Georgia Tech vs Virginia Tech: Official Game Prediction
The last month of the college football season is upon yes (yes seriously) and some teams are getting to the finish line better than others. In the game between Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, both teams are just hoping that they can get there.
The Yellow Jackets, fresh off of a 41-16 beatdown at the hands of Florida State, will be hopefully getting quarterback Jeff Sims back. During his media availability for the week, Georgia Tech interim head coach Brent Key gave an update on Sims and it sounded optimistic in terms of him being able to play:
"Jeff was out there practicing, full go. Every team period, 7-on-7's, good to go. Same with Zach, good to go. We are preparing all of those guys to be able to go and play in the game, really no different than any week and if something is to occur between now and then, one of the two, the other one would have to play. But right now, we are full board with Jeff being the quarterback."
Quarterback Jeff Sims might be able to return for Georgia Tech this week
The offense would certainly welcome back Sims. While this has been a bad year on offense all around for Georgia Tech, there is a noticeable difference in what the offense is able to do against the defense. Key talked about that as well and the different ways that Sims does that:
"Any time that you have the element of option, whether it is designed quarterback run or the element of option, it takes one person out of the equation. There is one person to read and that is as old school as football is. An option is the great equalizer and the beauty of having... of having Jeff in there is that he is the eliminator of one play, when you run the read option or the types of bluff options that we have in the plan. So you take one guy totally out of the equation, now you start talking about perimeter and whether it is him or the running back affecting the perimeter, you know, sideline to sideline and not playing in the phone booth. Well, now you start doing that and the edge blitzers and those run blitzes start to become wider, well now you have eliminated someone out of the play, the blitzes become wider and more spread out. Well what does that open up inside? Now it opens up the inside run lanes and the holes in there and that is what I was talking about, you either have to move people horizontally or you have to move them vertically off the football. So, creating those lanes and creating those spaces with Jeff is obviously a huge advantage for us."
Against Virginia and Florida State, the running game did not do well. Both Hassan Hall and Dontae Smith have been unable to get anything going on the ground and some of that is due to the offensive line. Virginia Tech sports the 5th best run defense in the ACC, so that will be a challenge for Georgia Tech.
Wide receiver E.J. Jenkins had his best game of the season against Florida State
The passing game has been one of the worst in the country for much of the season, but there were some highlights from the game last week. E.J. Jenkins had perhaps his best game of the season and Nate McCollum remains consistent. Outside of those two guys, however, there has not been any consistency. Virginia Tech is among the worst in the ACC in pass defense (9th), but that does not necessarily mean Georgia Tech is equipped to take advantage. Georgia Tech's passing game is by far the worst in the ACC.
Georgia Tech's offensive line has been a massive issue.
The biggest cause of concern (like it is every week) is the offensive line. Georgia Tech has gotten dominated along the lines of scrimmage each week and that has caused the offense to suffer, from the running game to the quarterbacks throwing the ball. Virginia Tech is 12th in the ACC in sacks, but Virginia was not ranked highly in that category either in that matchup and they got eight against the Yellow Jackets. If Virginia Tech is able to do what the other teams have, Georgia Tech is probably going to lose. They can't be dominated along the lines of scrimmage if they hope to have a chance.
While Georgia Tech has struggled on offense, Virginia Tech is not exactly lighting up the scoreboard. That will be helpful for a defense that gave up over 600 yards of offense to Florida State.
Marshall transfer quarterback Grant Wells has struggled in his first season as the Hokies starting quarterback. He has nearly 1,700 yards passing with eight touchdowns and seven touchdowns and is completing nearly 59% of his passes. It is the 12th-ranked passing offense in the ACC and Georgia Tech has done well against poor offenses.
Grant Wells has had a tough first season as the Virginia Tech quarterback
The running game for Virginia Tech has been dreadful. They rank 13th in the ACC in rushing offense and according to PFF (Pro Football Focus), the offensive line has a 46.7 grade and that is dreadful. The defensive line and linebackers for Georgia Tech are going to have an advantage in this game and they need to play like it.
The tackling is going to have to be much better than it was against Florida State. Both Charlie Thomas and Ace Eley had problems with missed tackles and Georgia Tech is not talented enough to overcome poor games from their defensive leaders like that.
The secondary is going to have to do better in one-on-one matchups than they did against Florida State. The wide receiver to watch on Virginia Tech is Kaleb Smith, who has 31 catches for 569 yards and three touchdowns while averaging over 18 yards per catch. He has nearly 400 more yards than the next receiver and is the main threat that Georgia Tech needs to stop.
The Yellow Jackets' defense has an advantage in this game over Virginia Tech's offense and they need to prevent any big plays. Wells has a penchant for turning the ball over and the Yellow Jackets need to take advantage of that and force him into mistakes.
How to Watch Georgia Tech At Virginia Tech
Who: Georgia Tech At Virginia Tech
When: 12:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
TV: ACC Regional Sports Network (RSN)
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
Betting odds per SI Sportsbook: Virginia Tech -3; Over/under 40.5; Moneyline: Virginia Tech -161, Georgia Tech +125
RADIO:
Georgia Tech Sports Network
• Play-by-Play: Andy Demetra
• Analyst: Joe Hamilton
• Analyst: Brandon Joseph
• In Atlanta: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan
• Across Georgia: Visit RamblinWreck.com for station affiliate list
• Satellite: SiriusXM 387 / SiriusXM app 977
• Mobile Apps: GT Yellow Jackets, 680 The Fan, TuneIn
• Online: RamblinWreck.com, 680TheFan.com
Prediction
Can Georgia Tech snap a two-game losing streak against Virginia Tech?
Georgia Tech enters this matchup on a two-game losing streak against Virginia Tech. However, the Yellow Jackets have won the last three in Blacksburg and three of the last five matchups between the two teams.
Both teams enter the game coming off of tough losses and on paper, they both appear similar. Virginia Tech struggles on offense but is above average on defense. The same goes for Georgia Tech. I think that this game is going to be a rock fight that is going to be determined by which offense can avoid the mistakes and the turnovers and that is one thing that Georgia Tech does.
With Sims back, I think that will give the offense enough of a boost with the things that he can do on the ground. Expect a low-scoring game and the Yellow Jackets to get a road win against Virginia Tech.
Final Score: Georgia Tech 17, Virginia Tech 13
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