Georgia Tech Hopes To Avoid Letdown Against Vanderbilt

Teams from the ACC and SEC match up on Saturday night when ACC leader Georgia Tech travels to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. The Yellow Jackets have the ACC Coastal Division title in their sights, but cannot afford a letdown against a pesky Vandy team that nearly beat South Carolina last week.

The two head coaches have some history against each other competing for Southern Conference titles at Furman (Bobby Johnson) and Georgia Southern (Paul Johnson) in the late '90s and early '00s. Vegas has installed GT as 12-point favorites after opening at 13.5.

Three Keys For A Vanderbilt Cover

1. Stop The Option Inside Out

There is no blueprint for stopping this offense, but the teams that have the most success have stopped the run up the middle first and forced the pitch outside. The pitch forces the most errors for GT and bogs down its offense.

2. Get Some Offense

The anemic Commodores offense is averaging just 323 yards and 17 points per game on the season. It has gotten even worse as of late, with Vandy scoring 11 points per game over its last three games with under 300 yards of offense. The 'Dores have to be able to move the ball to keep with GT and cannot rely solely on special teams and defense to keep the game close.

3. Get Some Turnovers

When you are an overmatched opponent physically, you need something big to break your way, and that usually involves turnovers. A wet field and ball would help Vandy, as would forcing the pitch. See point one.

Three Keys for a Georgia Tech Cover

1. Control The Ball

Georgia Tech is tops in the nation in time of possession at nearly 35 minutes per game. It is hard for the other team to score when it does not have the ball. And if the opposition cannot score, it cannot win.

2. Cover Kicks

Vandy freshman Warren Norman has two kickoff returns for touchdown this season and averages nearly 30 yards per return. GT opponents have already taken one back this season and are getting nearly 25 yards per return. Also, GT has just one touchback this season.

3. Come Out With Energy

As I mentioned earlier, this game is a little different for Ga Tech because it is a non-conference game in the middle of the season against an SEC bottom-feeder. Also, the atmosphere is not going to be even close to what Miss State has especially if the weather is sour. The Yellow Jackets need to put this game away in the first half and not allow Vandy to gain confidence at home.

Prediction

Georgia Tech has really turned it up in its last three games, especially on offense, and if the Jackets keep executing teams will have a very tough time stopping them. But, if any coach is going to know GT's offense it is Bobby Johnson from his days at Furman.

However, Vandy simply does not have the players to line up man-for-man and beat Georgia Tech. The Commodores rank 87th nationally in stopping the run while GT is second in rush offense. Barring a loss of the turnover battle, I see Georgia Tech winning and covering

Georgia Tech by 14

Georgia Tech Covers -12