College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Georgia Tech Previews 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2019 Record: 3-9 overall, 2-6 in ACC
Head Coach: Geoff Collins, 2nd year, 3-9
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 75
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 122
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 50
No one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.
5. College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Offense 3 Things To Know
– The offense was supposed to undergo an overhaul, but it turned out to be far tougher than simply changing around the style. Head coach Geoff Collins and offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude had to try fitting a square peg into a round hole, looking to create a diverse spread attack with players built for a triple-option offense.
The Yellow Jackets aren’t looking to be 2019 LSU or anything when it comes to bombing away, but they’re still going to go through growing pains trying to generate more of a passing attack. For an O that was dead last in the nation in red-zone scoring percentage, 125th in third down tries, and averaging a paltry 286 yards and 16.7 points overall.
Finding the right quarterback continues to be the first piece to fit in. Lucas Johnson transferred to San Diego State, Tobias Oliver is a receiver, and asking for freshmen Jeffrey Sims and Tucker Gleason to be factors right away is a lot.
Sophomore James Graham just has to be efficient. He only completed 45% of his passes for 1,164 yards and 12 touchdowns with seven picks, and he didn’t push the ball down the field enough. He’s a good runner, and he had moments when he came through with key passes, but again, he has to be more effective and steadier.
CFN in 60 Video: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Preview
– Are the receivers in place to do more with the passing game? The recruiting class was heavy on pass catchers who’ll all get early work. 5-10, 155-pound Ahmarean Brown had an effective freshman season, averaging 19 yards per catch with seven touchdowns on just 21 grabs.
In all, five of the top six wide receivers are back, but to put the Georgia Tech passing game into perspective, its receivers combined to catch 124 passes for 1,607 yards and 14 touchdowns. LSU’s Ja’Marr chase caught 84 passes for 1,780 yards and 20 touchdowns by himself.
– It’s not that the offensive linemen in place weren’t good blockers, it’s that they were good blockers for a different style. The line was missing a ton of big thumpers, and it had a whole lot of issues trying to keep defensive fronts out of the backfield.
A few pieces are already in place, but it’s going to be up to 6-7, 320-pound Vanderbilt transfer Devin Cochran to take on a starting role right away at one tackle spot, and 6-6, 310-pound Tennessee transfer Ryan Johnson to step in at guard.
Jordan Mason is back to carry the ground game, and 212-pound Jamious Griffin will get more work after getting in a little early work. There are big, good rushers in place who were built to handle the work, but they need more room to move.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Defense 3 Things To Know
4. College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Defense 3 Things To Know
– There was an easy excuse for the offensive woes in the transition to a new coaching staff. There was no reason for the defense to be as bad as it was. It was last in the ACC in tackles for loss and sacks, and it allowed 432 yards and 32 points per game, giving up 38 points or more five times.
On the plus side, as many as 20 of the top 21 tacklers are expected to return to the 4-2-5 attack that has to start generating more big things behind the line.
– The Yellow Jackets came up with just 17 sacks with no one coming up with more than 2.5. Former Florida star recruit Antonneous Clayton got hurt early on in his career, but he’s expected to raise the level of the end play, and Kelton Dawson is a veteran who made 26 tackles last season.
Someone, though, has to be disruptive on the outside. There’s 300-pound size on the inside, but like the ends, the tackles have to do far more to help out a good-looking linebacking corps. David Curry and Charlie Thomas combined lead the team with 162 tackles, and Quez Jackson made a whole lot of plays in the rotation.
– The secondary has some players, but to keep harping on this, they need help from more of a pass rush. Tre Swilling is one of the ACC’s best cover-corners, and senior Tariq Carpenter was third on the team with 62 tackles from his safety spot. There’s depth along with good talent in the starting five, but generating more interceptions are a must from a group that picked off just five passes.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Top Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Players
College Football News Preview 2020: Top Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Players
Best Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Offensive Player
RB Jordan Mason, Jr.
The 6-1, 219-pound veteran was supposed to be a statistical superstar in the option offense, but he was able to adjust into a feature back in the new spread attack.
He led the team with 899 yards and seven touchdowns as the only real rushing option, but he was also a marked man with no help from the passing game. He ran for 99 yards or more four times – the Yellow Jackets won three of those games.
