Bad Advice, Bold Prediction and Something Else: Week 11

(Yes, Derrick Morgan, Georgia Tech's magic number is one.)

Former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight used to explain to his teams how every game was important through a favored phrase.

"You have to put yourself in position to get in position," he'd say, referring to the idea that you can't be great without focusing on important short-term tasks, which will set you up for long-term success.

That's where Georgia Tech is right now: putting itself in position to get in position.

Assuming simply that the goal in from any given week forward is to be as successful as is possible with the allotted time left to you, Georgia Tech's ultimate aim is an ACC Championship and a BCS bowl win. Anything else would be out of their hands.

A win against Duke, therefore, is all part of Bobby Knight's sage wisdom. 9-1 to this point, the Jackets have put themselves in position to clinch the ACC Coastal. Do that Saturday in Durham, and they put themselves in position to win a conference title.

You see, it's all about putting yourself in position to get in position. Georgia Tech has done that already, and could do it again this Saturday.

And with that, away we go...

Bad advice

Get to Thaddeus Lewis early, and get to him often.

There are honestly times when Derrick Morgan is plain unblockable. I said earlier in the year that I thought he was 50/50 for the pros, but now I'd say don't expect him back next year.

Too bad he's doing it alone. He's first in the conference in sacks, but Tech is ninth overall in the ACC in sacks per game.

That said, Duke is seventh in conference and 85th in the country in sacks allowed.

Lewis is a prolific passer, and Tech's secondary has been carved up like a holiday roast by good quarterbacks this year. Getting to Lewis might be the Jackets' best way of shutting down Duke's offense.

Between a bad pass rush and bad pass protection, something's got to give. Georgia Tech has had success getting things to split their way in those 50/50 situations this season.

Bold prediction

This will be the least bold prediction I've ever made: Jonathan Dwyer is going to have a huge game Saturday.

Duke's run defense is 62nd in the nation, and while I still maintain that that doesn't matter as much against the entire option, it does tell me the Blue Devils will struggle against the dive, the most normal running look in Tech's arsenal.

I've said before, he gets stronger as the season winds down. In his last two games, he's averaged 187.5 yards and two scores, and he's up over 1,000 yards again.

These next few weeks will likely be Dwyer's swan song as a Yellow Jacket, and he's poised to make the most of them.

Something else

Forty-three years.

That's the history Tech's trying to make by beating Duke on Saturday. The win would make it eight in a row for the Jackets, a mark they have not reached since 1966.

That season, legendary coach Bobby Dodd's last, ended with an Orange bowl berth.

Finally, a score

In some ways, Duke is a scary draw for Georgia Tech. The Jackets have definitely lived on the edge at times this season, and that overtime win against Wake Forest was about as close as it comes.

Make no mistake, Wake is a good team, but a lot of people expected the Jackets to win by a bigger margin, and rightfully so. Now, enter Duke, of the prolific passing game and well-coached players (David Cutcliffe never should have been fired at Ole Miss, but it's been the Dukies' gain).

Someone made the point this week (can't remember who) that Thad Lewis does not have a signature win to his credit in almost four years as Duke's quarterback, and unlike most who've come before, he's a fine player at his position. Duke's passing attack ought to scare the Jackets, and scare them good.

But I've said it before and I'll say it again: You aren't a one-loss team at this stage in the season without good reason.

Paul Johnson said this week that he has yet to see what he considers a complete performance—offensively, defensively, across the board—from his team this season.

It won't take one against Duke, and even with one, I think the Blue Devils cover the spread. But as good as Duke has been this season, the Jackets are simply a better team overall, right now, whatever.

Chan Gailey-coached Georgia Tech might lose this game, Paul Johnson-coached Georgia Tech won't.

I think the Jackets take it, and punch their ticket for Tampa: Georgia Tech 31-Duke 23.