FPI Predicts Outcome For Georgia Tech's Road Test vs Stanford

Week 4 is here, and Georgia Tech will play its first ACC opponent on the road as they travel to California to face Stanford. The Yellow Jackets are fresh off their first win of the season over the Mercer Bears and are looking to continue their momentum on the road. They are 1-2 and looking to get to .500 for the year.

When we look at the matchup, the Yellow Jackets are slight favorites against Stanford this weekend. ESPN's FPI (Football Power Index) gives Georgia Tech a 67.5% chance to come out with a win on Saturday night. Last week, the Yellow Jackets were being given a 57% chance, and then that changed with Georgia Tech's win over Mercer and Stanford's loss to Duke.

One of the biggest things to watch on Saturday night is the offensive line and how it will look, especially with all the injuries.

How healthy is the offensive line?

One of the biggest questions coming into this game is the offensive line, and with the injuries last week with Ethan MacKenny and Jameson Riggs out, the Yellow Jackets had to start new players getting their first career start with the Yellow Jackets. Jordan Floyd and Will Reed got starts vs Mercer. Will Georgia Tech trot out the same five or will they get healthy on the offensive line vs Stanford.

"No, I mean, you had a lot of new faces in there. A lot. And, you know, anytime you're down, you know, three starters on the O-line. that's early in the season. It's got to be the next man up. I'll watch the tape and see. There were some times I thought we could have sustained longer. Some things on some angles of plays where there might be a vertical inside zone play and we might have gotten too wide and allowed the backer to fall back on us. That was definitely happening early. But all in all, we were able to have a productive day on offense. And it always starts and stops with the guys up front. But, you know, we got a lot of work to do.

We do. I thought they put a lot of work in this week. And I was glad Jordan Floyd got his first start. Will Reed got his first start here. You know, Joe went down in the game and Markell went in at guard and played a lot of meaningful snaps today. So, you know, got to get guys healthy. Got to get them back. But until we do, it's the next guy up,” said Key.

For the offense to have success, you need the offensive line to play at a high level and for it to be able to create lanes in the running game. While Georgia Tech did get back on track and put up 44 points, they still haven’t been consistently getting the push they are looking for with only 54 rushing yards in the first half vs Mercer.

While Stanford is in a rebuild, Georgia Tech still needs to impose its will. A concerning stat is that the Yellow Jackets don’t have a single player with a 70 or better run-blocking grade, per Pro Football Focus. 70 is the number that coincides with a starter and someone who is performing at a high level. The highest grade on the offensive line in run blocking comes from Kevin Peay Jr, who has a 64.4 run block grade. Saturday will be another test to see where they are and if they can take a step forward there.

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