Yellow Jacked Up
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Georgia Tech Football: Jackets have chance to join rare company

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Paul Johnson of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets looks on during the second half against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Bobby Dodd Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 15: Head coach Paul Johnson of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets looks on during the second half against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Bobby Dodd Stadium on October 15, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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Georgia Tech will look to win three-straight games in Athens for the first time since the 1950s.

The last time the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets won three straight games in Athens, Georgia, the President of the United States was Dwight D. Eisenhower and the head coach of the Yellow Jackets was Bobby Dodd. The namesake of the Yellow Jackets home stadium. That season would be the 1958 season when the Jackets that season went 10-1 including a Gator Bowl victory over Pittsburgh.

On Saturday afternoon, however, Paul Johnson’s 7-4 Yellow Jackets will have the chance to become the first Yellow Jacket team to do so since the days of Bobby Dodd.

For the program, there has only been one close call since. The most recent coming in the late 1990s and the early 2000s. After back-to-back wins in Athens during the 1998 and 2000 seasons, the Yellow Jackets lost 51-7 in 2002, Mark Richt’s second year with the Bulldogs.

Of course, pulling a win off on Saturday will be nowhere close to easy. While many Tech fans want to believe that the Bulldogs are stuck in the Mark Richt era and will choke away Saturday’s matchup, the truth is, it’s not. This Georgia program has turned a corner, they’re recruiting a higher level, they’re playing at a higher level, the program overall is just at a higher level compared to where’s it been in the past.

Georgia Tech’s defense has been a major reason for their success over the second half of the season, with five straight games of less than 30+ points allowed. But as Paul Johnson said during his weekly press conference, it’s going to be hard for the Yellow Jackets defense to stop the Georgia offense.

The Georgia defense has taken a step back from where was a season ago but the offense is even more dangerous. Lead by Jake Fromm at quarterback and D’Andre Swift at running back, this Georgia offense can put up points in a hurry. Heading into Saturday, the Jackets are averaging 39.6 points per game.

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Overall, they’ve only scored less than 30 points per game in two of their 11 games so far this season including their 36-16 loss to LSU. Yes, they can be stopped but do the Yellow Jackets have the defensive talent to do so? That remains to be seen but we’ll all find out soon enough.