“Say Georgia loses to Georgia Tech.”

Everyone should have somebody love them the way Mark Bradley loves Paul Johnson.

… Beating Georgia for a fourth time in 11 years – and a third time running at Sanford Stadium – would hush most every PJ detractor.

No Tech coach since the sainted Bobby Dodd has beaten a Georgia team this good. Even Johnson’s three victories came against Bulldogs for whom no bigger prize awaited. (Georgia was ranked No. 13 by AP in 2008, No. 9 in 2014; it was unranked two years ago.) Going by the AP poll, Johnson’s biggest win came against No. 4 Virginia Tech on Oct. 17, 2009. But that was a while ago, and it was in Atlanta, and the Hokies aren’t the hated mutts.

With very few exceptions, this game over the past half-century has mattered more to the side that has won much less often. (Georgia is 40-14 against Tech since Vince Dooley arrived from Auburn.) The Bulldogs would appear too good for these Jackets, which would mean that an improbable victory would stand as Peak PJ. For Georgia Tech under Johnson, there has never been a bigger fish.

I can’t imagine a more eloquent StingTalk post.

Advertisement

PFF’s keys to the game

Some interesting statistical points:

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate this season will come down to several key factors as Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense, by default, will remove the Bulldogs best player on defense in CB Deandre Baker. Baker’s prowess in coverage will certainly not be tested on anything more than a very limited basis against the Yellow Jackets.

Keys for the game in the Georgia-Georgia Tech matchup:

– Georgia is the nation’s highest-graded tackling team: 94.8 tackling grade, missing only 56 total tackles as a team this season

– Georgia Tech’s run-defense grade is the 43rd-highest among 62 Power-5 teams

– Georgia’s run-blocking grade is No. 2 in the Power-5

– Georgia QB Jake Fromm possesses a 90.3 overall grade from a clean pocket

– Georgia Tech gets home with pressure on 33.0% of their pass-rushing snaps, 102 out of 130 FBS teams

I mentioned those last two points yesterday.  Fromm should have a good day tomorrow.

“Unsportsmanlike conduct on all players for both teams…”

One of the more underrated rivalries in college football is the Egg Bowl.  On one level, it’s understandable, as neither team has been particularly relevant from a national title perspective — or even an SEC title perspective — for what seems like ages.  But maybe that’s what adds spice to the affair.  When you’ve got nothing to live for beyond sneering at your rival like this, for example,

Moorhead went 4-4 with the best defense in the history of the school but sure. https://t.co/PRUxcuqynd

— Faux Matt Luke (@FauxMattLuke) November 23, 2018

… it’s easy to see how the fire gets stoked year after year.  Just because the stakes are lower doesn’t have to mean the anger is less pure.

In that sense, this may be the perfect rivalry.

Ole Miss and Mississippi State didn’t let us down in that regard last night.  The 35-3 outcome may have been a snoozer, but that doesn’t mean it was a boring night.  Not when this happened:

Mississippi State and Ole Miss are NOT in the holiday spirit.

"Unsportsmanlike conduct on all players for both teams…" pic.twitter.com/Cf6efueNSu

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 23, 2018

It’s like the old hockey joke about going to a fight and a game broke out.  My favorite comment of the night was this:

“I was helping break some of it up,” Ole Miss tight end Dawson Knox said, “but there’s not much you can do when the whole team is going at it.”

True ‘dat, brah.  Then, again…

One positive from tonight is that the kickers, punters, and long snappers for Ole Miss and Mississippi State will always be able to tell the tale of the time they got hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

— Gray Hardison (@BellyoftheBeast) November 23, 2018

The pleasantries continued after the game.  There was the inevitable flag planting on the opponent’s field that wasn’t appreciated.

A flag plant at midfield by Mississippi State led to more scuffling. pic.twitter.com/OjozWeGES2

— TJ Werre (@TJ_WJTV) November 23, 2018

It may have been Joe Moorhead’s first rodeo, so to speak, but it didn’t take long for him to get in the spirit of the season.

3/3 Joe Moorhead on the field after the game. "I'm the one trying to diffuse the situation, not their big mouth f—— AD" pic.twitter.com/nv7RDlM8oY

— Mike Sands (@Mike_Sands) November 23, 2018

“We coached our kids to do the right thing and play with poise, play with confidence, play with dignity, play with class,” Moorhead said, “but at the same time, we’re not going to take anyone’s s—, either.”

I’m not certain you can play an Egg Bowl with dignity and class.  Even if you could, who would want to watch it?

Oh, and some of you more observant types may have noticed that, even though the ruckus broke out in the wake of an Ole Miss touchdown, the final score only reflected that the Rebs/Landsharks only scored three points on the night.  The discrepancy is easy to explain.

The third-quarter touchdown, the prelude to all the ruckus, didn’t even count. After review, referees determined the play clock had expired before the snap, moving Ole Miss back to Mississippi State’s 41-yard line. The Rebels punted three players later.

Those fight replay reviews are a bitch, man.  That paragraph may be the perfect summary of Ole Miss’ season.

Just another Egg Bowl.