ACC Championship Game 2014: Bold Predictions for Florida State vs. Georgia Tech
The stage is set for the 2014 ACC Championship Game featuring the Florida State Seminoles and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Seminoles finished the regular season undefeated after surviving a scare from Florida. The Yellow Jackets defeated Georgia in the latest edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, as an overtime interception preserved a 30-24 win.
With both teams riding big waves of momentum, we should be in for quite a title game.
Will Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston lead his team to a 29th consecutive victory, or will the resilient Yellow Jackets earn their third straight win over a ranked opponent? As we await the answer to that quandary, let's take a look at some bold predictions for each team in the ACC Championship Game.
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Bold Predictions: Florida State
Dalvin Cook Totals 200 Yards from Scrimmage, Touchdown
Cook has been phenomenal this season in a complementary role to Karlos Williams out of the Seminoles backfield. Although, whenever the freshman was given a chance to step up this season, he's answered the call. That situation played out Saturday, as Williams left the game with a concussion, via Zach Abolverdi of The Gainesville Sun:
Once Cook took the lead role, he simply went off. He carried 24 times for 144 yards—both season highs—and added two receptions for 28 yards. His breakaway speed and burst through the line of scrimmage were well on display, as he averaged an impressive 6.0 yards per carry.
Georgia Tech hasn't been overly stout against the run this season. The Yellow Jackets came into Saturday allowing 165.5 rushing yards per game and gave up a total of 194 yards to Nick Chubb and Co. in the regular-season finale.
Even if Williams does play in the championship game, expect Cook to see a slightly increased workload based on what he showed against Florida. With Winston struggling in the passing game, the Seminoles will lean on the run, and Cook will benefit.
Seminoles Hold Georgia Tech to 200 Yards of Offense
This is most certainly a bold prediction; however, when considering how one-dimensional the Georgia Tech offense is, it's not completely out of the question.
Yellow Jackets quarterback Justin Thomas isn't much of a passer. He's what many analysts consider a game-manager. In fact, he's thrown for less than 100 yards in five different games this season and completed more than eight passes just twice.
Georgia Tech relies very heavily on the running game to move the ball, as Thomas excels as a dual-threat quarterback and Zach Laskey has been the team's bell cow. That may be a trait that spoils the Yellow Jackets' ACC championship hopes, as Florida State has been solid against the run this season.
The Seminoles were allowing an average of just 3.75 yards per carry prior to Saturday's contest and allowed just 3.4 yards per rush to the Gators. That defensive effort allowed Winston to notch this statistic, via ESPN Stats and Info:
If Florida State keeps up that trend, it would take more than 40 carries for Georgia Tech to reach 150 yards on the ground. As long as the Seminoles don't allow any big passing plays over the top of the secondary, holding Georgia Tech to less than 200 yards will be within reach.
Bold Predictions: Georgia Tech
Yellow Jackets Pick off Jameis Winston Four Times
If this bold prediction comes to fruition, we could then call it a trend. After all, Winston produced one of the worst performances of his career on Saturday, completing just 12 of his 24 passing attempts for 125 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions.
Winston has struggled with ball security this season, throwing at least one interception in nine of his 11 games. Saturday marked the fifth time this season the quarterback has tossed multiple picks in a single game.
Georgia Tech has been solid against the pass this season. The Yellow Jackets were allowing an average of 223.3 passing yards per game and limiting opponents to 12 touchdowns through the air coming into Saturday. They fared nicely against Hutson Mason, limiting Georgia's signal-caller to just 194 yards and one touchdown and picking him off to end the game.
That interception marked Georgia Tech's 17th of the season. The team has been accumulating picks in all sorts of ways this season. Here's a look back at one of its gems from a game against North Carolina State, via Bleacher Report:
This is one of the nation's best ball-hawking squads, and if Winston isn't careful, he could have another disastrous outing.
Georgia Tech Gets the Win, Ends Seminoles' Streak
When Florida State defeated Florida on Saturday evening, social media erupted with updates of the team's ongoing winning streak. Here's an example, via ESPN:
Well, this bold prediction has that streak coming to an end. After all, just how many times can the Seminoles come from behind to notch nail-biting victories? The team received big scares from Notre Dame, Miami and Boston College, but Saturday's contest against Florida was different.
Instead of Winston dominating the second half of the game like he's done so many times in the past, he continued to look mediocre, relying on the team's defense and running game to squeeze out the win. That's not a good sign against Georgia Tech, and here's why.
The Yellow Jackets are a versatile running team that is capable of sustaining drives and killing the clock. They have the ability to keep Winston on the sidelines, preventing him from getting into any kind of rhythm. If that's the case, expect the quarterback to start forcing balls downfield against this ball-hawking secondary. One errant pass in that situation could lead to an enormous upset victory for Georgia Tech.
All team statistics courtesy of NCAA.com and current as of November 29.
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