Georgia Tech plays its penultimate road game of the season at 2 p.m. Saturday when it takes the field at Scott Stadium to play Virginia in Charlottesville.
A win would put the Yellow Jackets (4-4, 3-2 ACC) over .500 and break a season-long spell of losses after wins. Tech beat No. 17 North Carolina 46-42 at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday. Three times this season Tech has followed a win with a loss.
Virginia (2-6, 1-3) lost at Miami last time out, its fourth defeat of the season by three points or less. The Cavaliers defeated William and Mary and UNC, respectively, in the two games before that.
Here are five more things to know about Saturday’s matchup that will be televised live by The CW television network (Peachtree TV in the Atlanta TV market):
Circled on the calendar
Most players and coaches generally will say that no one game has more meaning than any other, or that revenge games are concocted by external noise. But Tech defensive end Kyle Kennard and wide receiver Malik Rutherford acknowledged that Saturday’s trip to Virginia holds a little bit more weight.
The extra yearning for victory stems from a 16-9 loss to the Cavaliers at Bobby Dodd Stadium last season. Safety LaMiles Brooks had a pick-6 in that game, and Gavin Stewart made a 35-yard field goal, but that was all the scoring the Jackets could muster. And that all came in the first half.
Tech barely had more than 200 yards of offense, allowed eight sacks and turned the ball over twice, a dismal performance that arguably cost the Jackets a chance to play in a bowl game.
“I’d be lying if I said, ‘no,’ I ain’t gonna lie,” Rutherford responded when asked if he felt a little more motivation this week to beat the Cavaliers. “Of course we go into every game with the same mindset, just to win.”
Rutherford didn’t play in the 2022 matchup in what was a very different offense than it is now. Kennard made four tackles in the loss, which broke a two-game win streak for the Jackets.
“You wanna attack every game the same every week, but I’d be a liar if I said some games didn’t have an extra chip with you. This is just one of those games,” Kennard said. “We’re just looking to come out and just dominate.”
A trip to a bowl game is very much a real possibility for this Tech team, but Virginia again stands in its way. A loss Saturday would mean the Jackets have to win two of their final three to reach the required six wins for the postseason.
Moore to DB
Coach Brent Key said Thursday that D.J. Moore has switched from wide receiver to cornerback in recent weeks during practice. A former three-star prospect out of Archer High, Moore (6-1, 188) has not appeared in a game this season. He saw the field on 13 offensive plays and seven kick returns in 2022.
“Trying to see position versatility in guys that can play other spots to find the best people on our roster in the best places they can be in,” Key said.
Moore had a wrist injury earlier this year, and while he recovered from that Tech has seen its stable of receivers solidified through those who have seen the field. Key said he went to Moore a few weeks ago with the idea, and Moore was receptive to giving it a shot.
“A couple weeks ago he said every time he intercepted the ball or caught the ball he tried to run the wrong way,” Key said. “He’s just gotta flip the muscle memory in his head.”
Loaded Muskett
Tech’s defense has faced its fair share of talented quarterbacks in 2023. Saturday will be no different when it sees Tony Muskett.
The 6-foot-2, 206-pound senior transferred to Virginia from Monmouth, where he was the Big South freshman of the year and a two-time all-conference selection. Muskett had a slow start to his UVA career, but the Virginia native has come on strong, completing 61.7% of his passes over the past four games and throwing for 926 yards (231.5 per game).
Muskett was named the starter coming into the season before reportedly injuring his shoulder in a season-opening loss to Tennessee. He missed three games before returning to throw for 247 yards and three touchdowns against Boston College on Sept. 30.
King record watch revisited
With four games left in the regular season, and possibly a bowl game after that, Haynes King continues to trend toward finishing with one of the better seasons by a Tech quarterback in program history, statistically speaking.
King goes into Saturday’s matchup with Virginia sitting on 21 touchdown passes and 2,122 passing yards. He is eight touchdown throws from tying Joe Hamilton for Tech’s single-season record and needs 200 yards passing to move into the top five for passing yards in a single Tech season. King would need to average 240.8 yards passing per game over the next four outings to break George Godsey’s record of 3,085 passing yards in 2001.
The Texas native also is 17 completions shy of entering the top 10 for passing completions in a single Tech season. King’s current completion percentage of 61.7 would be fifth-best in a Tech season — Hamilton holds the record there at 66.6% in 1999.
Only four wins before
Tech first played a game in Charlottesville in 1984, a game that ended in a 20-20 tie. The Jackets have made 18 trips since and came back with a loss on 14 of those occasions.
“Has zero impact on this week,” said Key who lost at Virginia as a Tech offensive lineman in 1997 and 1999. “The only thing that affects this week is the way we prepare and the way we go out and play the game.”
Some of the more difficult losses to swallow in the series have come when the Jackets were ranked: in 2011, 2005, 2001, 1999 and 1992. Tech won at Scott Stadium only in 1986, 1990, 2009 and 2013 and currently is on a four-game losing streak in games played at Virginia. The 1990 triumph came against a Cavaliers team ranked No. 1 in the nation.
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