Ga. Tech, MSU clash in bowl

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott (15) throws during practice at Barry University, Monday in Miami Shores, Fla. Mississippi State will face Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game on New Year's Eve

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Georgia Tech is all about the run. Mississippi State is all about stopping the run.

That’s the matchup that will likely decide who wins the Orange Bowl on tonight, when the Yellow Jackets (10-3) take on the Bulldogs (10-2) in an absolute clash of styles.

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No. 10 Georgia Tech has the nation’s second-ranked rushing offense. No. 8 Mississippi State has held seven of its 12 opponents under 125 yards on the ground.

“We’re going to do what we do and they’re going to do what they do,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “It’s going to be a big challenge for both teams, I think. And it’ll probably end up somewhere in the middle.”

There are some similarities between the teams as well, including that both are trying to put aside some late disappointment.

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Georgia Tech had Florida State in trouble at the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, before losing by two points in yet another one that the Seminoles found a way to win this season. Mississippi State reached No. 1 in the country this year, with the Bulldogs looking like a team that could win the Southeastern Conference, and was on course to head to the inaugural College Football Playoff.

But in the end, there was no conference title for either.

For someone, winning the Orange Bowl will just have to do.

“We’ve just got to come out and start off fast,” Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott said. “Every game of the season we’ve started off fast we’ve done really well, set the tempo and made the other team play our style, and just have to do the same with Georgia Tech, get up on them and make them play from behind.”