Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Kansas Jayhawks, Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, KS
Saturday, September 11, 2010, 12:00 pm, TV: Fox Sports Net
Opening Line: Georgia Tech -7
Current Line: Georgia Tech -13.5
Opening Total: 49 1/2
Current Total: 49 1/2
Money Line: Georgia Tech -550/ Kansas +450
Sportsbook odds from above taken from the website Bookmaker
The Turner Gill era at Kansas got off to an inauspicious start with an embarrassing, pathetic loss to FCS North Dakota St at home 6-3. It doesn’t get any easier for the Jayhawks as they take on 15th ranked Georgia Tech and their triple option attack.
Coach Paul Johnson and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets started off the season with a 41-10 thrashing of South Carolina St last week. The Yellow Jackets only attempted 8 passes in the entire game and one of those was intercepted. They completed two for only 12 yards, but obviously the strength of the triple option is the running game. The Jackets rushed for 372 yards and 6 touchdowns. The leading rusher was quarterback Joshua Nesbitt who rushed for 130 yards and 3 scores. On defense, Georgia Tech was solid against the pass giving up on 94 yards but did give up 178 yards rushing. That could be a problem against a higher quality opponent than South Carolina St. However, their opponent this week showed nothing on offense. So it might be a good chance for Georgia Tech to shore up their run defense before ACC play starts.
Where do you begin with the Kansas Jayhawks? The defense played really well against North Dakota St giving up 168 total yards and only two field goals for the entire game. They also had a sack and a fumble recovery. The problems were on offense where the Jayhawks had 3 turnovers. The Jayhawks quarterbacks Kale Pick (an unfortunate name for a QB) and Jordan Webb only passed for 197 yards total. Pick threw an interception. Webb was named the starter this week for the Jayhawks, but it might not matter. The rushing game was pretty mediocre as well getting only 96 yards and also lost two fumbles. Daymond Patterson rushed for 63 yards to lead the team. The problem with the Jayhawks is Turner Gill’s system is all about running the ball, and the Jayhawks still have the personnel from coach Mark Mangino’s pass happy system. It will take a year or two for the Jayhawks to get the right people for the system. The Jayhawks will depend on the defense to keep them in the game as the offense tries to improve. The Jayhawks held North Dakota St to 73 yards rushing but it could be a different story against the triple option of Georgia Tech. The Jayhawks should definitely be motivated and angry after such a lackluster performance last week against a far inferior opponent.
The weather will be warm and sunny with game time temps in the 70’s or 80’s. The crowd will probably be pretty nervous at the beginning of the game. If Georgia Tech gets out to an early lead, the potential exists for the crowd to turn on the Jayhawks, expect some boos. The Jayhawks fans might be wondering when coach Bill Self’s basketball team starts fall practice.
For our college football expert picks opinion on this game at this point it is Kansas +14 or nothing in our eyes. We personally bet Georgia Tech -7 on the opening Sunday Night line for a limit bet for the sole reason we knew everyone would be looking to fade Kansas off a loss to a division 1aa team. Yesterday we played it all back on Kansas at +14. I still there is value on the Jayhawks at the current number of +13.5, but look for a +14 if you can. We have released some premium picks for Saturday and have crushed the bookmakers starting out this year. There is no better time than now to view our college football predictions page for winning advice from the nations best handicappers.
