Orange Bowl Early Preview – (7) Mississippi State Faces (12) Georgia Tech

Orange Bowl: Sun Life Stadium, Miami (Dec. 31, 8:00 p.m. Eastern)

(7) Mississippi State Bulldogs (-6.5, 61.5 o/u) vs. (12)  Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Going back to Florida in bowl season is just fine for Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen (who coached the Gators from 2005 to 2008). Though his No. 7-ranked Bulldogs (10-2) did not qualify for the inaugural College Football Playoff (after being ranked first for much of the year), they will have the chance to cap off a historic season for the school against the No. 12 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-3) in the Orange Bowl.

“When I took over at Mississippi State there were a lot of people doubting what we could do, what we could accomplish,” Mullen said. “What an unbelievable reward it is for us to come and get to play in one of the most prestigious bowls there [is]. I think it’s lifted everybody up to a whole new level. [There’s] a new set of expectations at Mississippi State University now and for the future.”

As for Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson, the bowl game acts as a great measuring stick for his Yellow Jackets, who have seemingly been underdogs all season long.

“We took kind of an indirect route here this time, but we’re excited to be here,” said Johnson. “We’re excited to play a team the caliber of Mississippi State from the SEC. What Dan has accomplished there, it’s really amazing when you think about it. He does a tremendous job and this is a tremendous football team, so we know we’ll have a big challenge.”

That challenge includes containing Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott, who leads the ninth-ranked offense in the country (506 yards per game). The one-time Heisman hopeful is just as dangerous passing as he is running. This isn’t news to Johnson.

“Their quarterback may be bigger than our defensive linemen, so we’ll have to figure out a way to get him down. He’s quite the player. I was joking with somebody earlier, we probably have to stack [our quarterback] Justin [Thomas] up twice to get up to him,” said the coach.

As far as Georgia Tech’s offense, success comes on the ground. The Yellow Jackets average more than 333 rushing yards per game, and have three players with over 700 yards on the season: Thomas (the QB), plus running backs Zach Laskey and Synjyn Days.

The trio led Georgia Tech to the ACC title game against Florida State. The Jackets were 4.5-point dogs, but hung tough with the undefeated Noles, narrowly falling 37-35.

Considering both squads boast high-producing offenses, the smart money will be on the over (61.5).

(Photo credit: Brooke Novak from Atlanta, Georgia (midtown|westside) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)