Georgia Tech (3-2) vs. Duke (1-4)
GEORGIA TECH: Riding the season-long roller coaster, Tech is coming off of its strongest game this season in which they dominated Maryland from the very start. This came after two depressing losses to North Carolina and Miami-almost the worst consecutive game performance in the last decade for Tech. The Jackets come into homecoming looking to continue their defensive success, develop their offense even further and take a little revenge against the Blue Devils for last year’s upset loss.
DUKE: Starting the season with four straight losses, Duke has slowly gotten better through the season, holding their own for the most part throughout the game. They have sustained losses to Navy, Connecticut, Virginia Tech and Maryland-all non-ranked opponents. They come into Atlanta off of a home win against The Citadel in its highest seasonal offensive output of 397 yards. Duke hopes to repeat last year’s upset victory of Tech with the continued success of its offense.
FOUR KEY QUESTIONS:
. Can the Jackets erase their embarrassing loss last year to Duke in front of this year’s homecoming crowd?
Tech has proved it can accomplish just about anything under Head Coach Chan Gailey, which has its upsides as well as down, among them last year’s nothing-short-of-embarrassing loss to the Blue Devils. The Jackets bring to the table the best defensive effort recorded in Division I football this season, a rowdy homecoming crowd and, most importantly, an offense that’s growing more and more confident despite being the least productive unit in the ACC. Their time to shine is this weekend.
. Will the Jackets continue their pattern of playing to the level of their opponents?
After suffering a loss this year to North Carolina this has become a question cemented on the minds of fans and alumni alike, but their game last weekend against Maryland brings a ray of light. A humiliating defeat of the Blue Devil in homecoming would go a long way for the Jackets with their base.
. Is last week’s record-setting defensive effort against Maryland indicative of things to come?
With the presence of Eric Henderson, the defense has recorded 12 sacks over its last two games in contrast to only three sacks the three games prior to Henderson’s return from injury. Defensive back-turned-safety Chris Reis has really come through at his new position where he leads the ACC in sacks with five, two-and-a-half of which came against Maryland last week. Defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta put it best after the Maryland game when he said, “We came of age today.” Tech will look to continue their success against the rushing tandem of freshman Justin Boyle and incumbent Cedric Dargan, who has an “outside chance” of returning, according to Duke Head Coach Tim Roof.
. How will Duke’s ACC-leading 13 turnovers-forced this season match up against Tech’s own 12 turnovers this season?
Although Ball, Daniels and company face the ACC’s cellar dweller in almost all of defensive stats, there’s one stat in particular that sticks out: the Blue Devils ACC-leading 13 turnovers-forced. This is a cause for concern because Tech has committed the second most turnovers in the ACC. There is evidence that Tech will come out throwing: Ball passed for 283 yards on homecoming last year and Suggs 220 the year before. The caveat is that Tech has been consistently inconsistent this season, especially in the passing game.
Spread: Tech by 10
