I was able to sleep peacefully this weekend knowing that we couldn’t lose, but I also missed seeing Haynes King dash across my TV screen. If you feel the same way, you’re in luck, because the #13 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will be back in action at home this weekend against the Virginia Tech Hokies. After a week of rest, the team suits up for four straight weeks of ACC play. In the landscape of college football today, no team can be ignored, and every game matters. The ACC has always been chaotic,
and this year is even more so. Here is what I think I know before we head into this sneaky home matchup to seek revenge from last year.
This defense will be challenged this weekend.
It is hard to wrap my head around how Wake Forest was able to dominate us on the ground just a couple of weeks ago. Running back Demond Claiborne finished with 119 yards, quarterback Robby Ashford had 82 yards rushing, and their offense had 446 total yards. To put things into perspective, Wake Forest only managed 348 yards against Kennesaw State in Week One. There is a lot of work to do on this side of the ball, and this weekend will be a good indication of how effective the bye week preparations were for Blake Gideon’s defense.
Everyone will be ecstatic to hear that our 2023 Bowling Green nightmare fuel is not over, as their bowling ball of a running back has transferred to Virginia Tech. Terion Stewart ran for 138 yards against the Jackets in 2023, and I know he will be determined to recreate this performance. He totaled 174 yards against NC State two weeks ago and had 62 yards with 6.9 yards per carry against Wake Forest this past weekend. He is not the only one to worry about, however, as quarterback Kyron Drones can also run the ball when he wants to. He is a big but speedy guy who has 168 rushing yards on the year so far. Backup running back Marcellous Hawkins is definitely not as talented, but he will still be utilized against our weaker defensive line. He has 282 yards on the year with 5.1 yards per carry. Our rush defense currently sits at 105th in the country, allowing 166.2 yards per game. I, along with everyone else, really want to see these numbers improve. Can we get it together to stop Stewart from running all over us again?
Kyron Drones isn’t just a threat with his legs—when given time in the pocket, he can also flash a strong, accurate arm. Our defensive pressure has been awful this season, and if we let Drones sit back and find his receivers, it could spell trouble. Drones has been very inconsistent throughout the season, so you honestly never really know which version of him you might get. The talent is there, however, which is why I am worried that giving him a lot of time in the pocket will lead to big plays for this Hokie offense. While Virginia Tech may not be a great team right now, they have enough talent to be dangerous down the stretch if their interim coach can turn things around. There cannot be any sleepwalking this weekend.
Virginia Tech fired its head coach after Week Three, which is something we can empathize with Hokie fans about.
After an atrocious start for the Hokies, they fired head coach Brent Pry following a Week Three 45-26 loss to Old Dominion that put them at 0-3. They have been 2-1 since that firing, with wins against Wofford and NC State. The program was taken over by offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, who was the head coach at Tulsa from 2015-2022, and came to Virginia Tech this season after a stint with the Birmingham Stallions in the UFL as their co-offensive coordinator. He is 2-1 in his first three games as head coach, which feels like deja vu for Georgia Tech fans. When Brent Key took over as interim head coach for the Jackets in 2022 after a Week Three loss, he also started 2-1 to open up his tenure. Not only that, but he also beat the 13th-ranked team on the road in his interim year. Let’s hope history does not repeat itself here for the other (lesser) Tech. Montgomery has plenty of experience at the head coaching level, so it will be intriguing to see how this team responds and if they can achieve something this year. They had heart in their NC State win and played a close game against Wake Forest, so I would not count them out against anyone.
Our offense is primed to run the ball… but I think our passing game can take it to the next level.
I touched on this last week, but I really think the Jackets need to focus on the pass game. We are doing enough to get by, but we can do so much more. We have some absolute weapons at this position with Eric Rivers, Isiah Canion, and Malik Rutherford that can slash secondaries. We saw flashes of the explosive passing game against Temple, and it was really exciting to watch. Apparently, I was not the only one with these opinions, as reporters questioned Buster Faulkner on whether or not the offense needs to evolve based on the defensive preparations of our opponents. Every single person has Georgia Tech and Haynes King circled on their schedule, and defensive coordinators are going to be doing everything they can to figure out how to stop King’s rushing attack. We are known for the run game, but I think this offense has so much more potential. Can Faulkner throw off our opponents by taking some shots downfield?
Honing in on this week, Virginia Tech has played two talented dual-threat quarterbacks this season in LaNorris Sellers and Diego Pavia. Sellers only managed 25 yards on the ground in that opening game, and Pavia only had 61 yards rushing. Virginia Tech has done a decent job at stopping the run this season, allowing 130 yards per game. I am definitely intrigued to see what Buster Faulkner prepares to face this defense, especially since I have been a little frustrated with his play-calling this year. I am hoping the bye week allows this offense to get back to its identity (and allows us to never see a screen on fourth and two ever again).
Special teams is doing an excellent job
The special teams side of the ball isn’t flashy, yet we would not be 5-0 without it. To begin, kicker Aidan Birr is having a phenomenal start to the year, as he currently sits at 10/10 on field goals with 51 total points. If he can continue this trend, he will record one of the best seasons in Tech history. Following his standout performance against Wake Forest, he was named the Lou Groza Star of the Week and is rapidly gaining national recognition. As a unit, we are 2/2 on fire drill field goals, which is a testament to what a wonderful job special teams coach Tim Salem is doing. On the other hand, our kickoff return defense has not even had to be tested this season, as almost every single kickoff has resulted in a touchback. In a more fun matter of discussion, Ahmari Harvey has even had a kick returned for a touchdown against Gardner-Webb, making it the first since the Miracle on Techwood Drive in 2015.
It has been a while since we have had any major special teams plunders, so we must count our blessings. Knock on wood, everything has gone quite smoothly this year. Even punter Marshall Nichols is having quite a historic season with an average of 46.8 yards per punt with a long of 64. He even showed off his throwing arm with a fake punt against Wake Forest, which was sadly just a few inches short of a first down. If this unit can keep playing sharp, it will keep paying off. We owe a lot of our success to them!
I must admit, this game terrifies me. This matchup is sandwiched between a big comeback win at Wake Forest, a bye week, and a huge road game at Duke that has major conference championship implications IF we can pull this game off. The Hokies have turned a corner since firing their head coach, and this will be a close, hard-fought game. Let’s hope we can figure out a way to win again.
Go Jackets.
