Seven years.
That’s how long it has been since Tech has gotten a win in one of the oldest rivalries in college football. For five years, Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate was a one-sided affair. The narrowest margin of victory for u[sic]Ga was 23 points, and the Jackets were held to seven points or fewer in three of the five games. However, things began to turn last year. Even though u[sic]Ga came into the matchup down three of its five best receivers and without its starting offensive line, they should have been able to put up a better effort in the first half. Tech held a 10-7 lead with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter because u[sic]Ga looked timid early. The Jackets’ run game — namely the redshirt junior duo of quarterback Haynes King and running back Jamal Haynes — found success on the ground against one of the best run defenses in the country. u[sic]Ga ended up scoring 24 unanswered points as the Jackets misfired in the red zone and their defense ran out of steam.
Today, the Jackets are much better equipped to match strength with strength.
The task ahead of them shouldn’t be sugar coated. The quarterback situation is currently a mystery – it’ll be either King, freshman quarterback Aaron Philo or some mix of both. u[sic]Ga’s defense is formidable – they are 14th in third down defense, 17th in PPG allowed, 27th in passing yards, 30th in sacks and 15th in turnover defense. One possible area of exploitation is their run defense. They are 38th in run defense and missed plenty of tackles against the UMass Minutemen, who ran for 226 rushing yards.
Tech’s rushing offense is 39th in the country, 37th in yards per carry and 23rd in rushing touchdowns per game. A critical component of that prowess is King’s ability as a runner. If he can’t play, the bulk of the workload falls on Haynes and a solid complement in senior Trey Cooley, sophomore Chad Alexander and freshman Anthony Carrie. Should the running lanes close for Tech, they’ll have to lean on the arm of Philo. The freshman has looked much better than his inexperience would suggest. He finished with a stellar 93.7 PFF grade for his performance against Miami, likely belied by throws like a 3rd and 18 heave to redshirt freshman receiver Bailey Stockton for the first down. Even though u[sic]Ga’s secondary is only 103rd in the country in terms of interceptions, Philo will have to be smart with the ball. But he still needs to be aggressive against this secondary for the Jackets to pull out the win.
Arguably the biggest difference between last year and tonight is the Jackets’ defense. They are 32nd in the country in run defense, but they did not play like it against NC State, North Carolina and Notre Dame. u[sic]Ga is coming into this game with some injuries at running back. Nate Frazier, a true freshman, is expected to take on the bulk of the carries after a three-touchdown performance against UMass. Still, it’s possible that the Jackets could slow down the young back with sound tackling and sticking to their gap assignments. Regardless, it’s going to be another tough test for the front four to meet. Defensive ends like redshirt junior Romello Height and redshirt senior Sylvain Yondjouen are going to have to set a good edge. On the interior, the senior duo of Makius Scott and Zeek Biggers have a tough matchup in u[sic]Ga center Jared Wilson and right guard Dylan Fairchild.
To win this game, the Jackets will need to do three things. First, they’ll have to force u[sic]Ga quarterback Carson Beck into some ill-advised throws that end up in the hands of their DBs. Secondly, they’ll need to limit u[sic]Ga’s running game. Sophomore linebacker Kyle Efford has done an excellent job of coordinating Tech’s run defense – it needs to continue in the hostile environment of Sanford Stadium. Finally, they’ll need to execute in the red zone. Last year, Tech lost momentum because they had to settle for field goals. That cannot continue tonight.
Tech fans have waited seven years for the chance to realistically play spoiler. With the eyes of the nation on them, it’s up to the Jackets to turn those hopes into a new chapter of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.