Georgia Tech by the numbers

	GT	Nat. Rank	UGA	Nat. Rank
Passing yards	145.5	112th	244.3	48th
Passing yards allowed	193.4	23rd	182.2	13th
Rushing yards	323.6	2nd	185.4	34th
Rushing yards allowed	166.1	71st	81.7	2nd
Total offense	469.1	16th	427.6	35th
Total defense	359.5	42nd	263.5	4th
PPG scored	36.5	17th	34.3	23rd
PPG allowed	25.3	56th	17.8	11th
Kickoff returns	19	106th	22.5	46th
Kickoff returns allowed	20.6	42nd	23.7	95th
Touchback %	7%	92nd	27%	20th
Kickoff average	62.3	78th	65.5	19th
First downs/game	20.5	58th	22.2	35th
First downs allowed/game	18.8	35th	13.9	2nd
3rd down %	56%	2nd	45%	34th
Opponent 3rd down %	44%	89th	28.30%	2nd
Time of possession	31:50min	21st	33:57min	7th
Red zone TD %	76%	6th	61%	67th
Red zone total %	88%	21st	83%	57th
Red zone attempts	50	22nd	46	37th
Opp. red zone TD %	63%	77th	62%	76th
Opp. Red Zone total %	79%	46th	86%	86th
Opp. red zone attempts	43	78th	21	4th
FG%	67%	77th	62%	90th
Sacks	19	71st	30	18th
Sacks allowed	11	17th	24	76th
Tackles for loss	52	9th	85	8th
Tackles for loss allowed	47	12th	63	62nd
Turnovers gained	19	52nd	27	9th
Turnovers lost	16	33rd	18	49th
Turnover margin	plus 3	35th	plus 9	16th

The first thing that stands out to me is how few tackles for loss Georgia Tech allows. By not having many negative yardage plays they are able to stick with what they are comfortable, running the ball. Not having many third and long is a big reason why their 3rd down % is 2nd best in the nation. Georgia is one of the best in the nation at getting tackles for loss. If Georgia can get several negative or no gain plays on first and second down it will be a huge advantage for Grantham's defense. If they are unable to do this it will lead to a long day for the Georgia defense.

Kentucky by the numbers.

	UK	SEC Rank	Nat. Rank	UGA	SEC Rank	Nat. Rank
Passing yards	147	12th	110th	250.3	3rd	42nd
Passing yards allowed	194.9	8th	26th	186.2	6th	15th
Rushing yards	126.5	11th	88th	188.4	4th	33rd
Rushing yards allowed	197.2	10th	97th	87.1	3rd	5th
Total offense	273.5	12th	118th	438.7	2nd	31
Total defense	392.1	10th	66th	273.3	3rd	4th
PPG scored	17	12th	115th	35.8	3rd	20th
PPG allowed	27	10th	64th	18.6	3rd	12th
Time of poss/per game	28.21 min	9th	93rd	33.46	1st	8th
First downs/per game	15	12th	117th	22.8	1st	31st
Opponent first downs	20.3	10th	64th	14.3	2nd	2nd
3rd down %	29.17	12th	116th	45.39	3rd	36th
Opponent 3rd down %	40.82	10th	69th	27.94	2nd	2nd
Sacks (total)	16	10th	76th	25	1st	21st
Sacks allowed	30	12th	113th	22	7th	78th
Tackles for loss	52	10th	78th	76	1st	8th
Tackles for loss allowed	72	8th	113th	57	5th	61st
Turnovers gained	18	5th	47th	23	3rd	14th
Turnovers lost	20	9th	86th	14	4th	27th
Turnover margin	minus 2	10th	76th	plus 9	2nd	8th
Red zone TD %	50	11th	108th	61.36	6th	62nd
Red zone total %	76.92	11th	94th	81.82	8th	57th
Red zone trips	26	10th	106th	44	4th	26th
Opp. red zone TD %	54.55	5th	34th	63.16	11th	76th
Opp. red zone total %	78.79	5th	41st	84.21	10th	81st
Opp. red zone trips	33	6th	42nd	19	2nd	4th
10+ yard plays	93	12th	116th	163	2nd	24th
10+ yard plays allowed	142	10th	76th	119	5th	25th

