Georgia Tech Football

So, it only seems like just yesterday that we were staring at the beginning of a brand new College Football season. If, like me, you kept up with the NFL over the offseason, the lockout talks and the lack of general football news made the anticipation for any football greater than ever. 

Now, we are staring down Week 7 of the College Football season, and we've had many unexpected outcomes for the season.

This is just as prevalent for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, who, after beginning the season unranked and garnering just one vote (No. 25) in the coaches poll for the preseason, are now ranked No. 12 in the nation after shooting up the polls with multiple dominant victories. At this point however, we are going to take a moment to reflect on the season so far and give out a few rewards to some of the players that have set themselves apart from the pack. 

A Look Back at the Games

There may not be a single team in the FBS that started as quickly as the Jackets. And a favorable schedule helped to set that up. Starting with a Thursday night game against FCS foe Western Carolina, the Jackets blasted off their 2011 campaign with a huge win, beating the Catamounts 63-21 and racking up their highest yardage total since 2000. 

Little did the Jacket faithful know that this performance would be followed up with two more dominating victories, one against Middle Tennessee State and a record setting 66-24 win over Kansas, exorcising some of the demons of the previous year.

At this point, the conference schedule began in earnest for the Jackets, giving them eight straight ACC games before matching up against the Bulldogs in November. And perhaps the toughest test of the season came in the first of these matchups against a renewed UNC team. The Jackets grinded out a gritty 35-28 victory that showed us they could win the tough matchups in this season. 

Not to be outdone, their next two opponents, NC State and Maryland, tried to pull the upset against the Jackets, but neither prevailed, as the Jackets reached the midseason point sitting at 6-0 and Bowl Elligible for the season.

Offensive MVP: Tevin Washington

While it would be easy to sit and gripe about the lack of offensive execution in the previous two games, Tevin Washington has quickly established himself as the offensive leader of this team.  After spending the offseason listening to many fans yell for exciting true freshman Vad Lee to play, Washington came in and instantly quelled those complaints, showing solid touch in the passing game and an ability to effectively distribute the ball on offense. 

Honorable Mention: Stephen Hill, Orwin Smith, Omoregie Uzzi

Defensive MVP: Julian Burnett

While some may argue with this notion, I personally feel that if you are going to have success in the 3-4 defense, you must field a good middle linebacker. Julian Burnett has filled that role admirably for the Jackets.

After losing Brad Jefferson to graduation last year, many feared that the 2011 Jackets defense would lack a true leader in the middle. Burnett made sure those were unrealized fears, as he has been a constant force for the defense, constantly flying to the ball and making consistent plays in the backfield.

Honorable Mention: Jeremiah Attaochu, Isaiah Johnson

There it is. Your review for the first half of the 2011 Georgia Tech Football season.  And if the Georgia Tech faithful have their way, there will be much more of this where it originally came from. Keep an eye out for my preview of the second half of the 2011 season for the Jackets.

In Week 6, the 5-0 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets return home to Bobby Dodd Stadium to take on the up and down Maryland Terrapins. This will be Maryland's first true road game of the season, as they begin a stretch of three very difficult games, facing ACC powers Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Florida State in consecutive games. 

Meanwhile, the Yellow Jackets enter their own stretch, as they will face back to back road games after this at Virginia and Miami before returning home for the much anticipated Homecoming matchup against Clemson. The game this week should prove to be an entertaining one, and here are some things that will play to the Yellow Jackets' advantage.

No. 1

The Maryland Defense is still beat up. On the weekly injury report that is released by teams before each game, Maryland is currently missing seven defensive players that are guaranteed to be out for this game.  What's worse is that three of those are linebackers, while three others are d-linemen. 

It can be rehashed time and time again, but the bottom line is that without depth in the front seven, teams are naturally going to struggle against the triple option run attach of Georgia Tech.  Add in the fact that their playmaking heart and soul on defense, Kenny Tate, is doubtful to play this week as well, and this could be a disaster in the making for the Maryland defense.

No. 2

Maryland sophomore signal-caller Danny O'Brien is still struggling.  It's been a surprising season for the former Freshman of the Year, as he has struggled tremendously in both redzone situations, and in passing efficiency, throwing just four touchdowns to five interceptions. 

