SEC Football

Bulldogs and Tigers Meet In Baton Rouge

Saturday, October 25th, 3:30 p.m. (et)

GAME NOTES: In what figures to be one of the best games of the college football weekend, the ninth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs and the 11th-ranked LSU Tigers will collide in Baton Rouge.

Georgia is already eligible for the bowl season with its 6-1 record, and the team has its sights set on a BCS bid. The Bulldogs have won their last two outings since suffering their only loss to national powerhouse Alabama. Last weekend, they improved to 4-0 in SEC action with a 24-14 decision over Vanderbilt in Athens.

LSU was crushed by Florida in Gainesville a few weeks ago by a final of 51-21. Fortunately for the Tigers, they were able to bounce back strong last weekend with a 24-17 decision over South Carolina. They are now 5-1, including 3-1 in league play, and very much alive in the race for the SEC crown.

LSU owns a 14-11-1 series lead over Georgia, but the Bulldogs have won the last two meetings.

Georgia is scoring 31.7 ppg this season to go along with 429.6 total ypg, and there is no shortage of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Knowshon Moreno is one of the finest tailbacks in the nation, and he has rushed for 762 yards and 11 touchdowns while averaging six yards per carry. Matthew Stafford, the team's starting quarterback, has completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 1,697 yards and 10 touchdowns against five interceptions. A.J. Green leads the receivers with 36 catches for 573 yards and four touchdowns, and Mohamed Massaquoi has four receiving scores as well.

Georgia leaned heavily on Moreno last week against Vanderbilt, and he responded by rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown. Stafford threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns, but he was intercepted twice. As for Green, he hauled in seven balls for 132 yards and one touchdown. "We still aren't capitalizing on all the opportunities we have," said Massaquoi after the Vandy game. "We're almost there but we haven't arrived yet. We still have a lot of things that we need to work towards."

Opponents are averaging 17.7 ppg and 269.7 total ypg against Georgia, impressive considering the fact that the Bulldogs have played a rather tough schedule thus far. They have been tremendous against the run, yielding only 61.0 ypg on 2.4 ypc. The pass defense has not been nearly as impressive, allowing 11.2 yards per completion with 10 touchdowns against five interceptions. Opponents are making good on 33 percent of their third down conversion attempts, a credit to the Georgia defense. Keep an eye on Rennie Curran, as he has made 55 tackles, including three sacks, to go along with a pair of forced fumbles.

The Bulldogs limited Vanderbilt to 14 points and 245 total yards last weekend in what was a strong overall performance. While Vandy did score its only two touchdowns through the air, the Commodores completed only half of their attempts, were intercepted twice and averaged just 8.2 yards per completion. "We had some outstanding open-field tacking, we were physical and we got after them," said Georgia head coach Mark Richt after the contest.

Against South Carolina last weekend, LSU's Charles Scott finished with 61 yards and two rushing touchdowns, including the game-winning score later in the fourth quarter. Fellow tailback Keiland Williams rushed for 72 yards, and the rotation seemed to work fairly well. "We went to Charles Scott early and pretty often, but we just felt like we could get fresher legs in maybe," said LSU head coach Les Miles, who may give some other tailbacks an opportunity to run against Georgia. "He (Scott) has been carrying the load for a couple of weeks now, and we just felt like we might not necessarily have to rely on him every snap." Jarrett Lee took most of the snaps under center and threw for 189 yards, but Andrew Hatch did come off the bench and throw a key touchdown pass.

LSU is scoring 31.2 ppg while racking up 398.8 total ypg this season. The team has 11 rushing touchdowns and 11 passing scores, proving capable of doing damage via both means of attack. Scott has rushed for 631 yards and eight touchdowns, while Lee has thrown eight touchdown passes. Brandon LaFell leads the club with 33 catches for 462 yards and three scores.

"Our rush lanes have got to be handled better, and that's something that needs to be focused on and worked on this week," said coach Miles on Monday. It is a bit confusing that Miles made that comment, especially when considering that the Tigers permitted only 39 rushing yards on 31 South Carolina attempts last weekend. LSU surrendered only 254 total yards and 17 points in the clash, so the defense deserves a great deal of credit for the victory. The Tigers held the Gamecocks to 1-of-9 success on third down conversion attempts and limited them to a time of possession of 25:28.

Opponents are posting 21.5 ppg and 295.3 ypg against LSU through the first six games. The Tigers have been outstanding against the run, holding the opposition to 96.7 ypg on the ground. Unfortunately, foes have been able to average 12 yards per pass completion, and LSU has come up with a mere seven takeaways to date. Tyson Jackson has 4.5 sacks to pace the defense, and Harry Coleman has made 33 total tackles.

Give a narrow edge to LSU this weekend based solely on the home field advantage. Don't expect many points in this one, as both defenses will come ready to play.

Predicted Outcome: LSU 17, Georgia 13

Web Producer- Brett Haas