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2013 Music City Bowl: Ole Miss Rebels vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Statistical Preview

A look at Georgia Tech's playmakers and a comparison between the Rebs and the Jackets.

Josh D. Weiss-US PRESSWIRE

[Fit4LifeLLC put in a ton of effort this season to comb through and compile stats on the Rebels and their opponents. He deserves at least a modicum of our gratitude, y'all.]

On Monday afternoon, the Ole Miss Rebels will try and extend their bowl game win streak to six, not to mention and ten victories in the last 11 appearances, when they face the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech in the Music City Bowl. The game will kick off at 2:15 PM, and will be broadcast on ESPN.

Georgia Tech is appearing in their impressive 17th straight bowl and, led by the old-school Paul Johnson, they hope to utilize their option attack to win their second straight.

The match up between the Jackets and Rebels is an intriguing one. After both teams dropped their in-state rivalry games to close the season in on sour notes, it will be interesting to see which of the two 7-5 teams is more motivated and prepared to win.

Regarding styles of play, these two teams could not be more different, with the Rebels trying to play an up tempo style of play characterized by read-option runs and quick passes contrasting with Georgia Tech's run heavy triple option attack. If you like "non-traditional" (see: "not found much in the NFL") football, then this bowl matchup is perhaps one of the most interesting ones you'll find this offseason.

In an article linked on the Cup earlier this week, some of the guys at From the Rumble Seat, SB Nation's Georgia Tech community, provided some great statistical analysis for this game. Here we will offer a slightly different perspective by looking at individual and team statistics, to highlight who for the Jackets team has performed exceptionally well while looking at what these teams have done on the aggregate.

Georgia Tech is led by Vad "Is-that-short-for-‘Vadamir'-or-something" Lee at quarterback. Although, Lee is not asked to attempt many passes per game in this scheme (just under 12/game), he is averaging close to 9 yards per attempt and has 10 TD's through the air on the year.

Georgia Tech Passing Leaders

Name

Comp/Att

Yards

Int

TDs

Comp %

Effeciency

Vad Lee

77/163

1414

9

10

47.2

129.31

Justin Thomas

9/17

131

2

1

52.9

113.55

Tim Byerly

1/4

3

0

0

25

31.3

On the ground, look for David Sims to get a load of the carries aside from Lee. Sims could go over the 1000 yard mark on the season with a big game against the Rebels. Ole Miss will also need to keep a close eye on Robert Godhigh, as he has tons of big play capability. He is second on the team in rushing and the Jackets' leading receiver.

Georgia Tech Rushing Leaders

Name

Attempts

Yards

TDs

Average/Game

Long

David SIms

151

846

11

70.5

39

Robert Godhigh

69

694

6

57.8

65

Vad Lee

166

489

8

40.8

21

Zach Laskey

79

458

7

38.2

33

Georgia Tech Receiving Leaders

Name

Receptions

Yards

TDs

Average/Game

Long

Robert Godhigh

21

420

2

35

43

DeAndre Smelter

21

345

4

28.8

42

Darren Waller

15

288

2

26.2

68

Micheal Summers

10

211

0

17.6

54

Tech is strong defensively, and have one of the better rush defenses the Rebs will have faced. They are somewhat more vulnerable against the pass, but they do manage to keep opponents from scoring - which is obviously the most important thing they can do.

GT Offense

GT Defense

Scoring

439

272

First Downs

265

228

Rushing Yardage

3740

1284

Passing Yardage

1548

2922

Total Offense

5288

4206

Avg Per Game

440.7

350.5

Average Per Play

6.2

5.5

Total Plays

850

765

OM Offense

OM Defense

Scoring

365

291

First Downs

289

248

Rushing Yardage

2249

1863

Passing Yardage

3427

2655

Total Offense

5676

4518

Total Plays

934

851

Average Per Play

6.1

5.3

Avg Per Game

473

376.5

Tech also has good special teams, plays well on third down, and is highly effective in the red zone.

OM

GT

Turnovers

20

22

Punting

46 for 37.8 yds net

39 for 37.8 yds net

Time of Possession

29:29:00

33:50:00

3rd Conversion %

46%

52%

4th Conversion %

52%

44%

Sacks For

19 for 134 yds

32 for 219 yds

FG

15/21

9 for 13

Red Zone Scoring

76%

90%

Penalties

43.8 yds/game

40.8 yds/game

GT Defensive Leaders

Name

Tackles (Total)

TFL

Turnover Plays

Sacks

PBU's

Jamea Thomas

73

3.5

3

2

8

Brandon Watts

59

3.5

2

2.5

1

Quayshawn Nealy

57

3.5

4

0

2

Jabari Hunt-Days

44

7

1

2.5

1

Demond Smith

43

3

0

0.5

4

Jeremiah Attaochu

40

15.5

0

12

2

Paul Davis

39

5

1

1

1

Ole Miss Defensive Leaders

Name

Tackles (Total)

TFL

Turnover Plays

Sacks

PBU's

Serdarius Bryant

70

10.5

0

3

1

Cody Prewitt

70

4

6

0

7

Tony Connor

59

4

1

1

5

Trae Elston

59

1

1

0

6

Mike Marry

49

4

1

1

1

Mike Hilton

48

5

1

0

4

Team Stats

OM (FBS Rank)

GT (FBS Rank)

Total Yards

21st

40th

Passing Yards

24th

118th

Rushing Yards

43rd

5th

Scoring Offense

60th

23rd

Points Against

41st

30th

Rushing Defense

53rd

9th

Passing Defense

46th

84th

Total Defense

43rd

21st

Turnover Margin

tied 60th

tied 78th

Pass Defense Efficiency

45th

81st

First Downs Offense

30th

tied 56th

3rd Down Conversions

27th

4th

Looking at the Jackets, one must wonder if their discrepancy on defense between the run and pass is a function of facing a run heavy offense in practice. I also haven't looked at their box scores this season, but such figures might also be a function of their lead margins and the down-and-distance their opponents face on 2nd and 3rd downs. The Georgia Tech secondary has been very opportunistic in forcing interceptions, a lot of which has to do with the pressure placed on opposing quarterbacks by of this has to do with Jeremiah Attaochu who leads the Jackets with 12 sacks and 15.5 TFL's.

Keys for a Rebel win:

  1. Offensive line must control the line of scrimmage (Laremy Tunsil playing against Attaochu is crucial for the Rebels - we do not yet know how his knee is holding up in practices, but we're not optimistic).
  2. The Rebel offense needs to play with balance and score early to force Georgia Tech to play from behind.
  3. The defense must play very disciplined and control their gaps to contain what is a potent option rushing attack. Ideally, Dave Wommack's familiarity with GT (he was the DC there for the 2008 and 2009 seasons) will help here.