Georgia Tech-Middle Tennessee State Preview

Georgia Tech won its second straight game with a dominating win over Virginia last Saturday. This weekend, the Yellow Jackets host the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Senior quarterback Joshua Nesbitt got things going last week against the Cavaliers and led his team down the field at will. However, turnovers and miscues left a few touchdowns on the field for Georgia Tech.

Poor pitches and bad reads have been common so far this season for Nesbitt, but the first team All-ACC quarterback will look to improve on his mistakes in time for the meat of the ACC schedule.

The defense continues to improve in all phases, as they held Virginia to 21 points, seven of them coming in garbage time. It looks like the players are becoming more comfortable in their roles, and they will need to be if they want to contain dynamic quarterback Dwight Dasher.

Dasher came back last week after missing the first four games but couldn't help Middle Tennessee State from losing to Troy 42-17. After going 10-3 last season, the 2-3 record is disappointing for MTSU fans, but with their dual-threat quarterback now in the mix, the Blue Raiders will look to finish strong in the Sun Belt.

Although the performance of the defending ACC champions has been disappointing, the Yellow Jackets are still 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC, the same record at this point last year. Everything is still in front of Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech, but there is a lot of work to do if they want to have a chance against their tougher opponents in the near future.

Anthony Allen finally broke out last week with 195 yards on the ground to go along with three scores. Joshua Nesbitt also had a big game, rushing for over 100 yards.

Tech had 477 yards rushing and over 500 yards of total offense in their 33-21 win at home against Virginia.

Paul Johnson dialed up a couple of pass plays early on to Stephen Hill, which looked to open up the run game for the duration. The new-look offensive line also kept the Virginia defense out of the backfield, an improvement from the previous two weeks.

Don't expect much to change in the Georgia Tech philosophy against MTSU. The Blue Raiders struggle defensively against the run, and the Yellow Jackets will exploit that weakness. Like always, Tech will try to control the clock and keep Dwight Dasher off the field.

The Georgia Tech defense posted its second straight solid performance after getting destroyed against NC State a few weeks ago. Whether or not it's been a product of the competition or actual improvement is yet to be seen.

Outside of a couple big plays, Al Groh's defense held the Cavaliers in check for the entire game. The run defense has been pretty good the last couple of weeks, and the big plays in the passing game have been minimized.

Dwight Dasher will be a tough test this weekend for Tech's defense, but will he have enough playmakers around him to make a difference?

Physically, the Yellow Jackets should have no problem on defense against MTSU. However, blown assignments on defense have been an issue this season, and that takes zero talent.

If MTSU is going to even have a chance against Georgia Tech on Saturday, quarterback Dwight Dasher will have to have a big game.

Dasher is easily the Blue Raiders' best player. He possesses dynamic running ability to go along with a strong arm. In last year's 10-win campaign, Dasher threw for nearly 2,800 yards to go along with over 1,000 yards rushing.

He missed the first four games of this season due to suspension and made his first start of the season in a blowout loss to Troy. Dasher showed a little bit of rust against the Trojans, but he will need to be in midseason form to pull off the upset in Atlanta.

Georgia Tech is excited about where they sit right now. At 3-1 in the ACC, the Yellow Jackets control their own destiny for a return trip to the ACC championship.

With Andre Ellington and Clemson up next for the Yellow Jackets, it could be easy to have a letdown.

Georgia Tech has already been a victim of a letdown this season with their loss at Kansas. Although a loss against Middle Tennessee wouldn't hurt the Yellow Jacket's chances at an ACC title, it would definitely hurt the perception of the team.

Paul Johnson should be able to keep his players focused on Middle Tennessee State and only Middle Tennessee State.

This was an interesting game when the schedule was released, especially after seeing Dasher and the Blue Raiders win 10 games last season. But the Blue Raiders quarterback missed four games and won't be at his best after an injury in the Troy game.

Georgia Tech looks like it has found the combination it was looking for on the offensive line, which opened up huge holes for Anthony Allen last week.

Outside of Dasher, no one should scare the Tech defense. But they have to keep an eye on the dangerous Dasher all day long.

Expect a healthy dose of the usual suspects on offense: Nesbitt, Allen, Roddy Jones, Embry Peeples, Orwin Smith and B.J. Bostic. Middle Tennessee State doesn't have the horses on either side of the ball, and Tech should win on physical superiority alone.

Georgia Tech 41

Middle Tennessee State 17