What To Watch For Vs. Virginia Tech

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-7, 1-5) are now officially done with the road portion of their 2019 campaign, concluding it with a hard fought 33-28 loss to the Virginia Cavaliers (7-3, 5-2) at Scott Stadium. Hoping to end on a more positive note for the Yellow Jacket faithful, Tech will conclude the 2019 season with a three game home stand at Bobby Dodd Stadium, starting with the Virginia Tech Hokies (6-3, 3-2) this Saturday at 3:30pm.

Heading into their matchup, the Hokies might hold the all-time series record against the Yellow Jackets at 9-7, but recent history favors Georgia Tech. The Ramblin' Wreck is currently riding a 3 game win streak over Virginia Tech, and have won 4 of the last 5. Here's what to watch for as Tech hopes to extend their Battle of the Techs win streak:

Quarterback Of The Defense

Tech has faced some aggressive and intimidating defensive fronts in recent weeks, having to lineup against Miami, Pitt and Virginia in back-to-back-to back weeks. Nationally, all three are top 10 in sacks and top 25 in tackles for loss, but against the Hokies, the Yellow Jackets will face arguably on of the most intimidating individuals all season. Mike linebacker Rayshard Ashby is one of the most intimidating inside presences in all of the ACC. At 5' 10", the junior from Chesterfield, VA is the shortest LB on the roster, but his 237 pound frame packs a punch. His 87 tackles ranks 20th in the nation and 3rd in the conference, and his 45 solo tackles would rank 5th on the Virginia Tech defense in total tackles. Oh, and he also has 13.0 tackles for loss to boot, good for 17th best in the nation.

Lockdown Corners

Aside from Ashby, the Hokies defense also has a deadly 1-2 punch at cornerback. Sophomore Jermaine Waller and redshirt sophomore Caleb Farley have both snagged 3 interceptions a piece in 2019, tying for second in the ACC behind only Wake Forest's Amari Henderson's 4. However, Farley does take the top spot in the conference in pass break ups, swatting away 11 total passes for a league-best 14 pass defenses.

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Surging Offense

In retrospect, the Hokies didn't have the best start to 2019. They started 2-2 on the year, including a 45-10 beatdown at home to Duke, and barely squeaking out a win over FCS Furman. But since then, Virginia Tech is 5-1 on the season, pulling within 1 point of Notre Dame in South Bend in their lone loss during that stretch. A key part of the offensive resurgence has been the play of QB Hendon Hooker. Since being inserted under center halfway through 2019, he is 4-0 as starter, completing 59.8% of his passing and throwing for 814 yards and 7 touchdowns in his 4 starts. Like James Graham and Ahmarean Brown, he's developed chemistry with wide receiver Damon Hazelton. In his last 4 games, Hazelton has 5 receiving touchdowns on 20 receptions & 285 yards. The redshirt junior's 6 total receiving touchdowns is also 1/3 of Virginia Tech's total.

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