Notre Dame Opponent Preview | Georgia Tech
Geoff Collins didn’t take over a complete rebuild scenario when he became head coach at Georgia Tech, but changing the offense from a triple option attack to a spread was always going to take some time.
Last year was a year full of growing pains with the team finishing 3-9 and the offense finishing 120th in yards per play. Five of their nine losses came by 16 points or more.
This team should be better this season. The offense should at the very least take a step forward and the defense has the potential to be one of the friskier groups in the ACC.
Is that going to be enough to give Notre Dame a game? We’ll have a pretty good idea heading into it because they face Florida State, Central Florida, Louisville, and Clemson before hosting the Irish.
Offense
They unsurprisingly were deficient on the offensive line and at receiver when Collins took over. They needed a fresh start at quarterback too so it wasn’t shocking how bad things got for them on this side of the ball.
They are projected 104th in the SP+ preseason ratings and it’s fair to say they’ll struggle again in 2020.
James Graham returns at quarterback and he took plenty of lumps last season. He has to win the job again this year and will have to be much better to keep it. His completion percentage was under 50% and it dipped all the way down to 34% on 3rd down.
He may improve and offers some ability as a runner, but he needs to be much better and give his receivers chances to make plays after the catch. Jalen Camp (19.1 yards per reception) and Ahmarean Brown (18.9) both flashed potential to be big play threats.
Though the running game as a whole was bad, Jordan Mason was a bright spot averaging 5.2 yards per carry and finishing with just under 900 yards. If he gets better blocking, he’ll be someone to key on.
That’s a big if, though. The line was flat out terrible. They struggled run blocking and were a huge reason why they were terrible at converting on 3rd or 4th and short (129th in Power Success Rate). They couldn’t protect very well either and were 111th in Sack Rate. They added a couple of transfers from Vanderbilt and Tennessee, but they aren’t going from terrible to good because of that. Notre Dame will have a huge advantage up front.
They couldn’t generate big plays and were 109th in plays of 30 yards or more from scrimmage. Georgia Tech has to improve in every area to be able to score more points.
X-factor - Mason
Mason did have runs of 20 yards or more in seven games last season and should be in line for a big season.
Wild card - Jeff Sims
Sims is a freshman who is competing for the quarterback job. He was a 4-star prospect, one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, and could be the long term answer for them at the position. He may not start the season at QB1. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is QB1 for when they play Notre Dame.
Defense
Collins was a really good defensive coordinator in the SEC before he became the head coach at Temple. The Temple defense was outstanding in his second season and he will be hoping for a similar jump from him Georgia Tech squad.
They are rated 35th in SP+ and return 94% of their production from last season. The strength of the group is the secondary where all five starters in their 4-2-5 are back and they have some good depth competing behind them.
Cornerback Tre Swilling is the leader and he had 11 passes defensed in 2019. He’s a candidate to be named All-ACC. Safety Juanyeh Thomas is another good player who finished with 7.5 Havoc plays.
The problem is that the back end of the defense isn’t supported well enough by the pass rush. They finished 82nd in Sack Rate and no player on the team had more than 2.5 sacks last season. The front six in general isn’t strong enough, aside from linebacker David Curry (97 tackles) and they couldn’t stop the run finishing 101st in yards per carry against them.
They only return one starter up front and really need Florida transfer Antonneous Clayton, who was not eligible in 2019, to make an impact off the edge.
X-factor - Charlie Thomas
Thomas is their version of a Rover and led their team in Havoc plays with 13.5 (9.5 tackles for loss). He’s going to be a playmaker for them this fall.
Wild card - Clayton
Clayton was supposed to be the next great pass rusher at Florida, where Collins recruited him, but things didn’t work out for him there. He was considered one of the top edge rushers in the 2016 recruiting cycle and he’ll get every opportunity to be the guy he was supposed to be now that he can get on the field.
Overview
Georgia Tech is probably a year away from giving any of the top teams in the ACC a scare. They lack the depth and top end talent on offense to really have a shot against the best in the conference.
Though they should continue to get better on defense, that’s not going to be enough to make them more than a .500 team at best in 2020. The 2021 team who visits South Bend next season might be a different story, but a tougher schedule before they face Notre Dame is likely going to expose their deficiencies on the roster.