Georgia Bulldogs turn attention to Georgia Tech Yellowjackets

ATHENS — Ball control is on coach Kirby Smart’s mind as Georgia tries to close out its regular season schedule with a road win Saturday against in-state rival Georgia Tech.

The game at Grant Field in Atlanta has a noon kickoff and will be televised on ABC.

On paper, the Bulldogs have a clear advantage. Ranked No. 7, they’re 10-1 overall and 7-1 in the SEC, coming off an impressive 42-13 win Saturday over Kentucky. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, is 5-5 on the season, including a 4-4 ACC record, and was saddled with a disappointing 43-20 loss at Duke on Saturday.

Smart said after the Kentucky game Saturday that with classes out for the Thanksgiving holidays, his Bulldogs will use the extra time this week to prepare for the Yellowjackets’ unusual offense.

“We’ll have more time this week with no school,” he said. “We’ll meet with them and have walk-throughs and help them prepare. We’ll focus on giving thanks and on preparing for Tech.”

The extra time will be valuable, he said.

“Tech has a unique offense that you don’t get to play but once a year,” he said. “It’s very different and you work on it and you try to simulate it.

“You have to do your job. And we need to do a good job of controlling the ball on offense. … Our scouts will have to be prepared this week to give us the best picture they can.”

Georgia is headed to the SEC championship game next month in Atlanta, but the Bulldogs can’t afford to stumble against Tech if they hope to qualify for the football championship playoffs.

The SEC West representative will be decided when No. 1 Alabama (10-0 and 7-0 in the SEC) meets No. 6 Auburn (9-2 and 6-1 in the SEC) on Saturday in the Iron Bowl. That game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on CBS. Auburn clobbered Georgia 40-17 on Nov. 11, knocking the Bulldogs from the No. 1 spot on the playoff rankings.

Still, Smart took a moment after Saturday’s win against Kentucky to note the accomplishment of going undefeated against the SEC East. With a 6-0 against SEC East opponents, this was the first time UGA has won the division without a loss since the conference was split into two divisions in 1992. It also was Georgia’s first undefeated season at home since 2012.

“People don’t understand in the SEC, it’s a challenge every week,” Smart said. “There are no easy games. No one can walk out and destroy a team in the first half. You just don’t do that.”

Following the upset by Auburn, the Bulldogs — and their fans — were in danger of suffering from malaise Saturday. Neither succumbed.

“Our fans showed out for our seniors,” Smart said. “These guys deserved that and I appreciate our fan base for that. … Recruiting is affected immensely by the atmosphere of home games. We want to be the best we can be. Our job is to put a good product out there.”