Georgia Tech Football: Wake Forest defense will be no cake walk
The Georgia Tech football team is coming off a tough road loss at Miami, and now get back to action at home hosting a solid Wake Forest squad in Atlanta.
Georgia Tech (3-2, 2-1 ACC) is a couple of field goals away from being 5-0, and a hurricane shy of a possible 6-0 record. Instead, Tech has two losses and a missing game and needs a rebound home win to get back on track.
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Frustratingly, Tech is currently 15th in total defense, having given up only 304.2 yards-per-game on average. Oddly, the Jackets are sitting at a relatively low 44th overall in total offense.
Also with two losses, the Demon Deacons come into Bobby Dodd Stadium, having only fallen to Florida State by a touchdown and holding Clemson to 28 points.
Wake is no doubt looking to bounce back from their two-game skid, and the Deacs will be far from an easy team to get past for Tech.
The Demon Deacons are sitting at 33rd overall in total defense, having allowed 339.5 yard-per-game through their first six matchups with the aforementioned 28 points allowed to the Tigers having been their worst performance to date.
Against Miami, Georgia Tech struggled to continue to keep the same offensive pace in the second half that they had out of the gate. That’s against a Miami team sitting well below Wake Forest in total defense at 44th.
For an option quarterback, Tech’s TaQuon Marshall has a relatively balanced set of stats. He’s his team’s leading rusher with 541 yards, and has another 388 through the air with 14 total touchdowns.
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Marshall’s favorite target has been Ricky Jeune with 12 catches for 223 yards. The senior has three touchdown catches and averages nearly 19 yards-per-catch.
It’s still unclear if the Jackets will have KirVonte Benson available after being injured against the Hurricanes last Saturday. He’s Tech’s second-leading rusher with 516 yards rushing and four touchdowns.
Wake’s defense has only given up 142 yards-per-game rushing so far this year, and the Jackets will need far more than that to have a chance. Clemson’s leading rusher only had 67 yards against the Deacs, and App State’s top rushing performance against them was also less than 100 yards.
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The key so far this season against Wake Forest has been a balanced offense, and the Yellow Jackets might be forced to toss the ball a bit more than they did against the Hurricanes. As usual, however, with a few key catches, Tech may be able to control the clock on the ground and grab a much-needed win at home.