Paul Johnson’s Yellow Jackets are primed for a second straight ACC Championship and a return to the BCS in 2010.
The schedule There are three games that Georgia Tech absolutely, positively, must win if it is to claim a second straight ACC Coastal title. The first of these is a road game at UNC on September 18, then it’s a trip to Blacksburg to take on the Hokies on November 4, before Miami comes to Bobby Dodd Stadium on November 13. If the Yellow Jackets can beat these three teams, all of whom already feature in these rankings, then they should win the ACC Coastal title.
If Georgia Tech harbors even greater ambitions then the games at Clemson and Georgia should prove decisive. The Yellow Jackets travel to Clemson, a team they beat twice en route to the ACC title in 2009, on October 23. The season ends with some Clean, Old Fashioned Hate in Athens against the Dawgs.
The players How does a team rebound from losing talents like Jonathan Dwyer and DeMaryius Thomas to the NFL? By becoming even stronger, as Paul Johnson keeps on developing Tech’s phenomenal running game. All-ACC quarterback Josh Nesbitt returns, along with running back Anthony Allen. The duo headline an offense with 6 returning starters. College Football betting fans should bear in mind that while Georgia Tech’s offensive line returns just 2 starters, including All-ACC center Sean Bedford, the incoming linemen were all recruited by Johnson specifically to fit his system. In simple terms, this means the Yellow Jackets should prove an even bigger threat on the ground in 2010.
Georgia Tech returns 8 starters on defense but moving on without Derrick Morgan is going to prove challenging. Al Groh has done a fine job adjusting Tech into his 3-4 scheme and the depth of talent in the linebacker corps should help make up for any loss of production up front. The Yellow Jackets punter, Chandler Anderson, and kicker, Scott Blair, are both returning starters.
The forecast I like the Yellow Jackets to repeat as ACC champions, I like them to notch another 10 win season, but I can’t commit to Georgia Tech making that next step and competing for the BCS title.
I like the Yellow Jackets to go 7-1 in conference play and 8-0 isn’t completely out of the question. There are however too many potential bumps in the road to like Georgia Tech to run the table and go 12-0 in the regular season. Four of the five toughest games on Tech’s schedule are on the road. This includes a trip to Georgia, a team I like to improve greatly over the course of the season. I see a 10-2 or 11-1 finish to the regular season before the Yellow Jackets win the ACC title and return to the BCS.
