The 10th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
will attempt to maintain their stranglehold on first place in the ACC's
Coastal Division, as they welcome the Wake Forest Demon Deacons to town this
weekend.
Wake Forest has suffered three consecutive defeats to fall to 4-5 overall and
2-3 in the ACC. One of the league losses came by three points in overtime to
Boston College, and last weekend's 28-27 setback to Miami was bitterly
disappointing. Wake has just three regular season games remaining, including
this weekend's tilt, and needs two more victories to become eligible for a
bowl berth.
"We've had a bunch of these this year," said Wake head coach Jim Grobe after
the loss to Miami. "This has been a pretty resilient football team. We had a
lot of heartbreaks this year, a lot of close losses, and this is another one."
As for Georgia Tech, it is a stellar 8-1 overall, including 5-1 in conference
action. The Yellow Jackets have ripped off six consecutive victories,
including all four at home this season. While Wake Forest has yet to record a
road win in 2009, Tech has won all of its home games. Last weekend, the Yellow
Jackets rolled to a 56-31 triumph over Vanderbilt of the SEC.
Georgia Tech holds a commanding 20-8 advantage in the all-time series with
Wake Forest.
The big question for Wake Forest entering this weekend's game is whether or
not quarterback Riley Skinner will be able to play. Skinner suffered a
concussion last time out, and wideout Marshall Williams injured his hamstring
in the game as well. Clearly, the team isn't nearly as good without those two
players. Skinner is one of just three QBs in ACC history to throw for 2,000 or
more yards in each of his four seasons.
Wake is averaging 24.0 ppg and 399.7 total ypg, and Skinner has completed 65.6
percent of his passes for 2,298 yards and 18 touchdowns against 10
interceptions. If Skinner can't play this weekend, Ryan McManus will likely
taken the snaps, and he has only attempted 14 passes all season. Williams has
recorded 41 catches for 595 yards and five touchdowns, and he is one of the
better receivers in the ACC. As for the ground attack, Josh Adams is tops for
Wake with 428 yards and two scores.
Opponents are scoring 23.3 ppg and posting 360.2 total ypg against Wake Forest
this season. The Demon Deacons have surrendered 26 touchdowns to the
opposition, including 17 passing scores. A total of 21 sacks and 12 takeaways
have been registered by what is a rather mediocre defense.
The Demon Deacons racked up 33 first downs and 555 total yards against Miami
last time out. so the fact that they only scored 27 points was a bit curious.
Skinner completed 29-of-43 passes for 349 yards with two touchdowns and one
interception against the Hurricanes before being forced out with the
concussion. Devon Brown made 12 catches for 101 yards, and Williams had five
grabs for 81 yards.
Defensively, the Demon Deacons permitted 356 yards to Miami, including just 26
rushing yards on 21 attempts. While that effort against the run was
tremendous, Wake permitted three passing scores and simply didn't play well
enough to win.
"Everybody will come back Monday, look at the film, and get ready for Georgia
Tech," said defensive tackle John Russell after the Miami loss.
Georgia Tech is racking up 35.2 ppg and 440.4 total ypg, and the fact that the
team moves the ball so well despite the fact that it relies almost solely on
the ground attack is impressive. The Yellow Jackets have scored 39 touchdowns,
including 32 on the ground. They are rushing for 304.1 rushing ypg at a clip
of 5.3 yards per carry. Star tailback Jonathan Dwyer has posted 904 yards and
eight touchdowns while gaining 6.2 yards per attempt, As for quarterback Josh
Nesbitt, he run for 13 scores and 763 yards to go along with 1,172 yards and
six passing scores. Demaryius Thomas has made 34 grabs for 823 yards and five
touchdowns and is a big-play threat on the rare instances that Tech throws the
ball.
Opponents are generating 24.7 ppg for Georgia Tech this season, and the Yellow
Jackets are allowing 360.0 total ypg. Of the 25 touchdowns that they have
allowed to opposing offenses, 17 have come through the air. Tech has come up
with 20 takeaways, including 12 fumble recoveries, and 14 sacks have been
generated. Steven Sylvester has posted 8.5 sacks, and Morgan Burnett has
intercepted four passes.
In the romp over Vanderbilt last weekend, Tech rolled up 597 total yards, 404
of which were rushing yards. The Yellow Jackets came up with six rushing
scores, three of which were earned by Dwyer, who tallied a career-high 186
rushing yards. Nesbitt had 56 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while passing
for 193 yards and two scores.
"We have a lot of weapons on the offense so each and every week somebody has a
breakout game," Dwyer said.
The fact that Georgia Tech permitted 31 points to a weak Vanderbilt team last
weekend is a bit concerning. One of the touchdowns allowed to the Commodores
was on a kickoff return, so the score was a bit deceiving, but there were
still three touchdowns permitted to the Vandy offense. The Commodores were
able to post 218 rushing yards against Tech, and the Yellow Jackets need to
play better run defense against Wake Forest.
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