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My right honorable friend T Kyle King runs the SB Nation Georgia site Dawg Sports. Kyle put together some keys to victory over Nebraska that are based upon how Georgia has historically performed in the Capital One Bowl, not specifically what they need to do to beat Nebraska.
The Bulldogs are tied with Tennessee for the most appearances in the Capital One Bowl. Both have five, with Georgia's last appearance coming on January 1st, 2009 when they beat Michigan State 24-12. This will be Nebraska's third appearance in the Capital One Bowl, formerly more commonly known as the "Citrus Bowl".
Below are Kyle's keys to victory for Georgia, again, based on how they've won in their five previous appearances at the Capital One Bowl:
1. Score More Than 17 Points
The Cornhuskers scored a measly 13 points last year against South Carolina, and 21 points against Georgia Tech in the 1991 Citrus Bowl.
I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb to say that the winner of this year's game will need to score at least 30.
Can Nebraska do that? If they're the team that wants to make up for being embarrassed by Wisconsin, yes. If they're the team that's pouty that they didn't win the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl, no.
2. Throw The Ball
Georgia's three Capital One Bowl victories came when they threw for more than 240 yards in each game. The Cornhuskers are currently first in the nation in pass defense, giving up only 148.2 yards per game.
If we can force Georgia into throwing the ball, it will be one helluva bonus for Nebraska. Aaron Murray is a pro-type drop back passer that you'd love to see meet Eric Martin.
3. Make the Other Team Throw The Ball As Well
Georgia's pass defense is eighth nationally, giving up 173.5 yards per game (we'll examine the teams that Nebraska and Georgia have played to look deeper into this soon). Season highs against the ‘dogs defense were at Missouri (269) and against Tennessee (281).
4. Lose the turnover battle
I don't care about Georgia's history, if they want to lose the turnover battle, I'm all for it. Do you remember the last game Nebraska played without having a turnover?
It was the Southern Miss game, the first game of the season. Since then, the Huskers made up for it by playing their way to 108th nationally in turnover margin.
5. Have one of the five best passers in Georgia history at quarterback
As Kyle points out:
Georgia's quarterback Aaron Murray is the only quarterback in SEC history to have thrown for more than 3,000 yards in three consecutive seasons and he has thrown more touchdown passes as a collegian than Peyton Manning.
Has Nebraska faced this good a quarterback all season?
6. Play a Big Ten Team
Of Georgia's five appearances, three have come against Big Ten teams. All three have been victories. In the 1993 game, Georgia beat Ohio State 21-14. In 2004, the Bulldogs beat Purdue 34-27 in overtime, and as previously mentioned, in 2009 they beat Michigan State 24-12.
Nebraska lost both of their previous appearances.
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