Saturday's Peach State College Football Scouting Reports
To be updated.
12:20 p.m.
Duke (4-1, 0-1) at Georgia Tech (3-3, 1-2)
TV: Raycom
Web: www.ramblingwreck.com
Radio: Macon, WQMJ-FM 100.1; Dublin, WDBG 103.1-FM; Milledgeville, WMGG-AM 1450; Tennille, WJFL-FM 101.9; Thomaston , WTGA-AM 1590.
Line: Georgia Tech by 3.
Central Georgians on Duke’s roster: None. There are 19 players from Georgia on the roster.
Scouting Report: Duke had a week off, and coming before playing Georgia Tech, that’s more advantageous than usual.
The Yellow Jackets seem to have righted the offensive ship somewhat, albeit against.
Tech’s defense is still a question mark, and Duke can score. All evidence points to this being a shootout, which Tech will lose if it puts the ball on the ground or returns to some of the early-season special teams problems.
To Read
Remember that Gardner-Webb game?
1 p.m.
Mercer (3-2) at Yale (2-2)
TV: www.yalebulldogs.com
Web: www.mercerbears.com; www.sportsmic.com
Radio: WNEX-FM 100.9
Line: Yale by 6 (Sagarin Ratings)
Central Georgians on Yale’s roster: One. Wideout Jaylan Sandier is a redshirt freshman from Northside who has played in three games, and has a catch for nine yards. There are four Georgians on the roster.
Scouting Report: Irrelevant but somewhat interesting to those not in a uniform, this is the first time Yale has played a Peach State team since 1934 when the Bulldogs played another set of Bulldogs, Georgia.
Yale lost 41-18 to Dartmouth eight days ago, but got the passing game going QB Kurt Rawlings completed 29 passes last week, a career high. He is seventh all-time at Yale in yards and sixth in total offense. He passed for three TDs and 306 yards against then-No. 16 Maine.
Reed Klubnki caught 13 passes for 124 yards last week, and has 33 for 408 with five scores overall.
Mercer had the week off after a rollicking 48-38 win at VMI.
Logistics offer an issue to deal with for Mercer.
The first challenge of the week is our charter flight, which is the first we will have taken since being at Mercer,” head coach Bobby Lamb said at his Monday press conference. Hurricane Michael changed practice plans and the genera routine during the week as well.
And then there’s Yale itself.
"One of the things Yale does well is keep the ball away from you; they're averaging 34 minutes in time of possession and they're averaging 440 yards of offense,” Lamb said. “Like I said, they're efficient in what they do. They're not an up-tempo team, they just get to the line of scrimmage and see what you're lined up in and try to get the right play call.”
If Yale is able to do that, Mercer has to make the most of its possessions against an attacking defense.
"(Yale) has a very aggressive defense,” Lamb said. “They give you some opportunities to run the ball and be successful, but they also give you some opportunities to get some tackles for loss. They are aggressive with what they do on the defensive side of the ball. It's going to be imperative that we run the ball to be successful.”
Tee Mitchell averages 83.2 yards a game and 5 a carry for Mercer, which gets outgained by 44 yards a game, but the Bears average 6.2 yards a play while giving up 6.1.
As a defense we haven't done as well as we thought we would going into the season,” linebacker Bradley Earnest said. “But we're looking at our record…we're 3-1 in FCS play and we haven't nearly played to our potential. And we're getting healthier.”
Flying, let alone to New England, will be an adjustment.
“"We have a few guys who are scared.” Quarterback Kaelan Riley said. “The first one who comes to mind is (sophomore linebacker) Michael Freeman, who said, 'I'd rather take a 20-hour bus ride than a two-hour plane ride.' I'm excited to see how he reacts."
To Read
Yale hopes to learn from mistakes
Army Prep (n/a) at GMC (3-3)
Army Prep’s football website hasn’t been updated, and lists only wins against Delaware’s JV and East Coast Prep, with no results for games against Valley Forge Military College and Hudson Valley.
The Bulldogs have won three straight, scoring 49, 35, and 65 points in those games. They outgained Hocking 450-146 in last week’s 65-0 home win.
GMC averages 391.2 yards a game, 217 on the ground, ranking 18th and 11th nationally. Travell Jones leads the way with 390 yards in six games.
Army Prep, a 34-6 loser to GMC last year, brings the triple option to Milledgeville.
1:30 p.m.
Kennesaw State (5-1, 1-0) at Gardner-Webb (1-5)
TV: None.
Web: www.ksuowls.com;
Radio: None.
Line: Kennesaw State by 40 (Sagarin Ratings)
Central Georgians on G-W’s roster: None. There are 21 Georgians on the roster.
Scouting Report: On paper, this should be like most Kennesaw State games: boring after awhile.
But the second-ranked Owls have had trouble with the Bulldogs. Good reason why they can expect at least some of the same? Two losses have been to ranked FCS teams and a third is to Appalachian State.
The Bulldogs are decent on defense, but KSU is third nationally with 358.2 yards a game and ninth in total defense.
Gardner-Webb is led by Carroll McCray, who was one of the first assistant hires when Mercer revived football. He left before the Bears’ first game to become head coach at North Greenville.
3:30 p.m.
Georgia at LSU
TV: CBS.
Web: www.georgiadogs.com
Radio: Macon, WQBZ-FM, 106.3; Dublin, WEDB-FM, 98.1; Milledgeville, WKSR-FM 1-2.3; Sandersville, WSNT-FM, 99.9.
Central Georgians on LSU’s roster: None. There are three Georgians on the roster.
Scouting Report: LSU at home is tough, but a daytime kickoff, less so.
Then again, it’s an SEC game against the No. 2 team in the country that will have a pretty substantial fan base on hand, which is just the kind of thing that can amp things up a bit for the home team. Plus it’ll be about nighttime for the fourth quarter, and that’s when things can happen at Tiger Stadium.
To Read
These two should play more often, yes?
A large thank-you to Georgia from Louisiana
Thomas keeps battling through, well, everything
Podcast: Calling the LSU upset
6 p.m.
Tuskegee (3-3, 1-1) at Fort Valley State (1-5, 1-2)
TV: None
Web: www.fvsusports.com
Radio: None
Line: None
Central Georgians on Tuskegee’s roster: Five. Defensive back Darius Holmes is a junior from Northside who transferred from Alabama State and sat out last year with an injury. Jimmy Gray is a freshman defensive back from Jones County. Kam Tate is a freshman linebacker from Northside. Treshaun Hodge is a freshman offensive lineman from Dodge County. Chris Leggett is a freshman offensive lineman from Macon County. There are 30 Georgians on the roster.
Scouting Report: This doesn’t have much mojo, especially considering they met for the conference title last year.
Of course, Tuskegee has won 14 of the last 16 meetings, including 13-6 in the SIAC championship.