Who: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (6-7) vs USC Trojans (7-5)
Where: El Paso
When: New Year's Eve, 2 PM EST
TV: CBS
Line: Lane Kiffin by 7.5
Ross: In Georgia Tech's favor? They run an unconventional offense that can be difficult to prepare for (Paul Johnson's flexbone attack) and they're facing a team that had a hugely disappointing season and doesn't want to be playing this game and that lost 4 of their final 5 games, giving up 38 points or more in 3 of those 4 losses. Oh, and their defensive coordinator is retiring after the game, so he's a lame duck. Georgia Tech also ended the season with three straight wins — well, before getting drilled by Georgia and losing a close game to Florida State in the ACC Championship Game. Working against Georgia Tech? Their defense was pretty lousy — they had the 78th "best" scoring defense (29.9 ppg) and gave up 40+ points in 5 of their 7 losses (plus 1 of their 6 wins!) and they're facing a USC team dripping with offensive weapons. Well, maybe: QB Matt Barkley will miss the game while recuperating from a shoulder injury and all-everything WR Marqise Lee is reportedly dealing with a leg injury. So this probably won't be the high-flying USC attack that torched several defenses this year. On paper, USC still seems like a pretty heavy favorite… but paper doesn't take motivation into account and USC seems like they've checked out on this season. That should be enough to let Georgia Tech sneak out a win.
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