2. OG Jack DeFoor, Sr.
3. WR Ahmarean Brown, Soph.
4. QB James Graham, Soph.
5. OG Ryan Johnson, Sr.
Best Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Defensive Player
LB David Curry, Sr.
His career struggled to get going with an injury costing him all of 2017, but after three years with the program, he finally got his shot to handle a main linebacking role, and he crushed it.
The 6-2, 230-pounder led the team with 97 tackles with two sacks and six tackles for loss. Fellow linebacker Charlie Thomas was more disruptive, but Curry provides a bit more thump against the run.
2. CB Tre Swilling, Jr.
3. LB Charlie Thomas, Jr.
4. S Tariq Carpenter, Sr.
5. LB Quez Jackson, Jr.
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Keys To The Season
College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Keys To The Season
Biggest Key To The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Offense
Just figure out something that gets the chains moving. The program that had the ultimate unique offensive identity couldn’t find anything it could do all that well the first time around under the new coaching staff. This year, it simply has to find something that consistently works.
The biggest issue? Time of possession. Even when the former option offense didn’t work quite right, it was still able to control the clock and the tempo, finishing seventh in the nation and on top of the ACC in time of possession in 2018. The Yellow Jackets went from having the ball for 33:27 per game then, to having it for 26:42 last year.
They went from converting 44% of their third down chances, to converting just 30% of their tries. That’s partly a function of an attack that’s operating at a quicker tempo, but still, the D could use a break with more long, sustained drives from the O.
Biggest Key To The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Defense
Generate a pass rush. To be fair to the current coaching staff, hitting the quarterback hasn’t been more than a polite suggestion for years at Georgia Tech. The last time the defense was able to generate 20 sacks was in 2014, so the 17 of last year were par for the course.
However, the defense was on the field more than it used to be when the option attack was controlling games. It only managed more than one sack in four games, and the tackles for loss weren’t there in bunches either.
It would be nice if just one part of the puzzle could emerge as a pass rusher for offenses to worry about. Just get over 20 sacks, make more third down stops on passing downs, and the team will be far stronger.
Key Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Player To A Successful Season
QB James Graham, Soph.
If he’s not it, then someone has to rise up and take over the offense and make it more efficient and effective. Graham is a runner who can throw a bit, but he’s got to grow into more of an all-around baller. He can’t complete just 45% of his throws again, he has to push the ball deeper, and he has to do something to get the offense moving.
Key Game To The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Season
UCF, Sept. 18
It’s the early measuring stick game. Barring some shocker, Georgia Tech will lose to Clemson to kick things off and will beat Gardner-Webb the following week. With road games at North Carolina and Virginia Tech coming up, beating another good UCF team at home could be huge to avoid a possible 1-4 start.
This is a good enough Knight team to push for the American Athletic Conference title and get a New Year’s Six bowl bid – the Yellow Jackets can get plenty of attention with a win.
– Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2019 Georgia Tech Fun Stats
– 1st Quarter Scoring: Opponents 106 – Georgia Tech 42
– Field Goals: Opponents 16-of-23 – Georgia Tech 3-of-8
– Total Offense: Opponents 5,075 yards – Georgia Tech 3,436 yards
NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
1. College Football News Preview 2020: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Win Total Prediction, What Will Happen
How quickly can the offense go from awful to okay?
The defense gets back way too many players and has way too much experience and depth to be mediocre again. It’s not going to be a killer, but it’ll be good enough to win with if there’s help from the other side.
The O is still going to need another season to find the right identity, but it’ll be stronger after managing just 200 points, never scoring more than 28, and scoring 14 or fewer six times.
There aren’t a slew of sure-win games on the slate, but even with a better team than the 3-9 version of last year, it’s going to be tough to find victories.
Set The Northwestern Wildcats Regular Season Win Total At … 4
Bet at BetMGM Win Total Line: 3
Where are the wins? Gardner-Webb is one, but the other non-conference games are UCF, Notre Dame and at Georgia – good luck with THAT.
A home game against Duke is the best-looking ACC game, and it’s going to take road wins over teams like Syracuse, Pitt or North Carolina to even flirt with bowl eligibility.
Expect more than the three wins of last year, but it’ll take a few upsets to get there.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
