Georgia Tech makes its first football trip to the Carrier Dome on Saturday with a chance to go back over .500 and to win its second ACC road game in a row. After a 49-21 home loss to Central Florida a week ago, the Yellow Jackets have the chance to make corrections against a team that has lost its first two games by a combined 52-16 and has had particular difficulty moving the ball.
The Jackets have the opportunity to build on their win over Florida State and put the UCF game behind them.
1. Jackets facing struggling Orange offense
Through two games, the futility of the Syracuse offense has been anomalous. The Orange gained 202 yards against No. 11 North Carolina and 171 against No. 21 Pittsburgh, the lowest and third lowest yardage totals for Syracuse since the start of the 2017 season, which was coach Dino Babers' second at the school. From 2017-19, Syracuse averaged 447 yards per game – justifying his reputation for highly productive offenses – and were held under 300 yards twice in 37 games.
“I’ve never expected anything like this,” Babers said at his news conference this week. “I’ve never been a part of anything like this.”
Syracuse has been particularly egregious in its pass protection, with 14 sacks allowed in its first two games. (It bears mention that Pitt, the Orange’s second opponent, has one of the top defensive lines in the country.)
“The O-line has their issues, the receivers have their issues, the quarterbacks have their issues,” Babers said.
Babers also said that players are “barely misfiring” on offense and that the unit is closer to playing much better than might appear.
For Tech, which just gave up 49 points and 660 yards to No. 13 Central Florida, it’s an opportunity to regain its footing against a wobbly opponent.
2. First flight for Jackets
Tech will take its first plane flight of the season after having bused to Florida State for the opener. In a non-pandemic year, this would not rate much attention, but this is not a non-pandemic year.
“With the plane thing, it is kind of sketchy with coronavirus going around, but at the end of the day, I trust the protocols and all the things our program has in place to make sure we’re safe and taken care of,” defensive tackle Djimon Brooks said.
Tech also will be the first visitor to the renovated Carrier Dome, which underwent a $118 million renovation that includes a new roof and a center-hung scoreboard that is reported to be the largest in college sports – each side is 62 ½ feet by 20 feet.
No fans will be allowed in the stadium.
3. Red-zone play needs tightening
The Jackets will pay particular heed in their red-zone trips, where they have scored but four touchdowns in nine times to the opponent 20 or inside (along with one field goal). Over the course of a season, a red-zone touchdown percentage in the high 60s or better would be considered successful. Batting .444 won’t do the trick. The Jackets got into the end zone on 53.6% of their red-zone possessions last season, which was 97th in FBS.
Worse, of the four possessions out of nine that have come up empty, they all advanced to the 11-yard line or farther. Two ended with blocked field-goal attempts, one an interception and another a lost fumble. Saturday’s loss against UCF first turned when the Jackets made three red-zone trips in their first three possessions but scored only seven points.
“I thought the plays were good, I thought the scheme was good, I liked the plan that we had (against UCF),” offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude said. “We just missed a couple throws, and we have to secure the ball.”
Quarterback Jeff Sims was the guilty party on the fumble and also threw a red-zone interception against FSU. The mistakes could reasonably be attributed to inexperience and a cost of playing a freshman. Execution on protection and kicks have been an issue with field-goal tries. Coach Geoff Collins did not reveal Tuesday if he would use Jude Kelley or Gavin Stewart, who replaced Kelley against UCF and made two point-after tries, or even another kicker.
4. Shortage at tight end again
Tech will be without its first two tight ends, Dylan Deveney and Dylan Leonard. It will be the second game in a row that they will be out. Deveney is not playing because he is in COVID-19 protocol, according to two people familiar with the situation. They are both expected back for Tech’s next game, against Louisville on Oct. 9, following the team’s first open date.
Against UCF, Tech relied mostly on offensive packages without tight ends, either two backs and three receivers or one back and four receivers, with Jack Coco or Billy Ward taking snaps when the Jackets used a tight end. While Coco has proved himself as a blocker and caught a pass for eight yards, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Patenaude again were to limit his use of packages with tight ends.
5. Tech encounters different scheme
Tech’s offensive line will be tested by Syracuse’s 3-3-5 defensive scheme, which has produced five sacks in two games, same as the Jackets. First-year defensive coordinator Tony White uses the alignment to give opponents a variety of looks.
“They’ve got guys blitzing from everywhere,” Collins said on his weekly radio show. “Showing from over here, blitzing from over there. They do a lot of creative things. But, every single down, there’s guys coming from everywhere.”
Through two games, Tech has made astounding progress in protecting the quarterback. Last year, the Jackets gave up one sack for every 9.6 pass attempts. Through two games, Sims has thrown 70 passes (with the team credited one attempt when Sims spiked the ball to stop the clock against UCF) and has been sacked once. Sims' elusiveness and Patenaude’s variety of plays to counter the pass rush are a factor, but the line’s play has significantly improved, thanks to continuity, experience and the addition of grad transfer Ryan Johnson at right guard and freshman Jordan Williams at right tackle.
“Every day we work on how to handle blitzes and stunts,” Williams said. “I think just stacking reps on passing blitzers off and picking up stunts, that’s really helped us blocking in the game.”
