This week's edition of The Opposing 5 breaks down this week's Virginia Tech opponent Georgia Tech. Joining us this week is one of the best ACC people out there, Jeffrey Fann of All Sports Discussion and half of the longest-running ACC podcast through All Sports Discussion.
Jeff is one of the must follows for all ACC fans and we encourage you to give him a follow @TalkinACCSports. While he covers the whole ACC, his first loyalty is to Georgia Tech and is the perfect fit for this week's Q&A.
With that said, here this week's edition of the Opposing 5 with Jeffrey Fann.
1. What is the vibe around the Geoff Collins rebuild among Georgia Tech fans?
Despite the 2-7 record, the vibe is not bad. Most GT fans realized this would be a long difficult transition, and only wanted to see a couple of things this year... that the team got better as the season progressed (they have), and that the team didn't quit, (they haven't). The recruiting class has held together so far too.
2. How has the offense done moving away from the option and what things are holding them back?
Too many things to list... Injuries, talent, new offense, offensive play calling etc etc. Early in the season the team was clearly learning a new offense. The schemes look better now, but talent is either mis-matched to the offense or really young.
There have been glimpses of the potential on offense. Jay Graham is getting more comfortable in the passing game. Jordan Mason is a load at RB, and WR Ahmarean Brown has shown flashes of game breaking speed. He has All-ACC potential.
3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the GT defense?
The defensive line is inexperienced, lacks depth, and is undersized for a power 5 team. The secondary is pretty talented. For a team that has trouble generating a pass rush, the secondary does as good a job as a GT fan can hope.
4. Who are the x-factors for Georgia Tech?
Jay Graham at QB has to play well. 2 weeks ago against Pitt he played so poorly he was benched, but against Uva he had career passing numbers in a close loss.
5. What are the keys to the game for Georgia Tech?
Georgia Tech doesn't have the talent to overcome a lot of mistakes. They have to limit turnovers (especially in the red-zone), and in particular their special teams must play well. FGs have been an adventure and the Jackets seem to give one big return a game.
Prediction
GT is better than their 2-7 record, and is better than early in the year, but so is Virginia Tech. The Hokies seemed to have found their defensive mojo and are better that early in the year too. I don't think GT has won their last game of the year, but they'll need VT's help to pull an upset and VT is starting to play some solid football. It will be competitive, but this feels like a 24-14 VT win.
