Georgia Tech Football: Jackets offense has mighty task in Georgia defense

Georgia Tech’s offense on Saturday will have their toughest task of the season on Saturday night when they take on the Georgia Bulldogs stout defense.

This season, there have not been many defenses in the country that have been strong as the Georgia Bulldogs have been from start to (almost) finish. The Bulldogs defense ranks 3rd in the country in points per game at 10.7 and are only allowing 268 rushing yards per game this year, that makes a tough task on Saturday night for the Yellow Jackets, all the more tough.

The Jackets, of course, have had their offensive struggles this season and despite making a few strides, the Jackets are still only averaging 17.5 points per game this season. That puts the Jackets as the 122nd ranked offense going into the final week of the 2019-20 season. It’s safe to say match-up wise, the Jackets offense by far have their toughest match-up of the season on Saturday.

Georgia Tech passing attack vs UGA’s secondary

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The Georgia Tech passing attack this season hasn’t been efficient or deadly for the most part. The Jackets will get a big play through the air here or there but overall it hasn’t been pretty. Over the course of the season, the Jackets have averaged 142.5 yards through the air this season. Now, through the air is where the Bulldogs have been hurt the most but even that’s a generous term. The Bulldogs are allowing less than 200-yards through the air this season, on average. That being said, that number is made better with several strong performances against weaker passing opponents while some of the better passing offenses have had more success. On paper, it’s hard to see the Yellow Jackets having success on Saturday against the Bulldogs secondary. While James Graham has made improvements throughout the season, he has yet to look like a quarterback who can be efficient against one of the country’s top secondaries. With that, we expect the Jackets to have minimal success in the air on Saturday.

Georgia Tech rushing attack vs UGA’s run defense

While UGA’s secondary is good, the Bulldogs run defense is even better. The Bulldogs are only allowing 68.8 yards per game this year on the ground and have only allowed one rushing touchdown all season. The ground is of course where the Jackets have been the best this year offensively, led by sophomore running back Jordan Mason. That being said, the Jackets offensive line at times this season have struggled mightily especially against bigger defensive lines. The Bulldogs on Saturday will throw one of the biggest defensive lines in the country at the Yellow Jackets which will create a tough match-up for the Tech offensive line.

While the Yellow Jackets run game will have its’ struggles on Saturday at points, if the Jackets are going to be successful at all, there will also need to be success. It probably won’t be pretty but the Jackets should be the fourth team this season to crack 100-yards rushing, even if it is only due to play call volume.

Overall:

Overall, Georgia’s defense is going to create a ton of problems for Georgia Tech’s offense one way or another. The Jackets just don’t have the talent, speed, or athleticism on offense to create enough big plays this season against the Bulldogs. The Jackets will need to hope to be consistent on the ground while taking advantage of potential big passing plays when presented the opportunity.

The Jackets and Bulldogs will kickoff at noon on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.