JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Playing assignment football is the key to beating a triple-option offense. Georgia coach Kirby Smart decided that one week of facing a scout team offense wasn’t enough to prepare his defense for Georgia Tech.
Every Monday, the No. 7 Bulldogs would take a break from their upcoming opponent to spend a few minutes going over Georgia Tech's unique offense.
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It was acknowledgement of both the challenges that the Yellow Jackets present with their run-oriented attack, as well as how much Saturday's game means to Georgia after a gut-wrenching 28-27 loss last season.
"We've been working on it pretty much once a week for a long time," senior linebacker Lorenzo Carter said. "It just helps build confidence for not only the younger players, because they haven't seen it before, but also for the older players because we stay up on it."
Georgia (10-1) has a lot more than redemption riding on the regular-season finale.
The Bulldogs have already earned a return visit to Atlanta for the Dec. 2 Southeastern Conference championship game, where they will face either top-ranked Alabama or the only team to beat Georgia, No. 6 Auburn.
The SEC champion is expected to claim a spot in the College Football Playoff. But in Georgia's case, there's one big caveat: the Bulldogs can't afford a loss to their state rival.
Then again, that's pretty much how these teams feel every year, no matter what else is riding on the outcome.
"The rivalry runs deep," Carter said. "The winner's going to brag for 365 days. They've been bragging."
Smart has shown how much he cares about this game with all the extra practice time devoted to the Yellow Jackets, who rank fourth nationally with a rushing average of 319.4 yards per game.
"They're not the norm anymore," Smart said whose Bulldogs rank 4th in the nation against the run. "It's almost like a dinosaur. People don't do it anymore, so people don't know how to defend it. It's challenging."
Some other things to watch for in the latest edition of the "Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate" rivalry:
-At 267.4 rushing yards per game Georgia ranks 10th in the nation and 2nd in the SEC.
-In last week’s 42-13 blowout win over Kentucky, Georgia running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined for 238 yards and five touchdowns.
-Georgia has defeated the Yellow Jackets eight straight times in Atlanta
- Since winning 11 games including an Orange Bowl victory during the 2014 season, the Yellow Jackets are just 17-18.