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an overall feeling of disenchantment with the direction of the program. The Bulldogs finished the regular season at 9-3 and were poised to reach double-digit wins for the 10th time in coach Mark Richt's 15 seasons in Athens. But that wasn't good enough. The Bulldogs had been preseason favorites to win the conference's East Di- vision, and they hadn't come close, losing to Alabama and Florida by a combined margin of 65-13. So on Nov. 30, the veteran coach was dismissed. It was not a surprise. Said Richt, "I think that the expectations have been built to the point where if you don't win a championship, it's kind of miserable around here." Richt initially agreed to coach the Bull- dogs in their bowl game, but Miami (Fla.) had been interested in him even before he was let go, and on Dec. 4 he was hired to coach his alma mater. Georgia named McClendon interim head coach, a move that athletic director Greg McGarity called "the least disruptive option for our players and staff." Three days later, the school hired Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart for the full-time job. Smart won't take over until the Crimson Tide are finished with their season, which might not be until the national champi- onship game on Jan. 11. In the meantime, McClendon is in charge. A 2005 Georgia grad and nine- year member of the staff, he didn't know as of early December whether he was going to be retained after this season, but by holding the team together through a period of upheaval, he's certainly bur- nishing an already impressive resume. "It's not easy," McClendon said. "It's not easy to deal with all the clutter. But one of the things that we talk about is keeping the main thing the main thing. If you keep the main thing the main thing, then all the other things kind of fall into place." Against Penn State, the main thing on offense will likely be to give Michel plenty of cracks at a defense that ranks eighth in the Big Ten against the run. It wouldn't be the first time Georgia took that approach against the Nittany Lions. Maybe he'll have better luck than Herschel Walker did. ■ KEY MATCHUPS PENN STATE RUNNING GAME 135.1 YPG, 4.1 YPC GEORGIA RUN DEFENSE 151.9 YPG, 4.0 YPC THE LOWDOWN Saquon Barkley emerged during the noncon- ference season as Penn State's most dynamic running back, and for the most part, the team's running game has been a one-man show ever since. The true freshman has rushed for 1,007 yards on 165 carries, and his averages of 100.7 yards per game and 6.1 per carry both rank fourth in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions' second leading rush- er is Akeel Lynch with 278 yards on 54 carries (5.1 ypc), but the redshirt junior carried the ball only five times in the last eight games of the regular season. WR Brandon Polk was Penn State's third-leading rusher with 149 yards on 15 carries, while Nick Scott, Mark Allen and Johnathan Thomas combined for 269 yards on 67 carries (3.89 ypc). Georgia's run defense has been solid for most of the 2015 season. The Bulldogs' leading tackler is graduate transfer MLB Jake Ganus with 96 stops, including 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack. Georgia's big-play specialists are junior strongside OLB Leonard Floyd and senior OLB Jordan Jenkins. Floyd is second on the team with 68 tackles, in- cluding 10.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. Jenkins has 56 tackles, including 10.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. The Bulldogs have a number of veterans up front, with senior DT James DeLoach and senior NT Chris Mayes anchoring their three-man front. This will be the first time Penn State has faced a 3-4 defense this season. // KEY MATCHUPS Penn State LT Paris Palmer will face Floyd, while guards Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia will go up against linebackers Ganus and Jenkins. // EDGE EVEN PENN STATE PASSING GAME 208.9 YPG, 13.0 YPC GEORGIA PASS DEFENSE 146.1 YPG, 11.5 YPC THE LOWDOWN This matchup could end up pitting strength against strength. If their passing game can perform the way it did in the :rst half of the Michigan State game, the Nittany Li- ons could have some success against Georgia's top-rated pass defense. Against the Spartans, Christian Hackenberg completed 17 of 27 passes for 166 yards, one TD and one interception in the :rst half. For the season, Hack- enberg has completed 184 of 345 passes (53.3 percent) for 2,386 yards, with 16 TD passes and :ve interceptions. Trace McSorley backs up Hackenberg. Playing in six games during the regular season, he completed 6 of 13 passes for 43 yards. Chris Godwin is Penn State's leading receiver with 63 catches for 968 yards and :ve touchdown catches. DaeSean Hamilton is the team's second-leading receiv- er with 40 catches for 509 yards and :ve TDs. In addition, Barkley is a threat to catch passes out of the back:eld, ranking third on the team with 15 receptions for 148 yards and one TD. Sophomore RS Dominick Sanders leads Georgia with :ve interceptions, and he knows what to do with the ball when he gets his hands on it, having racked up 205 return yards, including an 88-yard touchdown return. Sophomore CB Malkom Parrish is next with two interceptions for 27 yards, W H E N P E N N S T A T E H A S T H E B A L L PENN STATE RUNNING GAME vs. GEORGIA RUN DEFENSE PENN STATE PASSING GAME vs. GEORGIA PASS DEFENSE |

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