2021 Opponent Preview: Georgia Tech
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
BC’s season looks completely different now that starting quarterback Phil Jurkovec is back. Every game is winnable from here on out, and that starts with Saturday’s road matchup with Georgia Tech.
Jeff Hafley’s squad heads to Bobby Dodd to face a Yellow Jackets team that’s desperate to get back in the win column.
It’s GT’s ACC finale, however, the Eagles are just starting a home stretch of three conference showdowns.
When is BC playing?
Friday, Nov. 13, 3:30 p.m.
Where is BC playing?
Bobby Dodd Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
How to watch?
The game will be broadcast locally on NESN.
Series History
GT leads the all-time series, 7-3, and has won three of the last four meetings between the cross-division opponents. The last time BC beat the Yellow Jackets on the road was in 2007 when Matt Ryan and Co. continued their perfect season with a 24-10 victory over then-No. 15 GT. Jeff Hafley’s Eagles hosted the Yellow Jackets during the COVID-19-affected 2020 season. BC rumbled to a 48-27 win. BC put on an offensive clinic, a week removed from blowing an 18-point lead at then-No. 1 Clemson. Jurkovec tossed a pair of touchdowns, David Bailey rushed for two scores and Mike Palmer had a 33-yard scoop-and-score touchdown among other highlight-reel plays. It was the teams’ first meeting since 2016 when they kicked off the season with a game in Dublin, Ireland. GT scored two touchdowns: one on its first drive, the other on its last. The second was a four-yard, game-winning Dedrick Mills score that spoiled Patrick Towles’ first game in an Eagles uniform.
Georgia Tech’s Record: 3-6 (2-5 ACC)
Breaking Down the Yellow Jackets:
Offense: GT’s bread and butter is its run game. And it’s pretty impressive considering that the Yellow Jackets have been banged up on the offensive line. At one point last week versus Miami, the Yellow Jackets had a true freshman playing center, a redshirt freshman at left guard and a walk-on at right guard. Still, GT ranks 56th nationally in rushing offense and entered this week tied for 15th in the country in Pro Football Focus run grade. It helps that the Yellow Jackets have one of the most dynamic running backs in the FBS. Jahmyr Gibbs can break one loose at any time. He’s piled up 591 yards on the ground this year and is a dangerous receiver. Gibbs has hauled in 29 catches for 440 yards in 2021.
Jordan Mason is another threat out of the backfield. He’s also averaging at least five yards per carry and has logged 319 rushing yards, not to mention seven receptions. Then of course there’s Jeff Sims, GT’s dual-threat quarterback who nearly lost his starting job to Jordan Yates earlier this season after suffering a shoulder injury in the season opener. Sims has bumped his accuracy up 5.2 points to 60.1% this year while posting a 12:7 touchdown-to-interception ratio and averaging 8.1 yards per pass against conference opponents. He has also registered 372 rushing yards and four scores, although three of those came in GT’s upset win over North Carolina.
Sims has some weapons at receiver, too. GT doesn’t really throw to its tight ends, but the wide receiver trio of Malachi Carter (33 receptions, 445 yards, one touchdown), Kyric McGowan (32 receptions, 432 yards, seven touchdowns) and Adonicas Sanders (24 receptions, 326 yards, three touchdowns) is talented. Carter has good size at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds. McGowan is built similar to a running back and can bounce off tacklers at will. He’s in the slot 96.7% of the time, per PFF.
Defense: The Yellow Jackets play an “effort-based” 4-2-5 defense. BC saw it a bit from Temple earlier this season, and, according to Hafley, the scheme was popularized by Iowa State a couple years ago.
“You’re playing three safeties across, two corners, nickels,” he said Wednesday. “And you have kind of like a robber in the middle of the field, whether it’s quarters, man, an extra guy running the alley.”
GT has some athletes on that side of the ball. Quez Jackson comes to mind. The linebacker is tied for 12th nationally in total tackles this season with 91. Fellow linebacker Ayinde Eley isn’t too far behind with 79 stops, including 38 solos. But, despite the tricky scheme and speed, this GT defense has struggled mightily in 2021. The Yellow Jackets are 112th in yards allowed per game (442.0) and tied for 86th in points allowed per game (29.0).
GT has given up an average of 551.8 yards per game in its last five outings. The Yellow Jackets lost four of those. Their only win was a 31-27 victory over a Duke team that’s still winless in ACC play. GT is particularly poor against the pass. The Yellow Jackets are conceding 267.7 yards through the air per game, the 11th most in the conference. No GT cornerback with more than one game played this season has a PFF coverage grade higher than 62.5. That’s saying something. GT’s highest-graded defensive player, per PFF’s metrics, is linebacker Charlie Thomas, who has three sacks and two picks this year. Edge rusher Jared Ivey is another name to keep an eye on. He’s second on the team in PFF pass rushing grade and has created a good bit of havoc in the backfield this year.
Special Teams: Gibbs has been returning kickoffs for the Yellow Jackets and is averaging 22.2 yards per return, while redshirt senior wideout Azende Rey is running back punts. Rey has returned 11 punts for an average of 4.7 yards. GT’s place kicker Brent Cimaglia is 10-of-14 on the year. All four of his misses have come from beyond 40 yards. In fact, he hasn’t made one in that range. And Yellow Jackets punter David Shanahan ranks 11th in the ACC in punt average (42.7 yards per punt) and 13th in number of punts dropped inside the opposing 20-yard line.
Three Storylines:
Can BC limit Jahmyr Gibbs?
As improved as the Eagles’ defense is this year, they still haven’t shored up their play against the run. A couple weeks ago, Sean Tucker ripped through BC at all three levels. The week before that, it was Malik Cunningham and Trevion Cooley. Jahmyr Gibbs has a chance to do the same Saturday.
Will GT be able to get off the field on third down?
The Yellow Jackets rank second-to-last in the ACC in opponent third down conversion rate. Teams are moving the sticks 45.5% of the time. With BC’s ball control offense, that could be a death sentence. That is, if the Eagles can get their running game going.
How much will the Eagles let Jurkovec air it out?
Last week against Virginia Tech, Jurkovec attempted only 13 passes. It was his first game back from a season-threatening fracture to his throwing hand, so no real surprise there. But, with a full week of reps with the first team and a pedestrian GT pass defense, it will be interesting to see how many times Jurkovec drops back this week in Atlanta.
Line: BC (-1)
ESPN FPI: The database gives GT a 62.4% chance to beat the Eagles.
Outlook: This GT team is so weird. The Yellow Jackets lost to Northern Illinois in their season opener, then nearly took down Clemson in Death Valley before trouncing North Carolina. They’ve almost lost to Duke yet then played Virginia close. GT has dropped its last three games by a combined 20 points. Geoff Collins’ team is at risk of stalling at three wins for the third year in a row. The Yellow Jackets have to win out to clinch a bowl—and that would require beating No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 1 Georgia. BC just needs to win Saturday. But the Eagles are hoping for so much more than that. An eight-win season is still on the table for BC. That starts with beating a GT team that, on paper, the Eagles should be able to handle.
