5 things to know before Georgia Tech-Western Carolina

Five things to know about Saturday’s game:

1. Trying to limit penalties

Two seasons ago, penalties were a pox upon the Jackets, who finished 119th in FBS in penalty yardage, at 74.9 yards per game. Tech addressed it last season and cut its average to 51.2 yards per game, tied for 59th.

Tech had to address penalties again this week, as officials dinged the Jackets with 10 penalties for 86 yards. Six of the penalties were pre-snap, including five false starts on the offensive line.

Coach Geoff Collins wouldn’t use the circumstances of Monday’s game – three linemen making their first career starts, two of them playing in their first college game, against arguably the best defensive line in the country – as an excuse.

Collins said that at Tuesday’s practice the offensive line trained on staying set by having defensive players shift along the line before the snap.

“There were a few things where we killed ourselves before the ball was even snapped,” Smith said. “So I think once we fix those pre-snap penalties and those penalties that we shouldn’t have, I think this offense has a chance to be very explosive and very good, and we saw a glimpse of that Monday night.”

2. Second go for offense

Despite Tech’s offense producing 10 points and 238 yards, Smith and quarterback Jeff Sims took confidence from their first game playing in offensive coordinator Chip Long’s scheme.

“It’s not really much I learned (new),” Sims said. “It’s just things that confirmed what I already knew. When we don’t hurt ourselves, we’re a pretty good offense, and we move the ball really good.”

Relying heavily on quick-hitting throws to evade Clemson’s pass rush, Sims completed 23 of 36 passes for 163 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. Smith ran nine times for 30 yards, many of them yards he made on his own by evading and breaking tackles.

Long frequently used two-back personnel groupings, sometimes putting backs on the outside as receivers.

“I feel like the guys in our (meeting) room are able to play outside and come in and run the ball,” Smith said. “So I feel like that’s something to make our offense more explosive and just another opportunity to get the ball in our hands.”

3. Short week

Saturday’s game will come five days after Tech’s game against Clemson. Collins gave players Tuesday off and then practiced Wednesday and Thursday, with a final light practice scheduled for Friday. Players wore shoulder pads and shorts Tuesday and soft shoulder pads and shorts Thursday.

Undoubtedly, getting proper rest, hydration and nutrition will be important to be as close to peak condition Saturday as possible.

“Personally, my body feels great,” Smith said. “I feel like I’m ready to play. We’ve got – what – two more days? It’s coming fast, but I feel like the way our team and our coaches have handled us preparing for this short week, they handled it the right way.”

Tech has experienced this previously, playing Labor Day night games at Virginia Tech in 2012 and in a Chick-fil-A Kickoff game against Tennessee in 2017. Both, coincidentally, were overtime losses. The Jackets recovered to handily defeat two FCS opponents the following week, Elon in 2012 and Jacksonville State in 2017.

“It’s different, faster because it’s a short week, but your focus has to be higher when it’s a short week because you’ve got to get that preparation in,” Sims said.

4. About Western Carolina

As the sole FCS opponent on Tech’s schedule, Western Carolina almost certainly is the weakest opponent that the Jackets will play this season. The Catamounts finished the 2021 season with a 4-7 mark, which included a 4-4 record in the Southern Conference. It was their fourth losing season in a row. The Jackets were favored by 22.5 points as of Wednesday evening, close to the same spread that Clemson had over Tech.

Coached by former Florida quarterback Kerwin Bell, the Catamounts are bent toward the pass. They ranked seventh in FCS in passing yards per game (320.1) last season. In their opener Saturday, quarterback Carlos Davis was 28-for-36 passing for 433 yards, with six touchdowns and two interceptions, in a 52-38 win over Charleston Southern.

“We did a lot of summer scouting and saw what an explosive offense that they have, really good skill players on the defensive end of the ball,” Collins said.

While Western Carolina shares the Southern Conference with The Citadel, which upset Tech in Collins’ first season, the Catamounts have never beaten an FBS team and have lost their past five games against FBS competition by 40 points or more.

5. Reunion at Bobby Dodd Stadium

A prominent Western Carolina alumnus will be opposite his alma mater Saturday. Collins graduated from the school in 1994 (sports management and exercise science) after playing outside linebacker and defensive back for the Catamounts. He is the second consecutive alumnus of the Cullowhee, N.C., school to lead Tech, following Paul Johnson (Class of 1979, physical education).

Among Collins’ coaches was Lakeside High coach Morris Starr, who was a graduate assistant working with the outside linebackers, Collins’ position.

“He had energy,” Starr said this week. “He had the right kind of energy all the time.”

Starr said that Collins was receptive to coaching and showed the makings of a future coach in his work ethic and study habits. Starr saw a different side of Collins than most coaches, as he lived in the dorm with the team as part of his GA duties.

“He was dating his wife (Jennifer) at the time; he wasn’t a wild guy,” Starr said. “He was in love and happy, so he was kind of low-key.”

Collins declined to revisit his college experience or address any personal meaning that Saturday’s game might hold.

“The biggest focus for me is the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2022 team against a Western Carolina team that’s coming in here,” Collins said. “Tremendous amount of respect for their coaching staff, tremendous amount of respect for their players.”