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Georgia Bulldogs vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 3:30 pm ET, ABC
By the final game, ideally, you're supposed to have a team mostly figured out. That's been a complex issue with Georgia, given the rotating cast of characters and various bad breaks that have robbed the Dawgs of any chance of consistency this year. And so we go into the final game still needing some questions answered.
And there is a good deal of mystery around this game. For one thing, there's the mystery that always surrounds this game because of Georgia Tech's triple-option offense; it's impossible to tell how well a team will defend that kind of an offense until it actually faces that kind of an offense, though we know that Georgia's defense hasn't exactly been elite against the more traditional offenses it has faced. (It also bears pointing out that the Dawgs have contained, if not exactly stopped, Tech's offense the last two years after Todd Grantham's charges had a shaky outing in the 2010 victory.)
But there are some additional question marks this year as well, none more obvious that Hutson Mason's first career start. Again, the issue here is that we simply don't know how well Mason will do once he's asked to go out and guide his team to victory for the first time in his college career. Mason's looked good so far -- but he's also never been required to do what he will have to do Saturday. And that matters, even if we don't quite yet know how it will matter.
Mason will probably have to make some significant throws to win this game. Tech is solid against the run, allowing 3.4 yards a carry and 104.2 yards a game, but weaker against the pass. With Georgia gradually returning to full strength elsewhere on the offense, at the same time that Aaron Murray's season college career is essentially over, it will be interesting to see whether and how the Georgia coaches look to use Mason's arm to try to help win the game. For now, we'll say that he ends up providing some pleasant answers to the questions people might have about him.
Georgia 34, Georgia Tech 21
