Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets College Football Preview 2021: Keys To The Season
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Biggest Key: Offense
Score whenever there’s a chance. The offense could’ve done a lot more – it needs to start averaging over 400 yards per game – but the ground attack should be great and the passing game should be stronger with QB Jeff Sims getting more experienced and more comfortable.
As the offense gets better and the veteran defense starts to be more consistent, more games should be competitive. That means there can’t be so many misfires when the O gets inside the 20.
It didn’t matter all that much – all seven losses were by double digits – but the team failed to score in the red zone on ten of its 30 trips.
The kicking game was a problem with three red zone misses, and the team only converted all if its chances twice – once in the win over Louisville, and once in the win over Duke.
The third win – 16-13 over Florida State – would’ve been a whole lot easier if there weren’t a few missed field goals and another empty trip.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Biggest Key: Defense
All of the parts have to start working better together. That might sound basic and silly, but the Yellow Jackets really do have decent enough players to be a whole lot better, and it starts with stopping something.
It’s been a few years since Georgia Tech had a decent D, but the secondary is loaded with big, good tacklers and options to make the group stronger. The linebackers will come up with a ton of stops, and even though there’s not a ton of bulk, there should be a good rotation on the line. So to do this again …
Stop something.
It stopped just about everything in the opening day win over Florida State, and it stuffed Syracuse a few games later – even in a loss – but that was about it.
Everyone else either ran at will, or threw at will, or did a little bit of both – like Notre Dame – to be effective enough to win relatively easily.
So the Yellow Jackets have to find one thing it can do really, really well, and make teams try to move the ball doing something else.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Key Player To A Successful Season
OT Devin Cochran, Sr.
Really, it should be QB Jeff Sims – he’s the rising star who has to be brilliant, healthy, and more consistent – but he needs a line that can block for him.
There’s enough decent experience up front to be okay, but the line needs a star. That should be the 6-7, 320-pound Cochran …
Hopefully.
The former Vanderbilt Commodore was supposed to be a key tackle last year when he signed on, he chose not to play in the global pandemic year, appeared ready to go off to the NFL, and now, all of a sudden, he’s back in the mix.
If he’s a next-level force, the O line might go from good to a strength.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Key Game To The 2021 Season
Pitt, Oct. 2
There aren’t many sure-win games on the slate.
The first two against Northern Illinois and Kennesaw State have to be layups, and just assume that Clemson and North Carolina will be a bit too much for the Yellow Jackets to handle to start the ACC season. With a slew of rough games late in the season, beating Pitt in Atlanta could be a must.
The Yellow Jackets have lost three straight in the series and five of the last six, but they go the rest of October without a home game and have just two until the season finale against (deep breath) Georgia.
– Georgia Tech Football Schedule Analysis
2020 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Fun Stats
– 1st Half Scoring: Opponents 247 – Georgia Tech 111
– Field Goals: Opponents 15-of-17 – Georgia Tech 3-of-8
– Time of Possession: Opponents 32:52 – Georgia Tech 27:05