Georgia Tech-Kansas: Five Things Tech Fans Want to See in Lawrence on Saturday

Georgia Tech will travel west of the Mississippi River for the first time in the regular season since 2003, when they played BYU.

The Yellow Jackets will go to Lawrence, Kansas to face the Jayhawks and new head coach Turner Gill.

The Gill era did not start off on the right foot, as Kansas lost to FCS North Dakota State, 6-3. Meanwhile, the Jackets took care of business in Atlanta, defeating South Carolina State 41-10 in their opener.

Gill transformed Buffalo from one of the worst programs in the country to a bowl team. After the firing of Mark Mangino, Kansas decided that Gill was the man for the job. While there is a lack of talent on offense after losing quarterback Todd Reesing, the Jayhawks should be solid on the defensive side of the ball.

Tech quarterback Joshua Nesbitt had a huge game last week, rushing for 130 yards along with three touchdowns. Roddy Jones pitched in with two rushing touchdowns, and backup quarterback Tevin Washington had a TD late in the game.

The new 3-4 defense for the Jackets was on display last week. The defense only gave up one touchdown late in the game.

The Jayhawks' new head man should have an idea of how to prepare his defense for Paul Johnson's spread option offense. Gill was an assistant for Nebraska during their dominant run from the mid '90s into the early 2000s. He was the quarterback coach for Tommie Frazier and Eric Crouch.

Georgia Tech would like to be clicking on both sides of the ball before their showdown next week at Chapel Hill.

Starting B-back Anthony Allen had six carries for 28 yards on Saturday. The Bulldogs from South Carolina State were keying on Allen, but teams did that to Jonathan Dwyer, and he still got an abundance of carries.

Allen is a big back that can take the hits and also break free and make some big plays. Most of the carries last week went to Joshua Nesbitt and the A-backs.

The senior had a couple of nice runs last week but never got an opportunity to get going. For the offense to be great, Allen has to be successful.

If Kansas keys on the A-backs and Nesbitt, look for Allen to get more carries. Hopefully, Allen will break out this week against the Jayhawks.

The defensive line was manhandled by a big South Carolina State offensive line. There was no push up front, and SC State was able to run the ball with ease early on. The Bulldogs rushed for 178 yards.

Kansas will also have a big offensive line, averaging 304 pounds. The Jayhawks will have a freshman starting at quarterback and, if they are smart, will look to run the ball behind their big line.

Logan Walls is the nose tackle and is a little undersized. T.J. Barnes is a monster at 6'7", 333 pounds but has not played well enough to crack the starting lineup.

Tech fans hope on Saturday the defensive line will resemble these guys.

Joshua Nesbitt struggled mightily throwing the ball last Saturday. He completed one of six passes for eight yards.

Nesbitt missed high. He missed low. He missed left. He missed right. The senior looked extremely out of sync, and Tech fans hope to see him improve before they open up conference play next week.

They did not take any shots downfield, which was what made the Tech passing game so dangerous last season. The Jackets might just go back to that strategy in the passing game this week.

If the Yellow Jacket offense wants to be as efficient as possible, the passing game must improve quickly.

Stephen Hill is replacing a first round draft pick in Demaryius Thomas. Thomas caught over 50 percent of the Yellow Jackets' receptions last season. Last week, Hill had two receptions for 12 yards, the only two completions of the game.

Simply put, when the ball is thrown, it is probably going to Hill.

The 6'5", 200-pound sophomore has a lot of expectations after the last two No. 1 receivers for the Yellow Jackets were drafted in the first round (Calvin Johnson, Thomas).

If Kansas loads up the box and leaves Hill with one-on-one coverage, he could have a big day. If that happens, it will help Tech fans forget about Thomas.

The rumor is Orwin Smith will be in the starting lineup on Saturday. The sophomore will likely start at A-back over Embry Peeples.

The sophomore was very good last season as the kick returner and saw limited time on offense. Coach Paul Johnson has said many times that he needs to get Smith the ball. He did last week and, apparently, liked what he saw.

Smith is bigger than most of the A-backs at 6'0", 202 pounds. Peeples, at 5'10", 174 pounds, has speed but looked like he was easy to bring down and couldn't shake tackles. However, look for Peeples to contribute in the passing game, as he is the most reliable receiver at A-back.

Fans are excited about Smith, as they should be. He will bring something new to the table at the A-back position.