Georgia Bulldogs vs. Georgia Tech Final Score Predictions: Can Kirby Smart lock in College Football Playoff first round bye?

Clean Old Fashioned Hate has plenty at stake once again for both Georgia Bulldogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Brandon Little, Rob Gregson, Ryan Roberts, Travis May
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The Georgia Bulldogs and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets’ “Clean Old Fashioned Hate” rivalry has given college football fans some epic games over the years. Since 2013, this game has finished within one score six times and gone to overtime in three. Just last year, the game finished 44-42 after eight overtimes. It doesn’t matter how good either team is coming in, the records can essentially be thrown out.

Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs could use one more dominant victory to help earn them a first round bye in the College Football Playoff. Georgia Tech desperately needs a huge win to finish 10-2, inserting themselves back into the discussion to make the bracket (that and/or some major chaos in the ACC standings).

Media members from A to Z Sports who cover both teams decided to weigh in, predicting a winner in what should be an incredibly important rivalry game for both Georgia and Georgia Tech. The picks are in. Enjoy!

Key Stats for Georgia Bulldogs vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

  • The Georgia Bulldogs still rank 114th among FBS teams in sacks, but they have doubled their sack total in the last few games
  • Georgia Tech QB Haynes King ranks top ten among power conference quarterbacks in QBR, total adjusted net yards per attempt, and is closing in on 1000 yards rushing on the season
  • The Bulldogs defense ranks 11th in yards per play and 4th in yards per carry allowed on the season
  • Georgia QB Gunner Stockton has averaged nearly nine yards per pass attempt and scored 15 total touchdowns in Georgia’s last five games

Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 30

“The Georgia Bulldogs did not look like the unbeatable high pedigree force of a team that college football has come to know early on this season, but they’ve flipped a switch since the Florida game. The pass rush is finally getting home for sacks. The Offense has scored at least 35 points in four of the last five games. The defense hasn’t given up more than 21 points in over a month. Kirby Smart finally has this young, inexperienced team clicking on all cylinders. However, Georgia Tech could still surprise. Haynes King has been a do-it-all monster of a weapon for the Yellow Jackets this year as he’s posted 27 total touchdowns and over 3400 total yards in just 10 games of action this fall. Kirby Smart talked about the challenge in stopping him earlier this week. If Georgia can contain King’s rushing attack then they should be fine, but Georgia Tech likely scores a lot more than the Bulldogs have been allowing in recent weeks.” – Travis May, A to Z Sports CFB & NFL Draft Managing Editor

Georgia 37, Georgia Tech 17

“Georgia Tech gave Georgia all they could handle last season during their multiple overtime thriller, but I don’t expect a similar outcome this time around. Yellowjacket quarterback Haynes King has done some great things this season but we also saw very uneven play last week against Pitt. Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, on the other hand, has been rock solid all season, creating some big plays while also taking care of the football. Georgia Tech will create a couple of explosive plays but in the end Georgia is just the bigger and more athletic team. When Kirby Smart’s team has been locked in, they’ve been very good.” – Ryan Roberts, A to Z Sports Notre Dame

Georgia 31, Georgia Tech 20

“Georgia needs a win and will be playing in Atlanta for the SEC Championship against likely Texas A&M (if Alabama loses to Auburn). The one-loss Bulldogs have rolled through their last three games after edging out a close win over the Florida Gators. Georgia Tech took a costly loss to Pittsburgh last week and is now on the outside looking in for the College Football Playoff picture. The Yellow Jackets can still look to finish the regular season strong with a win over Georgia, but even at home, I don’t like their chances. Georgia Tech simply doesn’t have the dudes that Georgia rolls out, even if these aren’t the typical Kirby Smart Bulldogs.” – Brandon Little, A to Z Sports Ohio State

Georgia 35, Georgia Tech 20

“Georgia Tech is fresh off getting stomped by the Pittsburgh Panthers, and now the Yellow Jackets face one of the best teams in the country. Georgia can ill afford to slip up, especially with Texas A&M and Alabama likely to make the SEC championship should those teams win on Saturday. Perhaps this game being in Atlanta, opposed to Athens, keeps it closer than it should be, but I don’t expect the Bulldogs and a hot defense to have much of an issue against a Tech offense that couldn’t buy a bucket against Pitt for a quarter and a half.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Alabama

Final Score Predictions for Georgia vs. Georgia Tech

The A to Z Sports staff believes that Georgia’s momentum continues as they take care of business against Georgia Tech this week. On average, our team projects this game to finish somewhere around 35-22 in favor of Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. That would almost assuredly lock in a first round by for Georgia, and all but end any truly meaningful postseason hopes for Georgia Tech (pending a handful of ACC outcomes this week).

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