Some of this can be attributed to injuries in the WR corps, but he will have to play better in order for the Terrapins to have a chance

No. 3

The GT offense clicks again.  One of the main things that Paul Johnson could be heard complaining about after last week's poor execution was a lack of effort in practice. This week, however, he says there have been none of those issues. 

We've all seen what the GT offense can do when playing at its highest potential (ask Kansas, they found out the hard way), and unless a team can slow down this offense enough, they will be tough to beat

It is interesting to note that when Georgia Tech scores more than 30 points under Paul Johnson, the Jackets are currently an incredible 21-1 over his four-year tenure, with the only loss coming in 2010 to UGA, where the Jackets scored 34 points. 

As long as the turnover bug doesn't bite the Jackets in a major way, expect the Jackets to have enough offensive firepower to keep a good distance in this game.

Final Prediction:   

Georgia Tech 48, Maryland 24

Let's not put the delusions of last year behind us:  Georgia Tech struggled on offense in 2010.  Maybe not struggled in the sense that the rushing attack ever had huge problems, but in so many different ways, the offense failed to perform to the high standards of Coach Paul Johnson. 

The poor pass efficiency, the lackluster effort by the players, the Red Zone turnovers; all of this led to a poor season in Paul Johnson's third year at GT, and to a huge disappointment coming off an ACC Championship season. 

Some of this can be placed on the loss of key players: Bey-Bey Thomas, Jon Dwyer and—after a little more than half the season—Josh Nesbitt are extremely challenging losses.  But many GT Football faithful (myself included) fully expected the mastermind behind this offense would have easily guided them through.

Fast forward to Week 1 of the 2011-12 College Football season, in which a Georgia Tech Offense hummed to the tune of 63 points and 662 total yards. 

The scarier part of that result?  A Georgia Tech Offense passing for more yards than they rushed, and being efficient in doing so. 

In one week, many of the issues that plagued the 2010 Georgia Tech offense seemed to disappear.  However, there was still caution among the fanbase. 

Four weeks after the season opener, the Georgia Tech offense is still averaging 51.6 points per game for the second highest scoring offense in the nation, 378.2 yards rushing per game (the highest in the nation) and 587 total yards per game (No. 2 in the nation). 

The Jackets also put together a historic performance against Kansas as they broke multiple school records and an NCAA record (Rushing Yards per Attempt) that hadn't been broken in almost 40 years.

The question that comes into play is simple:  How have the Jackets achieved such offensive success after an abysmal 2010 campaign?  The answer is found in multiple places:

1. Red Zone Scoring.  In 2010, GT was ranked 99th overall in Red Zone scoring percentage, only converting 75 percent of their attempts.  Many of their failures in that area were also extremely damaging, with a multitude of turnovers plaguing the Jackets all season. 

In 2011, GT is ranked 34th overall, converting 86.4 percent of their attempts.  Even more importantly, they aren't turning it over this season.

2. Completion Percentage.  Josh Nesbitt was an All-World runner in the GT offense.  He became a fan favorite as he led Georgia Tech out of the ashes of the Gailey era and into the Paul Johnson era of football at Georgia Tech. 

However...his passing was less than adequate.  After passing for below 40 percent in his shortened senior season, many felt that a lack of accuracy on passes doomed Tech last year (a multitude of drops throughout the season didn't help). 

This year, however, is a total 180.  Tevin Washington—much maligned at QB over the offseason while fans (myself included) clamored for True Freshman Vad Lee—has come out on fire, completing over 57 percent of his passes to this point.

3. Passing Efficiency.  After passing for only five Touchdowns and throwing seven interceptions through the season—along with the aforementioned poor completion percentage—the passing efficiency for Georgia Tech last season was pathetic. 

Again, we see a tale of two seasons with the passing efficiency of Tevin Washington this season.  With 10 TDs to one interception,  TW has the highest efficiency rating in the nation. 

Well, there it is.  Those are the three things I feel have best affected the season to this point. I would love to hear what you think has turned around the offense for this season.

