Georgia
Georgia Tech vs Georgia State: Matchup Preview, Breakdown, and Final Score Prediction
![Georgia Tech vs Georgia State: Matchup Preview, Breakdown, and Final Score Prediction Georgia Tech vs Georgia State: Matchup Preview, Breakdown, and Final Score Prediction](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_4350,h_2446,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_yellow_jackets/01j6jcx2vtvf0z673zhk.jpg)
Gameday is once again here for Georgia Tech. Tonight, they welcome their cross-town rival Georgia State and the Yellow Jackets will be looking to start their season 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 season. After being able to beat Florida State in Ireland last week, will Georgia Tech be able to avoid the letdown?
This is going to be the first ever meeting between the two programs and you can bet that Georgia State is going to want to come out and ruin whatever good feeling that Georgia Tech has been able to generate over the last week. There has been a lot of national attention on the Yellow Jackets over the past week and tomorrow is going to be the first indication of how they have been able to handle it and remain focused on their goals for the season.
So how do these two teams matchup and who will win tonight? Let’s preview the game.
Georgia Tech Offense vs Georgia State Defense
Last week, Georgia Tech was able to control the line of scrimmage against a very talented Florida State defense and on paper, they should be able to do what they want in this game. There could be some interesting wrinkles though that Georgia State could throw at the Yellow Jackets.
The Panthers defensive coordinator is Kevin Sherrer, who was on the Yellow Jackets staff last year. Sherrer took over as the defensive coordinator and play caller last year around the middle of the season and while the Georgia Tech defense did not improve much, they did have some games where they were able to force a good number of turnovers. The Panthers defense has some new faces on it and it will be interested to see how they are used.
Haynes King played a really sound game vs Florida State and made plays on the ground and through the air. Georgia Tech clearly wanted to beat the Seminoles on the ground last week and I wonder if they could try and attack Georgia State through the air and open up the offense. The best number for King last week was that he committed zero turnovers. King made timely throws and was a dynamic runner last week and will be a vocal point again tonight.
The running attack ran for 190 yards and nearly six yards per carry last week against Florida State and they should be able to dictate things tonight. Jamal Haynes led the way last week and Chad Alexander was the main backup. Head coach Brent Key said the health of this room is good heading into the week, which means Trey Cooley might be back. If this game does get out of hand, look for freshman Anthony Carrie or Evan Dickens to get carries as well.
The offensive line did a great job last week of opening up holes for the run game and protecting Haynes King from the Florida State pass rush. The Panthers defensive line is nowhere is near as talented and this should be the biggest mismatch on paper in the game. Georgia Tech should be able to move the ball rather easily on the ground and it will be interesting to see how Georgia State tries to slow the Yellow Jackets.
Malik Rutherford was the top wide receiver last week, but guys like Eric Singleton Jr, Chase Lane, Abdul Janneh, Leo Blackburn, and Bailey Stockton all got time as well. The Georgia State defense was one of the worst in the country last year when it came to defending the pass, but that was last year and there are a host of new transfers on that side of the ball for the Panthers.
Some guys to watch on the Panther’s defensive line include Henry Bryant and Fuches Lewis in the middle and transfers Dorian Royal, Sir Mells, and Bishop Thomas as well. Justin Abraham and Kevin Swint are a talented group of linebackers and Gavin Pringle could be a difference maker in the secondary. Will the Panthers defense be better? It is hard to say, but they have brought in quite a few transfers on that side of the ball.
As long as Georgia Tech does not turn the ball over, they should be able to do what they want to against this defense. The run game should be strong and I would look for the Yellow Jackets to take some shots through the air as well.
Georgia Tech Defense vs Georgia State offense
The Georgia Tech defense was one of the stories of the game last week and they showed massive improvement from a year ago. They held Florida State to under 100 yards rushing and had seven tackles for loss. They are going against a far less talented offense this week, but they need to show they can string together consecutive strong performances.
