Georgia Southern @ Georgia preview
Sanford Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 30, 2008 ) Georgia Southern 21, Georgia 45
With the SEC East Division title already secured, fourth-ranked Georgia can focus its attention on the first of two in-state non-conference opponents when it hosts FCS power Georgia Southern on Saturday. The Bulldogs clinched their fifth trip to the SEC Championship Game with last week's 38-0 win at Auburn. Georgia, ranked fifth in the BCS standings, still has an outside shot at reaching the BCS title game, but it will have to win its two remaining regular-season games and the SEC title game and get some help via upsets among the top three teams.
The Eagles are likely to be overmatched against national power Georgia, but they are no stranger to scaring a highly-ranked team. Georgia Southern rolled up 302 rushing yards in a 45-21 loss to eventual national champion Alabama last season, and the rushing and point totals both marked season highs against the Crimson Tide. Like the Bulldogs, Georgia Southern has wrapped up its regular-season schedule and has earned a share of the Southern Conference title with Wofford and Appalachian State. The Eagles can clinch the league's automatic bid to the FCS playoffs with a Citadel win over Furman on Saturday.
TV: 1:30 p.m. ET, WSB (Atlanta), ESPN3. LINE: None
ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN (8-2): The Eagles take their triple-option offense to Athens as the top rushing attack in the FCS, averaging 401.2 yards per game on the ground. Quarterback Jerick McKinnon is the reigning Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for five touchdowns (three rushing, two passing) in last week's win against Howard. McKinnon went over 1,000 yards rushing last week with a career-high 198 yards, helping the Eagles to their third 500-yard rushing game this season.
ABOUT GEORGIA (9-1): The Bulldogs have won four straight since their lone setback at South Carolina, including blowouts of Ole Miss (37-10) and Auburn the past two weeks. Georgia's freshman duo of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall combined for 221 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against the Tigers. The passing game continues to endure key injuries, as receivers Michael Bennett and Marlon Brown have both been lost to torn ACLs, but quarterback Aaron Murray has continued to put up impressive numbers with 2,656 passing yards and 24 touchdowns against seven interceptions.
EXTRA POINTS
1. With a victory, Georgia would notch its 20th 10-win season in school history and its first back-to-back seasons with 10 wins since 2007 and 2008.
2. Gurley needs 27 rushing yards to become the 11th Bulldog to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and the first since Knowshon Moreno in 2008.
3. Georgia has won all four all-time meetings by an average of 23.25 points. Georgia Southern is 0-19 all-time against FBS opponents.
PREDICTION: Georgia 47, Georgia Southern 20