The Georgia Tech bandwagon is starting to fill up (or is it the rambling wreck, pictured, that is filling up?).

Either way, Georgia Tech is starting to get more love, for good reason too.  They are 4-0 for the first time since the 1990 National Championship season.  The Jackets are clicking in their triple-option offense once again, averaging just under 400 yards per game on the ground, and they lead the nation in points scored.

After dismantling Kansas and winning their first conference game against UNC, Georgia Tech should have no problem with NC State, right?

Maybe.  While the Wolfpack aren't near the top of the ACC, they are a team that can throw the ball well at times.  The running game has suffered (negative yards against Cincinnati), but there are some playmakers at wide receiver—T.J. Graham has 19 catches for 428 yards and four touchdowns and is a threat in the kick-return game. 

Georgia Tech's defense has been susceptible at times this year.  They have given up over 21 points in every game this year and allowed UNC to tie the game with 14 fourth-quarter points last week.  NC State is going to need every point they can muster.

That's because the Wolfpack defense has been horrendous this year.  Due to injuries, they will be starting what is already their third starting defensive line combo.  They gave up an average of 470 yards to Cincinnati and Wake Forest.  Many times, Cinci looked like they were scrimmaging against air.

Right now, it is hard to go against the way Georgia Tech is running the football.  Also, it is hard to go with the way NC State is playing defense and not running the football.  Don't be surprised if NC State throws the ball effectively, though, and puts up a few points.  In the end, however, GT's offense will be too much for a depleted Wolfpack team to handle.

The Pick:

Georgia Tech: 35, NC State 24  (updated from my pick earlier in the week)

The Georgia Tech bandwagon is starting to fill up (or is it the rambling wreck, pictured, that is filling up?).

Either way, Georgia Tech is starting to get more love, for good reason too.  They are 4-0 for the first time since the 1990 National Championship season.  The Jackets are clicking in their triple-option offense once again, averaging just under 400 yards per game on the ground, and they lead the nation in points scored.

After dismantling Kansas and winning their first conference game against UNC, Georgia Tech should have no problem with NC State, right?

Maybe.  While the Wolfpack aren't near the top of the ACC, they are a team that can throw the ball well at times.  The running game has suffered (negative yards against Cincinnati), but there are some playmakers at wide receiver—T.J. Graham has 19 catches for 428 yards and four touchdowns and is a threat in the kick-return game. 

Georgia Tech's defense has been susceptible at times this year.  They have given up over 21 points in every game this year and allowed UNC to tie the game with 14 fourth-quarter points last week.  NC State is going to need every point they can muster.

That's because the Wolfpack defense has been horrendous this year.  Due to injuries, they will be starting what is already their third starting defensive line combo.  They gave up an average of 470 yards to Cincinnati and Wake Forest.  Many times, Cinci looked like they were scrimmaging against air.

Right now, it is hard to go against the way Georgia Tech is running the football.  Also, it is hard to go with the way NC State is playing defense and not running the football.  Don't be surprised if NC State throws the ball effectively, though, and puts up a few points.  In the end, however, GT's offense will be too much for a depleted Wolfpack team to handle.

The Pick:

Georgia Tech: 35, NC State 24  (updated from my pick earlier in the week)

The conventional wisdom with Georgia Tech is that they are a run first, run only, triple option threat.  The conventional wisdom is wrong.

Georgia Tech proved they are capable of more than just running the ball Saturday morning against North Carolina. What else are they capable of? For one, throwing the ball. Secondly, playing sound defense.

Quarterback Tevin Washington was 10/14 for 184 yards and a touchdown. If not for a dropped pass, he would have added another 50 yards and another TD. He is now 27/42 on the season (64.2%), and has thrown for 821 yards. That's over 200 yards per game, so clearly the passing attack is working in Atlanta.

The defense held UNC to just 332 yards. They held the Tar Heels to just seven points in the first half. True, the defense buckled a bit in the second half and let UNC back into the game, and there is something to be said about GT giving up the points when the drives mattered most, but for the most part, the defense held their own.  If not for a 55-yard TD run by Giovani Bernard, or a 41-yard reception by Dwight Jones, UNC would have been relatively dormant in the second half.