Georgia State could play multiple quarterbacks tomorrow night and Georgia Tech is very familiar with one of the options. Former Yellow Jackets quarterback Zach Gibson might get the start for Georgia State tomorrow or it could be former Penn State/Pitt transfer Christian Veilleux. The Panthers took multiple transfer quarterbacks this offseason and they could play multiple today.
The running attack is going to be led by USF transfers Michel Dukes and Colorado transfer Sy’Veon Wilkerson. The offensive line for the Panthers could see a lot of rotation tonight and they will have a tough time against Georgia Tech’s front four.
Last week, the Yellow Jackets defensive line did a great job of slowing down the Florida State offense. Zeek Biggers and Makius Scott did a great job on the interior, while Romello Height, Sylvain Yondjouen, and Josh Robinson had strong games off the edge. Expect there to still be strong rotation with this group still.
Kyle Efford had a strong game last week against Florida State and Trenilyas Tatum will be the other starter at linebacker. E.J. Lightsey and Tah’j Butler were the other linebackers who got playing time last week.
The strongest position group on Georgia State in my opinion is the wide receiver group. Petey Tucker, Ja’Cyais Credle, and Tailique Williams are the guys to know. This is a talented group, but do they have a quarterback to get them the ball? That is one of the many questions facing the Georgia State offense.
The Yellow Jackets secondary had a solid week against Florida State and Ahmari Harvey, Warren Burrell, LaMiles Brooks, and Clayton Powell-Lee will have to make sure none of the Panthers receivers have any big plays.
X-Factor
I feel like a broken record, but turnovers are the biggest key to tonight. Georgia Tech is the superior team in every way on paper and the only reason this game could be close is if they are careless with the football. As long as they take care of the football, I have a hard time seeing this game go in favor of Georgia State.
Prediction
The Yellow Jackets struggles in games like these is well documented and they are going to have to prove this is different. I think this team is out on a mission and they win this game very comfortably behind a big game through the air from Haynes King. Georgia Tech will be 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and head into the game vs Syracuse playing very well.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 45, Georgia State 17
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Georgia
Georgia poll workers move to seize Rudy Giuliani’s possessions – including Yankees World Series rings – to collect $148M defamation judgment
![Georgia poll workers move to seize Rudy Giuliani’s possessions – including Yankees World Series rings – to collect 8M defamation judgment Georgia poll workers move to seize Rudy Giuliani’s possessions – including Yankees World Series rings – to collect 8M defamation judgment](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/88604104.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024)
Rudy Giuliani may have to part with some of his prized possessions, including his New York Yankees memorabilia collection, as two Georgia election workers move to seize the former Big Apple mayor’s personal property to collect on a $148 million defamation judgement.
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss filed a motion in New York’s southern district federal court Friday asking a judge to enforce the December 2023 judgment against Giuliani by compelling the 80-year-old “to turn over certain property” – including his Madison Avenue apartment, extensive watch collection, autographed baseball memorabilia and three Yankees World Series rings.
The Atlanta poll workers also asked the judge to put Giuliani into receivership to take his Palm Beach condominium and argued that they’re entitled to $2 million in fees Giuliani claims he’s owed by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
“Mr. Giuliani has proven time and again that he will never voluntarily comply with court orders, much less voluntarily satisfy Plaintiffs’ judgment,” lawyers for Freeman and Moss wrote in a court filing, explaining why the seizure of Giuliani’s assets is necessary.
“At every step, Mr. Giuliani has chosen evasion, obstruction, and outright disobedience,” the attorneys added. “That strategy reaches the end of the line here.”
Freeman and Moss are seeking to take custody of several items Giuliani disclosed ownership of during his bankruptcy case, which was dismissed last month, including:
- 1 1980 Mercedes-Benz, Model SL500
- 1 signed Reggie Jackson picture
- 1 signed Yankee Stadium picture
- 1 signed Joe DiMaggio shirt
- 3 Yankee World Series rings
A spokesman for Giuliani told The Post that the filing from the poll workers is an attempt to “harass and intimidate” the former mayor before he appeals the defamation verdict.
