Re: Duke at Georgia Tech - Pregame/Predictions
To me, this season has been all about high stakes games.
FIU - home opener, have lost a lot of those in the past five years. Step up and beat them pretty handily.
Stanford - ranked opponent, get throttled.
Wake Forest - 12 year losing streak, handle adversity and win.
UVA - facing a WF hangover, new starting QB, again handle pretty easily.
VaTech - statement game, start off strong, get manhandled.
UNC - sack up and step up and win in closing minute.
FSU and Clemson - lose terribly.
This team has performed well when we play teams that have our same or slightly higher talent level. Where the gap is light years away, we've gotten dominated. GaTech does not have players that are on the same level as Clemson, FSU, and the others, so I expect us to keep this game close. I think the line is artificially inflated after we dropped two big games against the top of the ACC and UNC decided to not play any defense last week.
We've played Tech hard the past 5 years and I think it's time to get this streak over with as well.
On Defense: I actually like our 4-2-5 scheme against the option. I would play a 4-4-3 personally, but obviously we don't have the personnel to do that. I think you will see a great game from Walt Canty. We have smart players, I hope the coaches are emphasizing assignment football this week. Just do what you are asked to do and don't get away from the game plan. Play smart and hard. Don't get greedy in over-pursuit. I'm not too concerned with their wide receivers so our corners should do fine in single coverage. Vad Lee is certainly a better passer than Tevin, and I would expect him to be their main qb, but they don't have excellent receivers like they've had the past couple of years.
On Offense: I would like to see a lot of passing in the first couple of series, set up the run that way. Tech's defense is nothing to write home about, and we should be able to take advantage of a lot of underneath routes to Connor and Desmond. Minimize the swing passes, which have thankfully been few and far between. We need to get up early and then run clock as much as possible. Tech can stay on the field for extended periods of time so we need to minimize their possessions--Ball Control!
I'm hopeful that we win this game, ruining Tech's chances at bowling this year. I'll give us a 5 point victory margin, somewhere in the higher 30s.