Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech Preview

Two Techs enter. One leaves victorious. That’s the guarantee against Georgia Tech, as the Hokies try to forget Boston College. Last Thursday, VA Tech snatched defeat from the jaws of victory; can they turn it around in the Tech Bowl? Let’s take a look at the opponent:

GEORGIA TECH (5-3, 2-3 ACC)

Offense

There aren’t a whole lot of offenses in the nation that rely on one player more than the Yellow Jackets with Tashard Choice. Coming in to this Thursday, GT’s rush offense is 13^th in the nation, and the pass offense is 107^th. Choice is by far the workhorse among the running backs, leading the ACC at 108 yards per game. That’s why the GT attack should be so benign without him. At press time, word on the e-street was that Choice would definitely miss this weekend’s contest. For some reason, I’m not convinced. The senior running back has never missed a game since he transferred to Atlanta from Oklahoma three years ago. Furthermore, despite his apparent absence, Las Vegas still has GT listed as a 2.5 point favorite, which would be almost inconceivable were he not in uniform. Confused? Me too.

Regardless, other offensive weapons will have to step up; as good as Choice has been, the 2-3 ACC record shows that he can’t carry Tech all by himself. One option is career backup, senior RB Rashaun Grant, who has shown promise this year, gaining 231 yards on just 39 carries. Grant is a fifth-year senior that, at the very least, will know where the holes are supposed to be, and shouldn’t make a ton of mental mistakes. He picked up 119 yards on just 11 carries against Army, so the explosiveness seems to be there. Freshmen Jonathan Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt represent the backfield of the future, and both average over 25 yards per game.

Those Tech fans hoping the QB situation would dramatically improve with Reggie Ball moving on to greener pastures have been left wanting in 2008. GT is a startling 113^th nationally in pass efficiency, and despite some good outings from Taylor Bennett, has been crippled offensively by its one way limitations. Bennett’s best game of the year was a 22-34 for 309 outing against Maryland, but even then, the junior couldn’t led his team to victory. Any running back that plays will be a better offensive option than Bennett and the passing game so, as usual, the key for Tech on defense is to swallow the run game and force Bennett to beat them. He can’t.

No GT receiver is in the ACC’s top 12 in receptions or yards per game, so there’s probably not a whole lot to fear here. Sophomore wideout Greg Smith and freshman WR Demaryius Thomas are the 1-2 punch, both averaging between 3-3.2 catches and 40-50 yards per game. The two young guns can hurt the Hokies, but they won’t beat them. Up front, Georgia Tech sports an impressive offensive line that has given Bennett every chance to succeed this year. The Ramblin’ Wreck is a killer across the front five; 4 of the 5 o-line starters began the year with 26 consecutive starts. Even though the unit has been beset my some injuries, including a recent one to right guard Nate McManus, they’re still great. The unit has allowed Bennett to be put on his back just six times in eight games, good for 3^rd best nationally.

Defense

The Wreck defense has kept GT in games even when the offense wasn’t clicking, and is easily the strength of the team. There’s balance here, too; Tech boasts the nation’s 6^th best rushing D and its 34^th best passing D. GT is 1^st in the ACC in both yards allowed and points allowed.

The defensive front four has been just as dominant as Tech’s offensive line. Opposing QBs have gone down in heaps this season, as the Yellow Jackets have sacked signal callers 3.63 times per game this year, good for 4^th nationally. That’s a net gain of 3 sacks per game over their opponents; it’s a big number, and so is their 9.50 TFL average, 2^nd nationally. VT absolutely must keep this swarming crew out of the backfield. Tech has three of the ACC’s top 12 sackmeisters; junior DL Vance Walker, senior LB Philip Wheeler and senior DL Darrell Robertson. All three are deadly in opposing backfields.

If VT can cross the line of scrimmage, there’s hope for success, but Tech boasts playmakers at several positions in the back 7 as well. At DB, freshman Morgan Burnett is looking like a possible future star; with 30 tackles on the year, and 3 picks in GT’s last five games, Burnett is quickly becoming a fixture on opposing coaches’ game plans. Shane Bowen is another young player with talent to burn. The sophomore LB is improving a lot on the job in his first starting year, with 4 TFL and 3 sacks. Senior LB Gary Guyton is a leader on the unit, with 45 tackles and 12 TFL; junior DL Darryl Richard has 4 sacks.

Special Teams

Senior Travis Bell will be an all-ACC kicker after the season is over. Bell has hit 17 of 20 FGs on the year for a smashing 85% accuracy mark. Bell has been doin’ it for four years in Atlanta, and if you throw out his awful sophomore slump, the career numbers are excellent: 44 of 55 on 3-pointers. If Choice is out, punter Durant Brooks will have to be a weapon and, to date, the senior has been up to the task. Brooks’ average is 45.22 yards per kick, good for 7^th nationally.

Pick

The BC loss was such a gut-wrencher that it’ll take a very special week of focus, intensity and practice to exorcise the ghosts from that one. GT’s defense is every bit as solid as the Virginia Tech side, but without as many SportsCenter highlights. If Choice is out, how successful will the VT D be at completely crushing the GT run game so that Bennett has to beat them? It’ll be close either way, but I think Georgia Tech comes in rested off its bye week and secures a win. Yellow Jackets, by a nose. Georgia Tech 20, Virginia Tech 17.