TaxSlayer Bowl Preview: Penn State vs Georgia

As the 2015-2016 bowl season comes to a close Saturday, college football fans will get to see two historic programs go head to head in the TaxSlayer Bowl. The Penn State Nittany Lions bring a 7-5 record in to Jacksonville as they face the 9-3 Georgia Bulldogs in a rematch of the 1982 National Championship. Both programs will be looking to win their second consecutive bowl game, as Penn State won the Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College and Georgia won in the 2014 Belk bowl against Louisville.

As with most bowl games, NFL scouts will be closely watching as the NFL’s future stars play in what could be their last college game. Most notably in that category is Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg, who was once considered to be worth the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. Unfortunately, the combination of a bad offensive line and a lack of accuracy has left Hackenberg’s draft stock in question.

For Georgia, the dominating pass rush of Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd will be on display against a horrid Penn State offensive line, which has allowed 39 sacks this year. They will also have to be watching for freshman sensation Saquon Barkley juking and jumping his way around the field.

NFL Mocks’ resident Georgia fan, Matthew Holowiak, gives his take on this bowl matchup and what Georgia will have to do to pull out a win against the Nittany Lions:

"Should be an interesting game for sure. Quincy Mauger is going to have to be on point in reading Hackenberg, but the big test will be the pass rush. If they can get pressure early it will make things much easier for that Bulldog defense. For the Bulldogs it will be on the shoulders of Sony Michel and Malcolm Mitchell to lead the offense. The offense has had its struggles, but Michel has the talent to blow this game wide open"

In the SEC/Big 10 battle, expect a hard-fought game from both sides. The Bulldogs will have to use that great pass rush to shut down Christian Hackenberg and Saquon Barkley early if they want to come out with a victory.

Penn State’s defense, lead by the nations sack leader Carl Nassib, will have to step up in order to shut down a Georgia team that converts for over 380 yards a game. Nassib’s fellow defensive lineman Anthony Zettel and Austin Johnson will also have to prove why they’re considered strong NFL draft prospects as we look forward to the April draft.

Ultimately, this game is going to come down to the wire. I expect Georgia to come out on top 26-23 and take home the TaxSlayer Bowl. This Georgia team is just too strong for a rebuilding Penn State team to handle and despite not having Nick Chubb, they will be able to score points on the Nittany Lions defense.