ground with 4 TDs.
Robert Nkemdiche - DL
The prized recruit from the 2013 class who, after too much drama, finally made the decision to come to Ole Miss. He has spent the year playing at both DE and DT, being the opening day starter at Strongside DE. Unfortunately for Ole Miss, he was not the second coming of Jadeveon Clowney like they wished for him to be, but he still had a solid year, finishing the regular season with 8 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks in 10 games.
Cody Prewitt - FS
Quite possibly the MVP of this Rebel defense, Prewitt lead the SEC with 6 picks this year, along with 70 tackles (tied for team lead) and 2 forced fumbles. He was an Honorable Mention All-America (via Sports Illustrated) and 1st team all-SEC. Prewitt could very well wreak havoc on GT's offense, rushing and passing.

Georgia Tech Players to watch:
Vad Lee - QB
After splitting time with Tevin Washington at QB last year, Vad Lee came into the season with huge expectations. While he did not fully live up to all of those, he still had a solid year, completing 47% of his passes for 1414 yds with 10 TDs. He also added 489 yds and 8 TDs on the ground. As the leader of this offense, it will be his job to try and get everything going on offense.
Robbie Godhigh - AB
The former walk-on, appropriately nick-named "the Beast" Robbie Godhigh has been absolutely phenomenal this year, being the most explosive player on the offense, averaging 10 yds/carry and 20 yds/reception with 1114 total offensive yds. If the Rebels want to win this game, they will have to find some way to slow the Beast down.
Jeremiah Attaochu - DE
Coming into this year, Attaochu (Gesundheit) transitioned from OLB in Al Groh's 3-4 defense to DE in Ted Roof's 4-3 defense. I would say the transition was seamless and did nothing but improve his draft stock by showing that he could play either position at the next level. He led the team with 12 sacks this year and 15.5 TFL this year. With true freshman phenom LT Laremy Tunsil missing this game, Sneezy (as he is appropriately referred to) could have a field day similar to the one he had against UGA.

Match-up to watch: Former GT Defensive Coordinator Dave Wommack defending GT's offense:
This will be the first meeting between former GT Defensive coordinator Dave Wommack and Georgia Tech since he was fired following the 2009 ACC championship season for Georgia Tech in favor of Al Groh. The offense has changed a lot since Wommack's days at Tech, so he had quite a bit of work to do to prepare his defense to defend GT's option attack.

3 bold predictions:
1. David Sims rules the game on the ground, rushing for 154 yds and 2 TDs, making him Georgia Tech's first 1000 yd rusher since Anthony Allen.
2. Cody Prewitt has a huge game and shows why he was 1st team All-SEC. 2 INTs and 8 tackles with 2 for a loss
3. The game starts off as a defensive struggle in the first half, until Ole Miss cannot keep up in the second half due to miscues on the offensive side of the ball.

Final words and score prediction:
This should be a great game, but I feel like at the end of the day, GT breaks away in the fourth quarter and wins 35-18. Go Georgia Tech!!

2 comments:

  1. 1. Not even close. Sims had a horrible day running & more so blocking
    2) Prewitt was knocked out of the game by Smelter
    3) Fairly close. It was a defensive struggle in 1st half

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    1. Thanks for the reply Ron! They're called "bold" predictions for a reason. I'd be happy to get one of those right. I was actually on the fence about whether Prewitt would have a huge game or be a non-factor. GT just needs to refocus and start building towards next year

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