And this is all just icing on the cake. The main threat from the Yellow Jackets is still their rushing attack. Today, Tech rushed 58 times for 312 yards. Unfortunately, this means their average will be going down, as they averaged 428 yards per game headed into today's game.

GT improves to 4-0, and picks up a win in their first conference game. They are a team to be reckoned with, and deserve to be in the discussion with FSU, Virginia Tech, and Clemson for ACC supremacy. 

Next week the Ramblin' Wreck goes on the road to North Carolina State, a team that struggled with injuries on Thursday night against Cincinnati. 

The Yellow Jackets finally got their chance to avenge their loss to the Kansas Jayhawks this past Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium and they did, 66-24. It was a spectacular showing of Paul Johnson's offense at work. They had a record-breaking performance with 768 total yards of offense and 604 rushing yards, both school records.

Many fans were hoping to not see a repeat of what happened last year in Kansas which revealed a lot about the 2010 team. This past game revealed some things about this group. There were six different players to score on Saturday's steamrolling of the Jayhawks. The Jackets set a NCAA record with 12.1 yards per rush in a game that produced two 100-yard rushers in Orwin Smith (157 yards) and Embry Peeples (110 yards).

Smith had a great game with not only 100 yards rushing, but also 100 yards receiving. He broke the school's longest single rush record with a 95-yard run for a touchdown, surpassing Jonathan Dwyer's previous record 88-yard run. The Jackets are currently leading the nation in rushing (427.7 yards per game) and points per game (59.3).

The team this year seems more cohesive offensively and defensively. After a year with Coach Groh the defense is finally looking better. Special teams even showed a glimmer of hope at the end of the second quarter with a blocked kick. Unfortunately it was called back on a bogus roughing the kicker penalty. Although that call was not right in my opinion the Jackets did have a few penalties for false starts and a holding penalty that scratched a touchdown.

However it was still a great game for the Jackets. In fact they got voted back into the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Poll. They're sitting right at No. 25 for the AP and No. 24 for the USA Today Poll. It's kind of funny how they got back in the rankings with the very game that knocked them out last year.

Next the Jackets face the North Carolina Tar Heels (3-0), who just defeated UVA in their conference opener 28-17. They haven't won a conference opener since 2000. This game will be the conference opener for the Jackets. It'll be a noon game and broadcast on ESPN.

What you are about to read is the most interesting Top 25 College Football power rankings you're likely ever to come across.

In my version of the top 25 are some teams that others might not even think for a single second to include in the top 25 to this point. But in power rankings, it’s all a matter of what the writer sees, and it’s all just a matter of opinion. Here’s how I see the top 25 teams that have impressed me the most through the first three weeks of the season, as well as the top 10 quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers.

1. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Kansas, 66-24
The Yellow Jackets lead the nation in total rushing yards through the first three weeks of the season (1,283)
Next Week: vs. (24) North Carolina

2. Wisconsin Badgers (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Northern Illinois, 49-7
The Badgers are currently 13th in the nation in total rushing yards with 715.
Next Week: vs. South Dakota

3. Stanford Cardinal (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Arizona, 37-10
Other than Stanford, the Florida Gators are the only other team in the nation that has given up fewer rushing yards in their first three games of the season. Florida has only given up 30 yards on the ground, while Stanford has only given up 36.
Next Week: BYE

4. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Troy, 38-28
The Razorbacks are currently the sixth-best passing offensive team in the nation. They already have 1,040 total passing yards so far this season.
Next Week: at (5) Alabama

5. Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0)
Last Week: defeated North Texas, 41-0
The Crimson Tide are currently in the top five in rushing yards against (55 per game) and passing yards against per game (114 per game).
Next Week: vs. (4) Arkansas

6. Florida Gators (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Tennessee, 33-23
Florida currently has the nation’s top run-stopping defense. They have only given up an average of 30 rushing yards per game.
Next Week: at Kentucky

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-0)
Last Week: defeated New Mexico, 59-13
The Red Raiders are currently a respectable 14th in the nation in passing yards given up per game, having only concede 151.
Next Week: vs. Nevada

