Yellow Fever: Five Keys To a Healthy Georgia Tech Run in the ACC

Less than 48 hours away from the start of one of the most anticipated seasons in recent memory, fans on the Flats are wondering if Georgia Tech is a legitimate ACC championship contender.

The Rambling Wreck return several starters, including a lethal offensive backfield and eight players on defense. And Paul Johnson's troops were one Vic Hall take-your-breath-away moment from playing for the ACC title last year.

But that was last year. Three starters are gone off the defensive line, and coordinators far and near have had a year to analyze and pick apart Johnson's spread option offense.

So do they have the horses? Well, yes, probably. But they certainly aren't overwhelming favorites.

So what will it take? Below are five keys—if you will—to the kind of successful season Tech fans are hoping for in 2009.

1) Year Two, The Option Experiment

People told Paul Johnson he'd never succeed in major college football running the triple option. He told them to shove it. Then he did succeed. Then LSU blew the Jackets back to the stone age in the Peach Bowl, and the whole argument began again. 

Now I don't really believe LSU has the secret to beating the option. The Tigers just dominated the line of scrimmage, and I don't know of many offenses that can beat three-yard penetration at the snap.

But the semi-popular sentiment is that better defenses will be far more prepared for Georgia Tech's old-school/new-school scheme than they once were. Defensive players from a couple of different ACC schools hinted as much during ACC media day earlier this year.

Statistically, however, Paul Johnson-coached offenses are more effective in year two than in year one. 

What most people forget is that this isn't something Paul Johnson pulled from a mentor's playbook, he designed it himself. So in many ways, its success this year is more a measure of his coaching ability than last year.

2) Which ACC shows up?

The ACC expanded six years ago with the objective of bringing themselves level with other divided conferences in terms of money and success.

The money—to an extent—has come. The success? Yet to be determined.

It didn't help that the Miami and Florida State dynasties pretty much died right around the time of realignment. Virginia Tech has basically been default powerhouse, winning two of the four championships and competing in another one.

2009 doesn't exactly look like a year of ascendance for the conference, and if Georgia Tech's defense improves as expected, their rather favorable schedule could carve a path to Tampa Bay.

3) How do they handle injuries?

The Jackets got through last year relatively injury-free, excepting quarterback Josh Nesbitt's two-game hiatus.

Without their No. 1 signal caller, the Jackets beat Duke a resounding 27-0 behind a strong showing from freshman quarterback Jaybo Shaw, who is currently laid up with a shoulder injury.

A week later, they almost lost to Gardner-Webb, an FCS team, with now-graduated Calvin Booker at the helm.

Getting Shaw back is key, because he's a proven backup. But the greater goal should be to do everything possible to keep Nesbitt healthy.

The quarterback is everything in the option offense—there's not one play that doesn't call for him to make some kind of read or adjustment.

Nesbitt was a clear force when healthy last year, and at 217 pounds, he's no lightweight.

They've got depth in the offensive backfield, and should have decent enough depth across the board defensively as well.

But keeping Nesbitt healthy all season long would be the difference between an eight-win season and a BCS bid.

4) How do they handle the football?

Georgia Tech fumbled the ball 13 times in Paul Johnson's first spring game in 2008 and as a team finished 83rd in the nation in turnover margin last year, thanks in no small part to 12 lost fumbles. 

Interceptions were a problem too, they had 12 of those.

In the Jackets' three regular-season losses, they turned the ball over nine times, including six fumbles.

For a technical school, the math shouldn't be too hard. Those numbers have to come down.

5) How do they handle the pressure?

Georgia Tech was a consensus 3-4 win team last year. Everyone who didn't ply their daily trade at Rose Bowl Field figured the Jackets were going to be a grand, drawn-out experiment into whether option football can still succeed.

Instead, they went 9-3 and won a share (albeit the lesser share) of the ACC Coastal Division title.

But it's oh-so-much harder to succeed with a target on your back. Georgia Tech will sneak up on no one this year, and coaches will have had a year to look at tape and break down situations. So, regardless of new wrinkles or adjustments, opponents will be at least marginally more ready for the option.

Good teams can surprise you with success you didn't expect.

Great teams offer no surprises, only proof, and they give it standing squarely in the spotlight. That's what makes them great.

Georgia Tech can be a great team. But it's on them to prove it.