SB Nation's own Georgia Tech site From The Rumble Seat was kind enough to answer some questions with us about Monday's Independence Bowl matchup.
1. With Josh Nesbitt very unlikely to play in the bowl game with his broken arm, so how does his replacement Tevin Washington compare to Nesbitt.
They are different players for sure. While Nesbitt will forever be our warrior and leader, Tevin Washington has proven to be a competent back-up and has given us reason for hope in the 2011 season. Tevin's first real playing experience came after Nesbitt broke his arm against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on a Thursday night. Washington was poised and confident and kept us in the game. He's had multiple years to understand Paul Johnson's system and we believe he will be just fine.
2. Since both teams run the option do you expect the offenses to struggle some in running the ball since they practice against the option all the time.
Honestly, who knows? Georgia Tech has yet to play a team that has run any option-based offense so this is definitely going to be a treat for Georgia Tech fans.3. Paul Johnson owned Air Force during his tenure at Navy losing only one game, do you think his familiarity will Air Force is a large advantage.
The only people that have really circled this game are Air Force fans looking for retribution against one of CPJ's worst teams since 2001. I think Air Force's team will be motivated enough playing in front of a large AFA partisan crowd against an AQ opponent.4. The passing game could be key since both teams like to lure in the defenses and then throw deep is Tevin Washington able to throw the deep ball if needed.
This is an area that Tevin has definitely struggled. Thus far, we haven't seen a consistent deep in his relatively short career. And Tech fans generally agree that the more efficient passing game will win this bowl game considering both teams will have a great deal of expertise in stopping the option.5. Who do you think wins and why?
We're giving Tech the edge because we've been embarrassed in both bowls under CPJ and he'd like to clear up some of the dirt on his GT resume. Tech also hasn't had a losing record since 1995 and CPJ surely doesn't want to be the coach who breaks the streak considering we just fired a coach for consistently producing 7-win squads.
6. Just for fun. How long do you think this game will last?
It will be the quickest game of bowl week. Navy vs. Air Force went for 2 hours and 41 minutes. Let's shoot for 2 hours 30 minutes.