8. South Florida Bulls (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Florida A&M, 70-17
The Bulls are currently ninth in the nation in total passing yards with 977. They are also one of the nation’s best run-stopping teams, giving up only an average of 77 yards per game.
Next Week: vs. UTEP

9. Ohio Bobcats (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Marshall, 44-7
The Bobcats have the nation’s ninth-best rushing team, already racking up 744 rushing yards through their first three games.
Next Week: at Rutgers

10. Virginia Tech Hokies (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Arkansas State, 26-7
The Hokies rank in the top five in the nation in the run-stopping category. They only give up an average of 55 rushing yards per game.
Next Week: at Marshall

11. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Tulsa, 59-33
The Cowboys currently have the nation’s best passing offense. They already have racked up 1,224 passing yards per game.
Next Week: at (16) Texas A&M

12. Illinois Fighting Illini (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Arizona State, 17-14
The Illini rank seventh nationally in rushing yards against per game, giving up a small average of 63.
Next Week: Western Michigan

13. LSU Tigers (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Mississippi State, 19-6
The Tigers currently have the 19th-best pass defense in the nation. They give only an average of 160 passing yards per game.
Next Week: at (14) West Virginia

14. West Virginia Mountaineers (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Maryland, 37-31
Only four other teams in the nation have racked up more passing yards than West Virginia. The Mountaineers already have 1,068 passing yards this season.
Next Week: vs. (13) LSU

15. California Golden Bears (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Presbyterian, 63-12
The Bears currently have the nation’s ninth-best run-stopping defense. They give up an average of 65 rushing yards per game.
Next Week: at Washington

16. Texas A&M Aggies (2-0)
Last Week: defeated Idaho, 37-7
The Aggies have given up an average of 67 rushing yards per game, which ranks them in the top in rushing yards against per game.
Next Week: vs. (11) Oklahoma State

17. Nebraska Cornhuskers (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Washington, 51-38
The Huskers currently have eighth-best rushing team in the nation, racking up 757 total rushing yards through their first three games.
Next Week: vs. Wyoming

18. Vanderbilt Commodores (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Ole Miss, 30-7
The Commodores have given up an average of 164 passing yards per game, which ranks them in the top 25 nationally.
Next Week: at South Carolina

19. Michigan Wolverines (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Eastern Michigan, 31-3
Mostly because of Denard Robinson, the Wolverines rank in the top 20 in the nation in total rushing yards through the first three weeks (680).
Next Week: vs. (22) San Diego State

20. Texas Longhorns (3-0)
Last Week: defeated UCLA, 49-20
The Longhorns currently have the 16th-best pass-defending team in the nation. The only give up an average of 164 passing yards per game.
Next Week: BYE

21. Baylor Bears (2-0)
Last Week: defeated Stephen F. Austin, 48-0
Robert Griffin is one of the nations best “combination” quarterbacks in the country. He already has 740 total yards through the first two games of the season.
Next Week: vs. Rice

22. San Diego State Aztecs (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Washington State, 42-24
The Aztecs rank among the top 25 in total rushing yards this season (662).
Next Week: at (19) Michigan

23. Clemson Tigers (3-0)
Last Week: defeated Clemson, 38-24
The Tigers are currently 14th in the nation in total passing yards with 918. Tajh Boyd has 911 of those passing yards and 10 touchdown passes.
Next Week: vs. Florida State

24. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-0)
Last Week: defeated Virginia, 28-17
The Tar Heels rank among the top 20 in the nation in stopping the run. They only give up an average of 76 rushing yards per game.
Next Week: at (1) Georgia Tech

25. Oklahoma Sooners (2-0)
Last Week: defeated Florida State, 23-13
Dominique Whaley has taken over as the leading running back on this OU offense. He already has 200 rushing yards and four scores through two games.
Next Week: vs. Missouri