The first thing that is obvious is there is not many areas where Kentucky is even average. Their defense is bad for the SEC and below average nationally. Their offense is atrocious. Their biggest plus is their red zone defense, it is the only area they are statisically better than Georgia.That is countered by the fact that they give up so many big plays that teams don't need to score from the red zone. Kentucky also allows opponents into their red zone far more often than Georgia. If I am Kentucky the fact that I have given up so many sacks and Georgia has gotten so many sacks scares me to death. That is made even worse by the fact that Georgia seldom gives up yards on the ground which will force Kentucky to throw more than they want. Individually there is no player that stands out to scare you either. Well they do have two guys on defense that both have over 100 tackles. The only problem with that is they are the only guys no the team making tackles and one of them is a DB. You do not want a defensive back near your team lead in tackles as it means too many tackles are being made down field instead of at the line of scrimmage.

Georgia/Auburn by the numbers

All ranks are in the SEC.
Scoring offense ppg - UGA 34.8 (4th) - AU 26.1 (7th)

Scoring defense ppg – UGA 19.9 (5th) - AU 27.7 (11th)

Rushing offense ypg – UGA 175.56 (6th) - AU 191.11 (2nd)

Rushing defense ypg – UGA 91.22 (3rd) – AU 185.67 (10th)

Passing offense ypg – UGA 253.2 (2nd) – AU 163.1 (11th)

Passing defense ypg – UGA 190.9 (7th) – AU 215 (11th)

Total offense ypg – UGA 428.8 (3rd) – AU 354.2 (7th)

Total defense ypg – UGA 282.2 (3rd) – AU 400.7 (11th)

First downs per game – UGA 22 (2nd) – AU 18.2 (8th)

Opponent first downs – UGA 14.9 (3rd) – AU 22 (12th)

Turnover margin – UGA +8 total/+.89 per game (2nd) – AU +2 total +/+.22 per game (5th)

Sacks – UGA 20 total/2.22 per game (2nd) – AU 17 total/1.78 per game (5th)

Sacks allowed – 18 total/2 per game (5th) – AU 20 total/2.33 per game (8th)

Tackles for loss – 65 total/7.22 per game (3rd) – AU 57 total/6.33 per game (6th)

Tackles for loss allowed – 52 total/5.78 per game (5th) – AU 70 total/7.78 per game (10th)

3rd down conversion % - UGA 41.61% (6th) – AU 37.10% (8th)

3rd down conversion % allowed – UGA 28% (2nd) – AU 46.56 (12th)

Plays from scrimmage of 10+ yards – UGA 144 total (2nd) – AU – 118 total (7th)

Plays from scrimmage allowed of 10+ yards – UGA 110 (5th) – AU 140 (12th)

Kickoff returns of 30+ yards – UGA 8 (3rd) – AU 9 (1st)

Kickoff returns of 30+ yards allowed – UGA 7 (tied for 8th though 8th is also next to last since 4 teams are tied there in the SEC) – AU 3 (2nd)

Red zone scoring %/TD %/total trips to the red zone –
UGA - 79.17% total/58.97% td’s/39 trips – (9th/8th/4th)
AU 88% total/60% td’s/25 trips (3rd/6th/10th)

Red zone defense scoring %/TD%/ Total trips to the red zone –
UGA 83.33% total/61.11% td’s/18 trips (9th/9th/3rd) –

AU 85.29% total/64.71% td’s/34 trips (11th,12th,11th)
As far as individuals go Dyer is 31% of their offense with 989 yards rushing. McCalebb is 14% with 448 yards rushing. Blake is 13.6% with 404 yards receiving. The three combine to be roughly 58% of AU’s offense. Georgia’s top player is Crowell with 19% of the offense and the top three add up to 40%. Not sure if this is advantage AU because they have a more “go to” player or advantage Georgia because there is no way to key on one or two guys.

