Everything to know ahead of Georgia Tech football at Stanford

There’s nothing better than opening ACC play against a team that’s already lost two conference games by a combined score of 80-13.

But …

Georgia Tech has encountered enough complications already this season.

The Yellow Jackets will travel roughly 2,500 miles to play Stanford on Saturday for their first regular-season game in California since 1969 (a loss to Southern Cal).

The Cardinal (1-2, 0-2) were projected by the media in the preseason to finish last in the 17-team ACC in their first season under coach Tavita Pritchard. Two blowout losses — 45-6 to Miami and 35-7 to Duke — have done little to challenge that prediction.

Tech (1-2, 0-0), however, enters Saturday with plenty of its own issues to solve.

The Jackets couldn’t stop the run in losses to Colorado and Tennessee and continued to struggle against Mercer last week. The offense has flashed at times, with running back Justice Haynes living up to his production at Michigan and Alabama and Alberto Mendoza settling in as the starting quarterback. But Tech has struggled to start games consistently and was just 2-for-11 on third downs against Mercer.

There’s a long run of feel-good ahead if the Jackets put it all together this weekend.

A win at Stanford before an off weekend would quiet some of the noise created by Tech’s 1-2 start. It also would give a banged-up roster, with at least three starters out this week because of injury, a chance to get healthy during the bye before Duke visits Bobby Dodd Stadium.

All of that sets up nicely for Tech.

But games aren’t played on paper, especially not in the conference. At the end of September, near the Pacific Ocean of all places, the Jackets’ standing in the ACC will begin to take form.

Here’s what you need to know

Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. EDT Saturday

Where: Stanford, California. Stanford Stadium (50,424 capacity)

TV: ESPN

Radio: Georgia Tech Sports Network, 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan, SiriusXM 264

Odds: Georgia Tech is a 3½-point favorite, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. The over/under is 47½.

Series history: Georgia Tech leads 2-0. Most recent meeting: Georgia Tech 24, Stanford 14, on Dec. 27, 2001, in the Seattle Bowl.

Weather: 62 degrees at kickoff, 0% chance of rain, per AccuWeather.

Top storylines ahead of Georgia Tech at Stanford

Next men up

Football will always be a game of attrition, but Tech enters ACC play with a long injury list.

Previous starters who will not play Saturday: safety Savion Riley (team’s leading tackler), defensive end Jordan Walker (captain) and tackle Ethan Mackenny.

A.J. Hoffler, who started in place of Walker on Saturday against Mercer, also is out. So are defensive tackle Shymeik Jones, who was part of the rotation during the first two games, and cornerback Trae Stevenson Jr., who was in line for meaningful time against Mercer before being sidelined by injury.

Starters and contributors listed as questionable: linebacker Kyle Efford, cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe, center Jameson Riggs and running back Malachi Hosley.

At defensive end, Tech will likely lean on Alabama transfer Noah Carter, while Taje McCoy emerged at the position last week against Mercer.

The 6-foot-1, 250-pound Oklahoma State transfer had four total tackles, a sack and a forced fumble.

“He’s one of those guys that’s contagious,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “The way he plays, people see it. They see the positive smile he has on his face all the time and how he goes about his business.”

The Jackets’ secondary will miss Riley, who leads the ACC with 18 solo tackles.

“Savion has really become a great player,” senior cornerback Daiquan White said. “He’s a vet. He’s played a lot of college football. He’s seen a lot, knows a lot.”

And the offensive line will once again be in flux.

Riggs and Mackenny started the first two games before suffering injuries. Together, they account for 26 of the Jackets’ 50 offensive-line career starts and 45 of the unit’s 91 games played.

Guard Joseph Ionata is listed as probable after leaving last week’s game early because of injury.

Jordan Floyd started last week against Mercer, Markell Samuel logged time in each of the past two games and Will Reed is expected to start again at center after stepping in there last week.

“Once he settled in a little bit I thought he did a good job controlling everything and getting on the right page,” Key said.

“He knows he’s got to get a lot better this week, be able to play how he expects of himself and obviously what I expect of him.”

Work in progress

Yes, last week’s win was against a Football Championship Subdivision opponent. Still, Tech’s offense showed marked improvement in some areas while leaving others unresolved.

Haynes had 167 total yards and three touchdowns. Mendoza connected with six different players for passes of 19 yards or longer. The Jackets also scored three touchdowns on four trips to the red zone.

Slow starts, however, continued to be an issue.

Tech had two three-and-outs among its first three drives in the first quarter. Mendoza said the offense was tight early before a switch to a faster tempo helped get things moving.

Key explained why he thinks his players weren’t loose from the start.

“That comes from young competitors,” he said. “It does. Guys that want to be perfect on every play, and that’s (Mendoza). He is as much of a competitor as anyone I’ve ever seen.”

For the season, the Jackets have converted 38% of their third-down opportunities (14-for-37), which ranks 91st nationally. Their struggles on third down have come alongside inconsistent production on first down.

Against Mercer in the first quarter, Tech gained 3 yards or fewer on three of six first-down plays, including two pass incompletions.

“We have to improve that, particularly our drive starters and first-down plays,” Key said, “so that can lead to more success as the drive continues and we’ll have longer drives.”

Until you fix it

Stanford is averaging more than twice as many passing yards a game as rushing yards this season. That makes sense given the large deficits the Cardinal have faced the last two games.

Key, however, doesn’t expect Stanford to shy away from the run Saturday.

Why would it?

“I would fully expect after watching our first three games, as I have probably 500 times in the last couple of days, that they’ll run the ball every play,” Key said.

Tech ranks 132nd nationally among 138 teams against the run, allowing 223 yards per game and nearly 5 yards per carry.