Carter’s Top 10 NCAA Quarterbacks
1. Case Keenum (Houston): 1,119 yards, 10 TDS, 2 INTS
2. Matt Schilz (Bowling Green): 986 yards, 11 TDS, 3 INTS
3. Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State): 1,154 yards, 8 TDS, 6 INTS
4. Tyler Bray (Tennessee): 986 yards, 10 TDS, 2 INTS
5. Marshall Lobbestael (Washington State): 959 yards, 10 TDS, 2 INTS
6. Nick Foles (Arizona): 1,049 yards, 7 TDS
7. Geno Smith (West Virginia): 1,008 yards, 7 TDS, INT
8. Tajh Boyd (Clemson): 911 yards, 10 TDS, INT
9. Matt Barkley (USC): 892 yards, 9 TDS, INT
10. Tyler Hansen (Colorado): 912 yards, 7 TDS, INT

Carter’s Top 10 NCAA Running Backs
1. Marcus Lattimore (South Carolina): 534 yards, 7 TDS
2. Ronnie Hillman (San Diego State): 497 yards, 8 TDS
3. Ray Graham (Pittsburgh): 419 yards, 6 TDS
4. Joseph Randle (Oklahoma State): 378 yards, 7 TDS
5. Henry Josey (Missouri): 400 yards, 3 TDS
6. David Wilson (Virginia Tech): 387 yards, 4 TDS
7. John White (Utah): 380 yards, 5 TDS
8. Michael Dyer (Auburn): 358 yards, 6 TDS
9. Robbie Rouse (Fresno State): 365 yards, 3 TDS
10. Chris Polk (Washington): 362 yards, 2 TDS

Carter’s Top 10 NCAA Wide Receivers
1. Marquess Wilson (Washington State): 429 yards, 4 TDS
2. Quinton Patton (Louisiana Tech): 388 yards, 3 TDS
3. Michael Floyd (Notre Dame): 397 yards, 2 TDS
4. Chris Givens (Wake Forest): 366 yards, 3 TDS
5. Robert Woods (USC): 361 yards, 4 TDS
6. Paul Richardson (Colorado): 360 yards, 4 TDS
7. T.Y. Hilton (Florida International): 363 yards, 3 TDS
8. Jordan White (Western Michigan): 363 yards, 2 TDS
9. Darrin Moore (Texas Tech): 339 yards, 4 TDS
10. B.J. Cunningham (Michigan State): 361 yards, TD

Last year, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets went into Lawrence, Kansas, with high hopes. They rolled in their first game, were ranked 15th in the nation by the AP, and were coming off an ACC title the year prior. Everything seemed to be going right for the Yellow Jackets.

However, nearly all aspirations of consecutive 10-win seasons ended that afternoon. They played undisciplined and inefficient football, and had multiple drives stall just when it seemed like they were starting to put something together.

Some people thought that this may just be a blip for the Jackets and that they would rebound from this "trap" game. However, that wasn't the case, as Georgia Tech continued to struggle and ended the season at 6-7.

Come this Saturday, the 2011 version of the Jackets needs to differentiate themselves from the 2010 version that had its first losing season in over a decade.

Even though Georgia Tech has essentially played two warm-up games against Western Carolina and Middle Tennessee State, it has already started to prove that this year's offense is significantly better. Not only does the running game appear to be functioning at all cylinders, but an efficient passing attack that the fans have been lusting for appears to have finally arrived.

So far, quarterbacks Tevin Washington and Synjyn Days have combined for 579 yards through the air, on only 26 attempts, with five touchdowns. Combine those stats with the 679 rushing yards the Jackets have already racked up and it appears that defenses will have trouble anticipating how to play defense against this diverse offense.

However, the key to this game, and the season, is going to be how well the defense holds up. In the second year of the 3-4 defense under Al Groh, Georgia Tech should be able to easily improve on last year's lackluster effort. Defensive end Izaan Cross and linebacker Julian Burnette are set to anchor the front seven, while corner back Rod Sweeting and safety Isaiah Johnson are emerging as the playmakers in the secondary.

If the defense can force a few stops and a couple of turnovers, Georgia Tech will have no problem winning this game and paving a way to another 10 win season. However, if the defense struggles, Yellow Jacket fans could be in for another long season.

Prediction: Georgia Tech 41, Kansas 23