EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, October 13^th, the (6-0) Georgia Bulldogs will be on the road to take on the (5-1) LSU Tigers.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Georgia 31.0 – LSU 25.2 with an over/under of 56.2.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Georgia 31 – LSU 17.

Mark is predicting a final score of LSU 24 – Georgia 21.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Georgia 240.0 YPG > LSU 202.3 YPG

Rushing offense: Georgia 245.2 YPG > LSU 190.3 YPG

Scoring offense: Georgia 42.8 PPG > LSU 31.3 PPG

Scoring defense: Georgia 13.0 PPG > LSU 17.0 PPG

Passing defense: Georgia 170.0 YPG > LSU 221.7 PPG

Rushing defense: Georgia 113.2 PPG > LSU 121.7 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Georgia +1.2 > LSU +0.4

Summary:

Georgia is (6-0) to start the season with wins over Austin Peay, #24 South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Middle Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.  The Bulldogs rank 15^th in points per game (48.2) and 2^nd scoring defense (13.0 PPG).  Quarterback Jake Fromm has completed 72% of his passes for 1,200 yards with 12 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.  Elijah Holyfield and D’Andre Smith have filled in seamlessly for the departed Nick Chubb and Sony Michel.  For the season, Holyfield and Smith have combined to rush for 722 yards and 7 touchdowns.  Mecole Hardman leads the team in receiving with 335 yards and 4 touchdowns.  The Bulldogs’ defense ranks 13^th against the pass (170.0 YPG) and 20^th against the run (113.2 YPG).  Georgia’s turnover margin (+1.2) is the 7^th best in college football.

LSU is (5-1) with wins over #8 Miami, Southeastern Louisiana, #7 Auburn, Louisiana Tech, and Ole Miss.  They were defeated on the road last week 27-19 by #22 Florida.  Three turnovers proved too much for the Tigers to overcome in what was a tightly contested game.  The Tigers rank 59^th in points per game (31.3) and 15^th in scoring defense (17.0 PPG).  Quarterback Joe Burrow has completed 53% of his passes for 1,214 yards with 6 touchdowns to 2 interceptions.  Nick Brossette leads the team in rushing with 576 yards and 8 touchdowns.  Clyde Edwards-Helaire is also a major threat out of the backfield as he has 330 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns on the season.  Justin Jefferson is the only pass catcher on the team with more than 200 yards (344).  The Tigers’ defense ranks 59^th against the pass (221.7 YPG) and 27^th against the run (121.7 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Joe Burrow really struggled in last week’s loss to Florida and LSU’s deficiencies in the passing game were glaring.  A one-dimensional offense is not going to get the job done against a Bulldogs defense that excels against both the pass and the run.  Look for Georgia to wear down the LSU defense with a run heavy attack and Jake Fromm will have to make big throws against a Tigers secondary that is not as strong as it has been in recent years.

Georgia wins 31-24

Contest Rules:

To be eligible to win a prize in any contest at The Crowd’s Line, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or Canada. You must also submit your score prediction on our official prediction tool (blog widget), and include a valid email address. Contest winners are determined according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology. If more than one entrant has the same winning score, final contest rankings and prize winners are selected by random draw. Only one entry per person is allowed for each contest; multiple entries from a single player will be deemed invalid. There are no prize substitutions or exchanges available from The Crowd’s Line.

All prizes will be sent by e-mail within two weeks after the conclusion of each contest.