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Georgia Tech Football: Three things to know about Virginia

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 17: Quarterback Bryce Perkins #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers looks to maneuver by defensive back Jalen Johnson #23 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 17: Quarterback Bryce Perkins #3 of the Virginia Cavaliers looks to maneuver by defensive back Jalen Johnson #23 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets during the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Michael Chang/Getty Images) /
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The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will take on the Virginia Cavaliers this Saturday afternoon and here’s three things to know about the Cavaliers.

1) Bryce Perkins can do it all

Georgia Tech fans should know the name Bryce Perkins quite a bit. Perkins was the Cavaliers quarterback last season when the Jackets took down the Cavaliers in overtime at Bobby Dodd Stadium. In that game, Perkins was phenomenal, completing 21-of-28 passing attempts for 217-yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 73-yards on 16 carries during the game.

This season, Perkins is having another solid year for the Cavaliers. He’s completed 64.4% of his passes for 2,181-yards and 12 touchdowns. He is on pace to surpass his 2,680-yards but he most likely won’t come close to his 24-touchdown passes from last year. That being said, while his touchdown passes are on a down tick from last season, his interception rate is up, which isn’t a good combination. Perkins this season, already has eight interceptions thrown this season, one less than his total from last year.

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Perkins has been solid on the ground as well, rushing for a Virginia leading 387-yards on the ground. His yards per carry is down from 4.4 yards to 2.7 yards but he ‘s still been able to pick up some tough yardage. He also has seven touchdowns on the ground this season.

It will be interesting to see how Andrew Thacker decides to attack the Virginia defense.

2) They’ve been struggling against the run

Through the early part of the season, Virginia was one of the better teams in the country in defending the run. The last five games, however, that has not been the case as the Cavaliers have immensely struggled allowing 125+ yards or more in four games, 175+ yards or more in three games, and one game of allowing 227 yards. Over their last three games, opponents are averaging 181.6 yards per game. Georgia Tech running back Jordan Mason struggled last week against Pittsburgh but could be in store for a big game against the Cavaliers.

3) Turnover prone

The Virginia Cavaliers in 2019 have been turnover prone on offense to say the least. The Cavaliers on offense are averaging 1.8 turnovers per game, a total of 16 turnovers. As mentioned above, Perkins has thrown eight interceptions over the course of the season already but the Cavaliers will also put the ball on the ground quite a bit with eight fumbles lost this season. If the Jackets can force the Cavaliers to turnover the ball a few times on Saturday, they’ll give themselves a solid chance at an upset. Last week, the Yellow Jackets forced three first-half turnovers against the Pittsburgh Panthers but ultimately struggled to take advantage of those turnovers on offense.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Virginia Cavaliers will kickoff at 12:30 pm in Charlottesville on Saturday.