Staff Predictions For Georgia Tech vs Duke On Saturday Afternoon

Georgia Tech is back home and will face Duke on the Flats. The Yellow Jackets are looking to secure their first conference victory over a rival and get the season turned around. Today we look at how the staff sees the matchup turning out.

Will Savion Riley and Jaylen Mbakwe make a difference?

Georgia Tech received major news on the injury report of players returning, and two in the secondary should make a major difference. Jaylen Mbakwe and Savion Riley will be good to go for Saturday. Both are good tacklers in the open field and make a lot of plays. It will also help out a struggling pass defense that was exposed against Stanford. It should be able to help the Yellow Jackets in defending the run and having more veterans on the back end.

“That's one thing I think we've done a much better job of this year is tackling on the back end from the start of the season than we had in years past. Okay we're still not where we need to be where we want to be but that is something that's improved from previous seasons to start the year, but when you're about 50 % of your unit, I mean that's in their both veteran, experienced guys.

They probably feel like Bach is a little more experienced the position than he is because he's such a veteran type attitude and veteran guy. Still relatively new to the position, I would say, but just that veteran presence out there. Say, I've played a lot of football now. So that's a lot of snaps and a lot of talent and experience that we didn't have out there. All the guys that came in behind him, know, did a good job of filling in,” said Key.

Staff Predictions

After Jackson and I missed our predictions last week vs. Stanford, we are looking to get back on track this week with the game vs. Duke. We both see the game turning out differently on Saturday. One of us will be right, and the other will be wrong.

Jackson Caudell (publisher, 2-2 record)- Georgia Tech 21, Duke 17

The big unknown in this game is the weather. How is that going to impact both of these teams? If there was no weather concern, I think Duke has the better team and the better coaching staff. But the weather is a concern and Duke is already a one dimensional team on offense. If the running game is all Georgia Tech has to stop in a game like this, I think it makes it easier on them. The Yellow Jackets have won five straight vs Duke and are 3-0 against the Blue Devils under Brent Key. Nobody is going to pick Georgia Tech to win on Saturday, but I will take a chance and pick the upset.

Final Score: Georgia Tech 21, Duke 17

Najeh Wilkins (writer, 2-2 record)- Georgia Tech 31, Duke 24

Weather will play a big factor in this game on Saturday and with how it is looking it will be a game more predicated on running the ball. I think that will be advantageous to Duke, who has the No.12 rushing attack in the country, and a running back who is third in rushing this season in Sheppard. Georgia Tech has had struggles defending the run all season and will face the best rushing attack of the year. I think it plays into the favor of the Blue Devils who know how to win these type of games and enforce their will on their opponent.

Final Score: Duke 31, Georgia Tech 24

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