Liberty Bowl: Georgia vs. TCU Predictions

In SEC Football by Blake Lovell

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Location: Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, TN

Date and Time: December 30, Noon ET (ESPN)

The 2016 regular season wasn’t kind to the Georgia Bulldogs and TCU Horned Frogs.

Both teams entered the season ranked in the Top 20, but neither put together a good enough campaign to be ranked at season’s end.

For Georgia, the struggles were somewhat expected. It was Kirby Smart’s first year on the job in Athens, plus he had a true freshman under center in Jacob Eason. But despite all that, let’s not act like this season was a major disappointment.

The Bulldogs still won seven games, and three of their losses (Tennessee on a Hail Mary, Vanderbilt and Missouri) were by a total of five points. This Georgia team was a play here or there from possibly sitting at 10 wins and being in a much more intriguing bowl discussion.

However, almost wins don’t count. Just ask Gary Patterson and TCU.

The Horned Frogs lost three close games this season, which featured double overtime losses to Arkansas and Texas Tech and a six-point home loss to Big 12 champion Oklahoma. Just like with Georgia, TCU’s season could have been dramatically different.

But here both teams are. While a win in Memphis wouldn’t wipe away the disappointment of the regular season, it would certainly be a nice momentum boost heading into the offseason.

What will decide this game? You guessed it: the consistency of both quarterbacks.

Eason was far from terrible in his first season as quarterback of the Bulldogs, throwing for 2,266 yards and 14 touchdowns. The eight interceptions were to be expected given the grind of playing against SEC defenses.

This is is a situation where the bowl game comes at a great time (late December), which means that Eason gets an entire month’s worth of practice and experience under his belt.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M transfer Kenny Hill didn’t find the transition to Fort Worth to be all that smooth. Hill did account for over 3,000 yards through the air and a combined 24 touchdowns (15 passing and 9 rushing) on the season.

The problem? His 13 interceptions. Turning the ball over isn’t an option for the Horned Frogs if they want to win this game. Georgia’s defense finished 16th in the country this season in total defense, so this will be a major test for Hill and company.

The good news for both quarterbacks is that they have solid rushing attacks to relieve pressure. Everyone knows what Nick Chubb can do when he’s healthy, and TCU running back Kyle Hicks had an impressive year with 954 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns.

Of course, in picking a winner in this game, you also have to look at the two guys at the top.

Smart is entering his first bowl game as a head coach, while Patterson has been here 14 times before (and oddly enough, his first bowl win as TCU coach came in Memphis). That certainly presents an interesting dynamic, especially considering how TCU finished the season (30-6 home loss to Kansas State) and whether or not its motivation level will be high.

But all in all, the Bulldogs seem to be the more reliable pick here. Eason and company have simply been playing better football as of late, and a bowl win would give Georgia a nice spark going into next season.

The Bulldogs force a few turnovers on defense and pull out a victory.

Liberty Bowl Prediction: Georgia 35, TCU 27

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