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Terry Godwin has been one of Georgia's top receivers this season.

The six seniors who will lead Georgia to a win over Georgia Tech

Posted 6 months ago

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The Friday Six, Senior Day edition

Usually we spend Friday highlighting the five players who are going to make a difference, and lead Georgia to a win on Saturday. But this Friday, we’re going to honor five seniors, seeing as how Saturday is Senior Day.

Terry Godwin, senior wide receiver

Terry Godwin has had his best games at home this season. He had a key touchdown against Vanderbilt to open the game, and had an even bigger touchdown against Auburn right before the half.

He’s yet to have more than three catches in a game this season, but we expect that to change. We’ll also say that Godwin finishes with over 100 yards against Georgia Tech and finds the endzone in his home finale.

Lamont Gaillard, senior center

Georgia’s offensive line has been great this year, even though it has consistently been banged up. Georgia once again looks like it will be without freshman Cade Mays and sophomore Ben Cleveland. This means that Georgia will likely start freshman Trey Hill next to the senior Lamont Gaillard. The center will once again be expected to keep the offensive line together and open up holes for Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Swift.

This hasn’t been a problem at all this year for Gaillard, and we don’t expect it to be one against an average Georgia Tech defense.

Jonathan Ledbetter, senior defensive lineman

As a whole, the Georgia defensive line isn’t spectacular. And to beat Georgia Tech it likely won’t need to be, given that Georgia Tech loves to cut block — essentially take out defensive linemen at the knees. Jonathan Ledbetter is going to have to stay on his feet on Saturday to try and limit Georgia Tech’s impressive rush offense. We think he’ll be able to do that and expect him to have a great final game in Sanford Stadium.

Natrez Patrick, senior linebacker

With sophomore linebacker Monty Rice not likely to play, Natrez Patrick will be asked to fill his shoes. Last year, Roquan Smith was a big reason the Bulldogs held Georgia Tech to just 7 points. The Georgia great finished with 9 tackles and 3 tackles for loss. If Georgia wants to keep Georgia Tech off the scoreboard, Patrick is going to have to produce similar numbers. He had 5 tackles in last year’s game.

D’Andre Walker, senior linebacker

D’Andre Walker probably won’t have a sack on Saturday, but he’s still going to play a key role. The outside linebacker will be asked to either take away the fullback dive or keep containment when Georgia Tech runs the triple option. And Walker can still be a menace in the run game, so look for him to pick up a couple of tackles for loss. We expect Georgia Tech’s offensive line to have a tough time blocking Walker, thus leading to a big game for the senior.

Deandre Baker, senior cornerback

Deandre Baker, who was named finalist for the Thorpe Award (given to the nation’s top defensive back), won’t be tested much on Saturday given that Georgia Tech has thrown the fourth fewest passes in college football this year. But he will be asked to tackle and prevent Georgia Tech from getting to the outside rushing lanes. We think Baker will have a season-high in tackles against the Yellow Jackets.

College Football Picks Week 13

We had our first losing week since week 1, as we went 2-4 last week. But we’re going to end the regular season on a high note, and as always please don’t put actual money on these picks.

No. 5 Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, 12 p.m. ET, SEC Network, WSB Radio 95.5 FM/750 AM

The Bulldogs haven’t won against Georgia Tech in Sanford Stadium since 2012. Kirby Smart is going to change that on Saturday. The question is, by how much will Georgia win against the Yellow Jackets? I think Georgia will be a great team this week and cover with ease. The offense is playing just too well right now. Georgia 48 (-17), Georgia Tech 20

No. 6 Oklahoma at No. 12 West Virginia, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, Friday

Oklahoma’s defense is terrible, while West Virginia has a great offense. Oklahoma’s might be even better led by quarterback Kyler Murray. And while West Virginia did let us down last week, we can’t pass up on the Mountaineers as a home underdog. West Virginia quarterback Will Grier won’t win the Heisman but his performance against Oklahoma will get him an invite to New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. West Virginia 48 (+2) , Oklahoma 44

No. 16 Washington at No. 8 Washington State, 8:30 p.m. ET, FOX, Friday

It’s been a dream season this year for the Cougars of Washington State. Mike Leach is having maybe his best season ever, and Gardner Minshew is one of the best quarterbacks in the country. It’s worth noting that he was almost Alabama’s back up quarterback after he transferred from ECU. Having said all that, I think this dream season comes to a crashing halt on Friday night. This is a really good Washington team, and all of their loses have come in one-score games. We like the Huskies to win on the road on Friday night and clinch the PAC-12 North. Washington 35 (+2.5), Washington State 29.

No. 4 Michigan at No. 10 Ohio State, 12 p.m. ET, FOX

Michigan hasn’t won in Columbus since 2000. If there’s a year it is going to happen it is this year. The Buckeyes and Urban Meyer tried really, really hard to lose to Maryland last week. Ohio State will be better against the Wolverines, but it won’t be enough. Jim Harbaugh will finally get a win over Ohio State and win the Big Ten East. Michigan 26 (-4.0), Ohio State 13.

Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt, 4 p.m. ET, SEC Network

This is the most interesting SEC game of the week to me. Both those teams enter with 5-6 records. The winner will go to a bowl game, while the loser won’t play again this season. Vanderbilt has had Tennessee’s numbers in recent years, but this is a massive game for first year coach Jeremy Pruitt. But I like Vanderbilt’s offense just a little more, and that is why the Commodores are going to beat the Volunteers again on Saturday. Vanderbilt 24 (-3.5), Tennessee 17.

No. 2 Clemson vs. South Carolina, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN

If you’ve been following with our picks every week, you know we love Clemson. The Tigers were one of our two winners from last week. This South Carolina team has been shaky this year and isn’t talented enough to hang with the Tigers. Again, 26.5 points might be a lot, but Clemson covered a 28-point spread against Duke last week. Clemson 42 (-26.5), South Carolina 10.

Record on the season (Against the Spread): 40-29-2