After a weekend of rest and recovery, and recharging of batteries as Georgia Tech coach Brent Key metaphorically put it, the Yellow Jackets returned to business Sunday afternoon ahead of their showdown with No. 4 Miami at noon Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Tech (5-4, 3-3 ACC) had a much-needed break from the action this past Saturday. Key’s team has suffered two straight losses and limped into the bye week with significant injuries to starting quarterback Haynes King (right shoulder) and starting linebacker Kyle Efford (undisclosed), among other players also slowed by knocks.
Those mounting injuries, coupled with poor play, turned into a rare losing streak under Key with losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, respectively.
“There’s no sugarcoating some things that go on. Adversity hits at times, but at the same time you don’t execute at the level you have to execute. Put the combination of those together and it’s not a recipe for success,” the second-year coach said Thursday. “That’s exactly what it is. Are you proud of the guys for continuing to fight and play? Yeah, that’s what you have to have. That’s a given. That’s a given that you have to have on a football team.
“We gotta continue to execute and push through those things and be able to do what it takes to have success on Saturday. By no means am I down on this football team as a team at all.”
Tech needs to win one of its final three games of the season to return to a bowl game for a second year in a row. It hasn’t done that since the 2013-14 seasons. But the three opponents in those next three games are now a combined 20-5, and two of the opponents, No. 4 Miami and No. 2 Georgia, are considered two of the best teams in the country.
Fortunately for the Jackets, they will have extra days built in throughout the remaining schedule to prepare for all three games.
“We started a little bit (Wednesday) with prep for Miami. More just fundamental things, schematic things, things adjusting there with ourselves and a little bit of Miami,” Key said Thursday. “Then (Thursday) started moving forward with Miami. I know they play Duke this weekend so a chance to see them play against an opponent we’ve already played, and we’ll continue our preparation on Sunday.
“We know we got a challenge coming in next weekend. We were able to get a jump-start on preparation for that, as a staff and as a team.”
Miami comes to Atlanta having its best season since 2017 when it began that year 10-0 and then finished the season on a three-game losing streak. This season’s Hurricanes lead the nation in third down offense (58.8%) and total offense (556.9 yards per game). They are the ACC’s best team in first downs gained (252), passing offense (370.4 yards per game), red zone offense (91.5%), scoring (47.4 points per game), passing efficiency (176.2), time of possession (34:02) and total defense (310.7 yards allowed per game).
Quarterback Cam Ward, a Heisman Trophy hopeful, is the conference’s best passer in term’s of passing efficiency (175.1), passing touchdowns (29), passing yards (3,146), points responsible for (204) and total offense (370.3 yards per game).
But he doesn’t do it alone.
Wide receiver Xavier Restrepo, now Miami’s all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards, has 51 catches for 856 yards and nine touchdowns this year. Running backs Damien Martinez and Mark Fletcher Jr. have combined for 1,027 yards and 14 touchdowns.
If there are any holes within the Hurricanes, it’s that coach Mario Cristobal’s team is one of the most heavily penalized teams in the league. It has also lived a bit dangerously with three wins by seven points or less.
“They’re executing at a high level right now,” Key said about the ‘Canes. “The game within the game is gonna be big — the field position, limiting explosives and then getting off the field on third downs, getting them in third downs and being able to get off the field and not let the quarterback sit there and make plays whether it’s with his feet or with his arm.”
Miami will be making its 17th trip to Bobby Dodd Stadium, having lost 10 of the 16 previous trips.
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