“The appeal of the objectively unreasonable $148 million verdict hasn’t even been heard, yet opposing counsel continues to take steps designed to harass and intimidate Mayor Rudy Giuliani,” Ted Goodman, Giuliani’s spokesman, told The Post.
“This lawsuit has always been designed to censor and bully the mayor, and to deter others from exercising their right to speak up and to speak out,” he added. “America is facing an existential crisis.”
“We were once a country that put a premium on free speech and the integrity of our justice system, yet we now live in a time where the justice system has been weaponized against Mayor Giuliani and so many others for strictly partisan political purposes.” Goodman said.
A federal jury in Washington, DC, awarded $75 million in punitive damages to Moss and Freeman, as well as $20 million to each woman for emotional distress after two days of deliberations last December. Moss was also awarded just under $17 million for defamation, while Freeman received nearly $16.2 million.
The two women accused Giuliani of defaming them and destroying their reputations after he alleged that they worked to cheat Trump out of the 2020 election.
Georgia
How Trump and Georgia's Republican governor made peace, helped by allies anxious about the election
ATLANTA (AP) — The effort to make the peace between Donald Trump and Georgia’s powerful Republican governor began in a sprawling neo-Victorian mansion in the exclusive Atlanta enclave of Buckhead.
It was at an Aug. 7 fundraiser hosted by former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler that fellow Republican Lindsey Graham approached Gov. Brian Kemp. Graham, the South Carolina senator and longtime confidant of the former president, was already planning to attend the fundraiser.
Now, Graham had a renewed purpose: to try to ease years of tensions between Trump and Kemp that endangered the GOP’s chances in a crucial 2024 battleground.
Graham and Kemp met privately at Loeffler’s house. And over the coming weeks, say Graham and others familiar with the matter, allies of both men arranged the two-part détente that played out publicly last Thursday to the surprise of many political watchers.
First, Kemp did an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity — another Trump ally — in which he said, “We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House.” Moments later, Trump went on his social media site to praise Kemp for his “help and support.”
A true alignment, if it lasts, could benefit both men: Trump may need the help of Kemp’s renowned political operation to win back Georgia in a tightly contested race with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, while Kemp wants to be in the good graces of Trump supporters for a future run at the U.S. Senate or the presidency in 2028. Kemp attended a fundraiser for Trump on Thursday and could join more campaign events with less than 70 days before Election Day.
Trump still argues falsely that he won Georgia based on unproven and debunked claims of voter fraud, something he brings up consistently on the campaign trail. And Kemp, who refused to stop the certification of Trump’s loss four years ago, has repeatedly pushed him to move on.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to questions about what happened but pointed back to his post on Truth Social in which he says about Georgia, “A win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country.”
Days before the fundraiser at Loeffler’s house, Trump mocked Kemp and his wife, Marty, at a packed rally in Atlanta. In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Graham described what he told Trump afterward.
“You’re not going to win Georgia this way,” Graham said. “And Georgia is yours to lose.”
How a meeting in Buckhead launched the détente
Graham was playing the diplomat.
Six days earlier, Trump had railed for 10 minutes against Kemp during the Atlanta campaign rally for not supporting his false theories of election fraud and blamed the governor for not stopping a local district attorney from prosecuting him and others for their efforts to overturn the election results after his loss in the state four years ago.
“He’s a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy. And he’s a very average governor,” Trump said of the second-term Kemp, who won reelection in 2022 after soundly beating Trump’s handpicked Republican challenger, David Perdue, in the GOP primary. “Little Brian. Little Brian Kemp. Bad guy.”
Trump also criticized Marty Kemp, who had said in April she would write in her husband’s name on her ballot in November.
What to know about the 2024 Election
Kemp shot back, posting on X, “My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats — not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past.”
“You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it,” Kemp’s post concluded.
Graham, in an interview, said he talked to the campaign after that attack and remembers saying, “There’s no excuse for this.”
At Loeffler’s mansion, Graham, Gov. Kemp and Marty Kemp met privately and Graham also spoke to some of the governor’s top staff about moving past the tensions that had simmered since the 2020 election. Their discussions were detailed by Graham and another person familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the private conversation.
