The Sun Bowl Preview pits the Utes of Utah against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and SportsOptions.com offers up a brief look at the players, team stats and some unique trends.
(239) UTAH vs. (240) GEORGIA TECH (-2,49) 2:00 PM – Sun Bowl – Sun Bowl Stadium – El Paso, TX
Utah (7-5 SU/5-7 ATS) got off to a slow start in its first season as a member of the Pac-12, losing four of seven to begin the year, including their first four conference games. However, the Utes used a late season four-game winning streak to earn a bowl bid, but they pulled a clunker in their regular season finale with a 17-14 home loss to lowly Colorado as -22 point chalks. After losing quarterback Jordan Wynn for the final eight games, Jon Hays stepped in and threw nine touchdowns and seven picks. John White IV has led the ground game, rushing for 1,404 yards and 14 touchdowns, and finished 9th in the nation in rushing. White, a first-year junior college transfer, could be in for a big day versus a Yellow Jackets defense which ranks tied for 70th in the country with an average of 162.9 rushing yards allowed. The Utes are giving up the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game (98.3) but will have their hands full with Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense. Head coach Kyle Whittingham has been successful in bowl games, going 6-1, highlighted by a victory as co-head coach in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl that capped an undefeated season. The offense struggled throughout the season, ranking 110th in the nation with a paltry 308 ypg, while the defense carried the team most of the year (#29 – 342 ypg).
Georgia Tech (8-4 SU/5-6-1 ATS) opened the season with six-straight wins before losing four of its final six, including a 31-17 loss to rival Georgia in its regular-season finale on Nov. 26. The Yellow Jackets finished third in the ACC’s Coastal Division. The bowl appearance will be the 15th straight for the Yellow Jackets, which is tied for the fourth-longest active streak among FBS schools. It will be their first appearance in the Sun Bowl since defeating Texas Tech in 1970. Georgia Tech has one of the most prolific rushing attacks in the nation, ranking 3rd with 316 ypg on the ground. Running backs David Sims and Orwin Smith ran for 698 and 616 yards, respectively, while junior quarterback Tevin Washington led the team with 890 yards – and the dynamic trio combined for 32 rushing TDs this season. Georgia Tech brings a respectable defense into this game, allowing 361 ypg (#46). The offense ranked 17th in the nation with 459 ypg and they weren’t as one-dimensional as they have been in the past.
Georgia Tech’s poor finish over the second-half of the season doesn’t give the Jackets much momentum heading into the postseason. They’ll be looking for their first bowl victory since defeating Syracuse 51-14 in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl. The Yellow Jackets, making their 40th bowl appearance in school history, are 22-17 all-time in the postseason. Utah, which has gone 12-4 in bowls, had won nine in a row before suffering a 26-3 defeat to Boise State in last season’s Las Vegas Bowl. The Utes are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 bowl games, but just 5-10 ATS when facing winning teams. Georgia Tech counters with a 25-18 ATS mark in games where the line is between +3 and -3 and 5-0-1 ATS as a fav of -3 points or less, but take note Utah is 36-15-1 ATS as an underdog and 11-5-1 ATS in non-conference games.
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