As you can see Georgia leads Auburn in most every category. Auburn is slightly better on offense in the red zone but gets there far less often. Their defense is horrible in the red zone and allows teams to get there quite often. Auburn is slightly better at running the ball but is much worse at passing it. In fact they only have passed for more than 200 yards in one game the entire season, the opener against Utah State. Biggest thing that scares me is that AU has one of the better return games in the SEC while Georgia is prone to give up the big play on kickoff returns. Biggest difference in Georgia’s favor is rushing defense. Georgia gives up almost exactly half as many rushing yards as AU. The second biggest difference is third down defense where Georgia is 18.56% better. Some people have questioned why Vegas started Georgia as a 12.5 point favorite. The numbers here suggest why wouldn’t they?

New Mexico State by the numbers

Last number is national rank and listed last.

Offense:
Scoring - 28.4 ppg - 60th
Rushing - 121.25 ypg - 94th
Passing - 297.3 ypg - 15th
Total - 418.3 ypg - 45th
Kickoff returns - 25.49 yards per return - 12th
Punt returns - 6 yards per return - 90th
Turnover margin - +2 - 43rd
Sacks allowed - 2.63 per game - 93rd
Tackles for loss allowed - 5.38 TFL per game - 45th
3rd down conversions - 38.26% - 80th

Defense -
Scoring - 32.5 ppg - 98th
Rushing - 214.38 ypg - 111th
Passing - 228.3 ypg - 65th
Total - 442.6 ypg - 106th
3rd down conversions allowed - 40.19% - 56th
Sacks - 1.63 per game - 82nd
Tackles for loss - 4.25 per game - 110th

Overall New Mexico State has given up more points and yards than it has gained. Georgia will have to sure up the kickoff coverage as New Mexico State is one of the best in the country at returning kickoffs. The offensive line for Georgia should be able to do a good job as New Mexico State is near the bottom of the country in sacks and tackles for loss. The only major area that they really stand out is passing offense and kickoff returns. Their starting running back does average 5.34 yards per carry but as a team they are averaging only 3.58 ypc and they don't run the ball often. With the way Georgia's pass rush has been lately I like to see that they 93rd in the nation in allowing sacks.

Florida by the numbers

First number is rank in the SEC

Scoring offense
5 Georgia 32.3ppg
6 Florida 26.9ppg

Rushing offense
6 Florida 175.71ypg
7 Georgia 162.43ypg

Passing offense
3 Georgia 248.7ypg
8 Florida 178.0ypg

Total offense
3 Georgia 411.1ypg
7 Florida 353.7ypg

Scoring defense
3 Florida 18.9ppg
6 Georgia 20.4ppg

Rushing defense
3 Georgia 102.00ypg
4 Florida 120.71ypg

Passing defense
3 Florida 168.4ppg
4 Georgia 171.0ppg

Total defense
3 Georgia 273.0ppg
5 Florida 289.1ppg

Turnover margin
4 Georgia +5
12 Florida -7

Punt returns allowed
3 Florida 4.3 per return
12 Georgia 14.6 per return

FG %
1 Caleb Sturgis 93.8
9 Blair Walsh 60.0 (lowest among SEC kickers that have enough kicks to qualify)


As you can tell the two teams are close in many categories. Georgia has a significant advantage in points per game scored, passing offense and turnover margin. Florida has a significant advantage in average punt return allowed and FG%. The biggest reason for the difference in turnover margin is that Georgia has gotten 7 more interceptions than Florida. If Georgia can continue to win the turnover and simply hold their own in special teams it has a great chance to win the game. Coming into the season Georgia was expected to dominate special teams against most teams but that has not played out. Florida is one of the few teams that coming into the year has specialist that would be considered as good as Georgia's. Maybe that is what they need to get them focused enough to do the job they should have been all along.