Adding urgency to the talks was Harris’ entry into the race. Georgia has become newly competitive with President Joe Biden’s departure from the race and a resulting wave of Democratic enthusiasm. Republicans are worried Harris, who is running to become the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to serve as president, has energized people of color and younger voters in ways that Biden couldn’t.
Kemp told Graham that he would continue supporting the former president, even if he didn’t appreciate Trump’s rally comments. Graham tried to focus on shifting the Trump-Kemp relationship into a “more positive direction,” one of the people familiar with the conversation said.
That meeting began the process over the next two weeks. Others who spoke to Kemp included Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate.
“The way that I approached my conversation with him was: ‘I’m not going to convince you that you should change your mind on the president in the same way that I’m not going to convince the president that he should change his mind on you. But you guys agree on 90% of the things. You can put whatever personal differences aside,’” Vance told NBC News. “And I think there were probably 150 people delivering that message to both the president and Brian Kemp, and I’m glad that (Kemp) got to a good place, but I don’t claim any responsibility or credit for it.”
Graham does. He said he consulted with Trump about the message praising Kemp. And he and others worked to have Kemp deliver his praise in a strategic venue.
“We worked to get Kemp on Hannity where we know Trump would see it,” Graham said.
The path forward
Cody Hall, who leads Kemp’s political organization, confirmed the governor attended a fundraiser for Trump on Thursday.
Hall said Kemp’s political organization, Hardworking Georgians, is working for Trump and the Republican ticket in a number of competitive state House districts, mostly in the Atlanta suburbs. Hall said the organization hasn’t expanded statewide in part because it doesn’t have the money needed for such an effort.
“But plans can change,” Hall said.
At least one close Kemp backer, Alec Poitevint, said he began hearing that Trump and Kemp were patching things up days before Kemp went on Fox. Poitevint is a rare Republican who has maintained good relations with both Kemp and the Trumpier parts of the Georgia state party. Despite his support of Kemp, the Trump-dominated Georgia party elected Poitevint as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
“I had felt earlier that things were in motion,” he said this week. “Gov. Kemp and Trump are both very popular in Georgia.”
___
This story has been corrected to reflect that the fundraiser where Graham and Kemp met was on Aug. 7, not Aug. 9.
___
Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed to this report.
Georgia
Georgia, Ohio St. open as CFP betting favorites
![Georgia, Ohio St. open as CFP betting favorites Georgia, Ohio St. open as CFP betting favorites](https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=%2Fphoto%2F2023%2F0429%2Fr1166135_1296x729_16%2D9.jpg)
A new college football season, featuring widespread conference realignment and an expanded playoff, has a familiar look to it at sportsbooks, with perennial powers from the SEC and Big Ten sitting atop the odds to win the national championship.
Georgia and Ohio State have separated themselves from the pack as the consensus national title favorites ahead of the season. The Bulldogs are +300 at ESPN BET, followed closely by the Buckeyes at +325. Oregon (+700) and Texas (+900) are the only other teams with odds shorter than +1000.
Georgia and Ohio State account for nearly 50% of the bets that have been placed on ESPN BET’s title odds and are among eight teams that are odds-on favorites to qualify for this season’s 12-team playoff. Oregon (-350), Texas (-240), Notre Dame (-170), Penn State (-150), Ole Miss (-140) and Alabama (-115) also are odds-on favorites to reach the playoff at ESPN BET.
“All of our most popular teams to make the playoffs are pretty much exclusively in the SEC,” John Murray, executive director of the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, told ESPN.
Ole Miss, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas A&M were among the teams that have attracted the most interest from bettors to make the playoffs, Murray added.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel (+600) is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. Gabriel moved ahead of Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (+850) and into the role of Heisman favorite in July. In the last 15 years, the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite has won only once (Marcus Mariota in 2014), according to ESPN Stats & Information.
“We definitely don’t want to see Dillon Gabriel win the Heisman Trophy,” Murray said. “That’s a concern.”
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