Georgia Tech vs Boston College: Three Things to Watch for

What are the keys for Georgia Tech to beat Boston College on Saturday?

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Oct 20, 2023 3:00 PM EDT

In this story:

Georgia Tech (3-3) starts the second half of their season tomorrow when they take on Boston College (3-3) at home. The Yellow Jackets and Eagles are going to be playing in one of the ACC's most under the radar games this weekend and both teams are capable of scoring points.

Georgia Tech had an insane win over Miami when we last saw them and they will look to carry the momentum created by the win and help them through the rest of the season. Boston College has won two in a row and has bounced back nicely since losing to Northern Illinois in the opening game and the Eagles almost pulled a massive upset earlier in the year against Florida State. Starting quarterback Thomas Castellanos has emerged as one of the top running threats in the conference and has become the identity of the Eagles offense.

So who wins this game and what are the key matchups? Let's take a look at the things to watch for in tomorrow's game.

1. Can Georgia Tech contain Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos?

Boston College has the second-best rushing offense in the ACC, running for 192.7 yards per game and a big reason for that is quarterback Thomas Castellanos. Castellanos has emerged as a true dual-threa quarterback and is the 4th leading rusher in the ACC coming into this game (500 yards and seven touchdowns).

The run defense has been the biggest issue for Georgia Tech this season and although they were a little better against Miami, the Yellow Jackets still have the worst run defense in the ACC, giving up 220 YPG. Castellanos is one of the top running quarterbacks in the country and Georgia Tech is going to have to tackle well tomorrow and stay disciplined in their run fits or Castellanos can take over the game.

2. Can Georgia Tech expose the Boston College secondary?

On the surface, you might think that Boston College has a good secondary, as the Eagles are 6th in the ACC in passing yards allowed. Look a bit deeper and you will see that Boston College has only played two teams that have good passing attacks.

Florida State and Louisville represent the only two passing attacks that are above average that Boston College has played. Louisville's Jack Plummer threw for nearly 400 yards and five touchdowns against the Eagles earlier this season and while Florida State did not have the same amount of success, they were still effective. The other four teams that Boston College has played are Northern Illinois, Holy Cross, Virginia, and Army and none of those teams have a competent passing attack.

Georgia Tech is 4th in the ACC in passing yards per game (275.2) and quarterback Haynes King is tied for the ACC lead in passing touchdowns. Georgia Tech is going to have opportunities against this passing defense and they will need to take advantage.

3. Can Georgia Tech win as a favorite?

After beating Miami a couple of weeks ago, Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key moved to 3-0 against ranked ACC teams on the road, quite the accomplishment for someone who has been the head coach for 14 games. An interesting note about those three games is that Georgia Tech was a three-touchdown underdog in all of those games. Key has a reputation for playing well as an underdog, winning them outright or covering a big spread, but he has only won once as a favorite and failed to cover any game as a favorite.

That is going to be one of the big questions this week for the Yellow Jackets, as they are 4.5-point favorites this weekend against Boston College.

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