West Virginia (10-2) vs. Georgia
Tech (9-4)
Jan. 1st,
1:00 p.m. ET, CBS
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Player Profile: Georgia Tech RB Tashard Choice team bowl history and more
It's the
Mountaineer running game vs. the Georgia Tech run defense. It's the
Big East trying to show up the bigger, badder ACC. It's West
Virginia trying for its second straight 11-win season, while Georgia
Tech is trying to exorcise the demons of the final two games that
turned a good season ugly.
After struggling to finish the season and with all the stories about
how starting QB Reggie Ball and top defensive back Kenny Scott were
academically ineligible, it seems to many like there's no reason for
the Yellow Jackets to even make the trip to face a West Virginia
team good enough to have been playing in the BCS somewhere.
 |
|
National
Rankings |
|
Georgia Tech |
West
Virginia |
|
Total Offense |
|
78th 320.23 ypg |
5th 463 ypg |
|
Total Defense |
|
20th 289.69 ypg |
53rd 324.17 ypg |
|
Scoring Offense |
|
57th 24.15 ppg |
3rd 38.92 ppg |
|
Scoring Defense |
|
20th 16.85 ppg |
46th 20.58 ppg |
|
Run Offense |
|
34th 162.62 ypg |
2nd 302.33 ypg |
|
Run Defense |
|
11th 88.92 ypg |
9th 87.75 ypg |
|
Pass Offense |
|
100th 157.62 ypg |
98th 160.67 ypg |
|
Pass Defense |
|
62nd 200.77 ypg |
100th 236.42 ypg |
|
Turnover Margin |
|
36th 0.38 |
32nd 0.42 |
|
Georgia
Tech
Notre Dame
L 14-10
Samford
W 38-6
Troy
W 35-20
Virginia
W 24-7
at Va Tech W 38-27
Maryland
W 27-23
at Clemson L 31-7
Miami
W 30-23
at NC St
W 31-23
at N Carolina
W 7-0
Duke
W 49-21
at Georgia L 15-12
ACC Championship
Wake Forest L 9-6 |
West Virginia
Marshall
W 42-10
East Wash W 52-3
Maryland
W 45-24
at E Car
W 27-10
at Miss St
W 42-14
Syracuse
W 41-17
at Conn.
W 37-11
at Louisville W 44-34
Cincinnati
W 42-24
at Pitt W 45-27
South Florida
L 24-19
Rutgers
W 41-39 3OT |
|
Position
Ratings
relative to each
other |
|
GT |
5
highest
1 lowest |
WV |
|
2 |
Quarterbacks |
5 |
|
3.5 |
RBs |
5 |
|
5 |
Receivers |
4 |
|
3.5 |
O
Line |
4.5 |
|
4 |
D
Line |
3.5 |
|
4 |
Linebackers |
3.5 |
|
3 |
Secondary |
2.5 |
|
4 |
Spec
Teams |
4 |
|
4 |
Coaching |
5 |
|
Even with all
the problems, all the criticisms of the coaching staff, and all the
negativity, it's easy to forget that Tech was never that bad
losing on the road to Georgia in a 15-12 battle and to Wake Forest
in the ACC Championship. The Demon Deacons did something right to
get to Jacksonville in the first place, while losing in Athens by
three shouldn't ever be something to hang your head over.
This has been a good, sound Tech team all season long that lost
three games (throw the opener against Notre Dame into the mix) that
it probably should've won, and got erased by Clemson 31-7 on the way
to a spot in the ACC title game. The defense has been among the best
in the nation through all the other inconsistencies, and the special
teams have been good. The run defense, outside of the Clemson game,
has been a rock, and West Virginia almost exclusively runs the ball,
so this might be a better game than expected.
The Mountaineers were dangerously close to the national championship
losing at Louisville in one of the best games of the year and in a
stunner to South Florida to ruin Big East title hopes. As good as
they've been, and as much respect as they've received after shocking
Georgia in the 2006 Sugar Bowl, they're still looking for the type
of win that once and for all firmly establishes the program as a
national player. Wins over Maryland, Mississippi State, Pitt, and a
triple overtime thriller against Rutgers isn't quite enough.
