Greg McElroy takes Georgia to win, cover against Georgia Tech in Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate will kick off in a couple of hours, with No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 23 Georgia Tech playing in Atlanta on Black Friday. ESPN’s Greg McElroy is now the latest to make a prediction for the game between the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets.

McElroy made that among his picks this week on ‘Always College Football.’ He did so while expressing his interest in it as a kind of all-time edition of this game in the history of the rivalry between UGA and GT.

“Is there a better name, by the way, for a big rivalry? I think it’s one of my favorites,” McElroy said. “Just Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. It’s exactly what it is. It sums it up beautifully. The combined 19 regular-season victories represent the highest combined win total in the history of the series that dates back to 1942. So, clearly, probably one of the biggest versions of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate that we’ve seen in quite some time. It’s a high-stakes game.”

In breaking down the game, McElroy says the focus will be offensively as “both teams are awesome” on that side of the ball and are “among the best in all of college football“. He specifically circled the running games for both as what could be a difference in the game, with the Yellow Jackets rushing for 215.2 yards per game, led by Haynes King with 88.3 per game and 15 total scores on the ground, and then the Bulldogs rushing for 190.5 yards per game. Whoever controls that aspect of the game could be the one who goes on to win it on Friday.

“Can Georgia Tech weaponize Haynes King as a runner? Georgia Tech’s offensive framework is rooted in a downhill, powerful running scheme that is beautifully called by Buster Faulkner, and Brent Key plays a hand in this as well. And, this is a rushing offense that’s in the Top 20. They are really efficient at well over 5.5 yards per carry. And their performance is going to be anchored by an offensive line that’s pretty stout,” McElroy said. “But, the success of the rushing attack is almost always linked to what Haynes King is trying to be. He’s big. He’s physical. He’s not a facilitator. He is their primary rush threat. He’s the guy that scares you the most when trying to gameplan for this Georgia Tech offense.

“… This dual-threat ability? It forces defenses’ hands. So, do you dedicate additional resources into trying to contain the quarterback, stop the quarterback run, bring safeties close to the line of scrimmage? Well, if you do that, now you maybe leave some vulnerabilities on the outside that Haynes King hasn’t always taken advantage of, but might have to if they’re going to pull things off in this game.”

Despite that, McElroy is anticipating there to be points on the board regardless, with a prediction for the over. However, there just won’t be enough for a cover by Georgia Tech, as he laid what’s currently still around a two-score spread with Georgia.

“I do think Georgia Tech will score, and I’m expecting this thing to go over the total. But I don’t know if they have enough defense to keep them in the game for 60 minutes, and the only way I see Georgia losing this game is if they beat themselves,” McElroy said. “Give me the ‘Dawgs, and I would lay the points there in Atlanta.”

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