Caution Ahead: Jackets Haven't Won Yet!

Six down, two to go.  That's where Georgia Tech stands in conference play.  After six games, Georgia Tech holds the head-to-head tie-breaker with Virginia and Virginia Tech, only leaving Duke in the mix.

Many consider Duke a mere technicality on the way the ACC Championship game, but going to North Carolina to face them isn't going to be the cakewalk that many would think.

Georgia Tech's biggest weakness on defense remains the passing game.  Virginia gained only 30 yards on the ground this weekend, but over 150 in the air.  For a Virginia team that ranks 93rd out of 120 FBS teams in passing, that's about par for the course.

Georgia Tech will be facing two of the top 25 passing offenses in the coming weeks.  Duke ranks ninth, with Wake Forest ranking No. 22.  This should spell caution to the Jackets defense, as we have seen passing offenses have their way with us already this season.

Unsurprisingly, the key will be our running game keeping both teams off the field.  Both Duke and Wake Forest rank in the bottom half of the FBS on rush defense, even with teams hurting them through the air.   And with our running game comes our clock management.

Time of possession continues to dictate the pace of the game for the opposing teams because Georgia Tech just doesn't give the other team a chance at the ball, averaging an NCAA-leading 34:50 TOP per game (Note that the "other" option team, Navy, is third with 34:10 TOP per game).  Keeping the ball out of the hands of Duke and Wake Forest's dangerous quarterbacks should keep our defense fresh enough to manage them.

All of that being said, Georgia Tech can and should win both games.  Tech's offense has continued to be productive and shows improvement in every game.  And Tech's defense showed composure under pressure on Saturday, stopping Virginia from scoring a single touchdown, despite their four red-zone appearances.

Wake Forest is fresh off a loss to Navy, who was playing with their backup quarterback, and I don't hesitate in saying that we have a more potent option attack.  This should spell serious trouble since Wake Forest will have to remember any lessons learned this past weekend after another game this Saturday, before they play Tech at Bobby Dodd.

Duke is fresh off their second conference win over Maryland.  They passed for nearly 400 yards, but that's Maryland's defense for you.  And their performance against Maryland wasn't very pretty either.  Twelve penalties for over 100 yards, and three lost turnovers won't give them much of a chance against a defense that can capitalize on those errors.

Tech plays Vanderbilt this Saturday before finishing off their conference play.  Unfortunately Vanderbilt ranks a dismal 111th in passing offense, with only 148 yards per game, which shouldn't offer too much of a challenge for the secondary.