With wins over three teams that are a combined 7-20, Georgia Tech has the opportunity to claim a much bigger trophy Saturday. N.C. State is not No. 2 Notre Dame or No. 3 Clemson, but at 7-3 overall and 6-3 in the ACC, the Wolfpack are far superior to the three teams that the Yellow Jackets have taken care of – Florida State, Louisville and, Saturday in a 56-33 rout, Duke.
At N.C. State’s Carter-Finley Stadium, Tech (3-5, 3-4) is a seven-point underdog to the Wolfpack.
1. Different look, same plan
The Wolfpack play out of a 3-3-5 defense, making them Tech’s third opponent out of nine that plays primarily with three down linemen.
Right guard Ryan Johnson said that while the scheme is different, what’s important for him and his teammates is to understand Tech’s own scheme. The alignment of the defense may be different, but the principles of the offensive scheme remain the same.
“At some point, your queen’s protected by your pawns, but now it’s protected by your bishop,” he said. “It’s the same concept. You’re moving people around, but you still have the same jobs that you have to get done.”
N.C. State presents far more than a different-looking front. Five players have eight or more tackles for loss. (Tech’s leader in that category is defensive end Jordan Domineck with 7.5.) Defensive end Daniel Joseph and linebacker Isaiah Moore lead with 9.5. Nose tackle Alim McNeill caught the notice of offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude.
“He does a really good job of playing on the center and trying to bully the center around and anchor the middle of the defense, and that’s critical if you’re a three-down defense,” Patenaude said.
Not a small part of the equation is the availability of freshman running back Jahmyr Gibbs, whose status for the game is uncertain after an apparent hamstring injury in the Duke game.
2. Improvement against run
From a yards-per-carry perspective, Tech put together its best run-defense game since 2014 in Saturday’s win over Duke. The Jackets held the Blue Devils to 68 yards on 40 carries, a 1.7 yards-per-carry average. It was well below its season average, which going into the game was 4.7. (The rate includes two lost fumbles that accounted for minus-42 yards, although even taking those two plays out, the average would still be 2.9 yards per carry.)
Defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker gave credit to the interior defensive line for staying in gaps, which often forced runs to go parallel to the line of scrimmage. Defensive tackles Ja’Quon Griffin and Djimon Brooks were instrumental in causing problems for Duke in the middle.
“We’ve got guys that have good effort to the football, but the interior run game was where we made the biggest strides,” Thacker said. “So compliments to the interior guys. Defensive linemen don’t get enough love.”
Next up is N.C. State running back Zonovan Knight, who averages 69.8 yards per game and last year ran for 100 yards on 18 carries against Tech.
3. What’s at stake
Saturday’s game stands as a test of progress. As much as the Jackets dominated Duke – they gained 141 more yards than the Blue Devils, the largest advantage in coach Geoff Collins’ tenure – they also were the beneficiaries of a number of Duke mistakes. Duke coach David Cutcliffe lamented after the game that his team had failed to finish – drives, tackles, catches and more – and often at inopportune moments. The Blue Devils’ largesse helped Tech overcome mistakes that have been critical in other games this season, such as three turnovers and 11 penalties.
N.C. State figures to be much more rigid. The Wolfpack’s special teams are solid, the defense creates tackles for loss and quarterback Bailey Hockman – from McEachern High – is an accurate passer. N.C. State has won five times after trailing in the second half, four times in the fourth quarter.
“You just really respect the way they’ve played this year and understand it’s going to be a challenge going up there in Raleigh,” Collins said.
Patenaude and Thacker both asserted their belief that their team can play with any of the ACC’s teams below the Clemson/Notre Dame tier.
“I think we can be right in that next level of teams in this league that can beat anybody on any given week,” Patenaude said. “I think there is a lot of parity.”
Saturday is the Jackets’ chance to show it.
4. Putting it together
When going over Tech in his news conference, N.C. State coach Dave Doeren singled out two players on Tech’s defense. One was defensive end Jordan Domineck, whose play against Duke and this season made him an understandable focal point.
The other was less so – safety Tariq Carpenter.
“They have big safeties,” Doeren said. “They’ve got a 6-4, 225-pound safety that they use in a box a lot – very rangy.”
In his senior season, Carpenter has been through a lot, particularly recovering from surgery on both wrists over the summer. Carpenter said that, after surgery, he put on about 25 pounds to reach 250, which made his heart drop. But, steadily, he has lost the extra pounds, and Saturday he said he was back to 222. Against Duke, he was forceful in run defense, broke up two passes and made his first interception of the season.
“I’ve been playing not my best, but (Saturday), I felt like my old self, getting back healthy,” he said.
5. History lesson
Dating to a 2002 win over a Wolfpack team ranked eighth at the time, Tech has won five consecutive times at Carter-Finley Stadium. In three of the five years, the Wolfpack went on to winning seasons. The 2002 N.C. State team, led by quarterback Philip Rivers, was 9-0 before falling to the Jackets in coach Chan Gailey’s first season. Jackets running back Gordon Clinkscale ran for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter in the 24-17 win, finishing a rally from a 17-9 deficit.
Including all ACC teams, Tech has had only one longer road winning streak, when it beat Duke at Wallace Wade Stadium in six consecutive visits between 1991 and 2001. By comparison, the Jackets have never won in back-to-back trips to Virginia and have won four times total in 18 trips.
Overall, the Jackets are 9-6 at N.C. State and 17-10 overall in ACC play, including last year’s 28-26 win at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