Remember, before last year's bowl season, West Virginia was known as
the biggest bowl dog in the pen losing 11 of the previous 12, and
everyone seems to have forgotten how it almost blew the Sugar Bowl
needing a fake punt to finally put the Dawgs away. In other words,
West Virginia is still fighting history.
Recent history isn't exactly on
the side of this being a classic. The Gator Bowl has been among the
worst of the season over the last several years with just two of the
last 19 decided by a touchdown or less, while the Yellow Jackets
were awful against Utah in last season's Emerald Bowl losing 38-10.
With Auburn vs. Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl, Tennessee vs. Penn
State in the Outback and Arkansas vs. Wisconsin in the Capital One
all going at the same time, this bowl might get lost in the shuffle.
Even so, this takes a back seat to few other bowls in terms of star
power.
Players to watch: Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson is
one of the top five pro prospects in college football and a
near-lock to be a multi-millionaire this time next season. He has it
all with blazing speed, height, strength, a great attitude, and
hands that seem to make footballs stick to them.
C.J. caught only two passes for 13 yards against Georgia, and while
he leads the team with 67 catches for 1,016 yards and 13 touchdowns,
he was a decoy far too often when Reggie Ball was throwing. Now with
Taylor Bennett under center, he might get more passes his
way.
Bennett's a big left-hander with a far better arm than Ball. While
he doesn't have Ball's mobility, he can move around a little bit and
isn't going to be a sitting duck fort the West Virginia pass rush.
His job will be to hand off to Tashard Choice, throw it to
Calvin Johnson, not turn the ball over, and throw it to Calvin
Johnson again. This is his big chance to show he deserves to be the
main man going into next year.
Of course, West Virginia is all about its unstoppable two-man tandem
of QB Pat White and RB Steve Slaton, who've each
endured their share of bumps and bruises throughout the season to
continue to be two of the nation's most electrifying players.
White struggled through a high ankle sprain late in the year and
missed the win over Rutgers, but he still finished with 1,074
rushing yards and a whipping 17 touchdown passes. He's a better
passer than he gets credit for, but he's not exactly Peyton Manning
if the offense relies on him to start winging it around. He's
unstoppable around the goal line and even better when he gets in
space. If he's hurting, Jarrett Brown is capable enough to
see a little bit of work.
Slaton belongs in the NFL yesterday, but he'll be back for at least
one more season as the premier home-run hitting runner in college
football. Big, fast, and elusive, it's his job to wait, wait, wait,
and then zoom though the hole where he goes from zero to sixty in a
heartbeat. While known for his running averaging over seven yards a
pop, he's underrated for his receiving skills with nice hands. When
he gets the ball on the move, it's over.
West Virginia
will win if...
Bennett stinks. Oh sure, the Yellow
Jackets have won before despite shoddy quarterback play, but the
entire game changes if Bennett isn't at least average. If he doesn't
complete a few deep balls early to force the West Virginia safeties
to back off so Choice can have some room to move, the running game
might be non-existent. The same holds true for the Mountaineers.
White has to be effective right off the bat with a few throws to
keep the linebackers off the line. West Virginia's running game is
all about creating space, but Tech has the back seven to fill the
gaps in a hurry. Slaton and White need a head of steam to make their
cuts and moves, and as Clemson proved, the Yellow Jackets can be run
on if ...
Georgia Tech will win if... they don't miss a lot of
tackles. They only allowed more than 164 rushing yards once this
year, to Clemson, and that was because the back seven took too many
wrong angles, was often out of position, and didn't keep short gains
from turning into back-breaking big plays. Tech can't get involved
in a shootout, and as long as it does what South Florida did and
keep Slaton's production to a minimum be being patient, not
overpursuing, and using its speed to turn runs inside for the
safeties to clean up, it shouldn't have to.
What will happen: Never dismiss a team with nothing to lose.
The Georgia Tech defense is among the best West Virginia has faced
all season long, and the quarterback issues are actually going to be
a positive. Calvin Johnson will have his moments, and Bennett won't
be that bad, but the Mountaineers are relatively healthy and should
be a step quicker and more precise than they were at the end of the
year. This won't be the blowout many are expecting.
Line: West Virginia -7 ... CFN Prediction: West
Virginia
26 ... Georgia Tech 17
