Three storylines
Re-gain the edge. On Saturday in Raleigh, despite taking a 21-0 lead and ultimately winning by 10 points, Georgia Tech played its poorest game of the season. It followed a week of lukewarm practices in which coach Paul Johnson said he had to get after the team for the first time this season. Coaches are undoubtedly looking for a strong start-to-finish performance.
Counting on the backups. Tech had good luck with injuries through five games, but may well be without star outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu and inside linebacker Daniel Drummond, who both are questionable. Backup outside linebacker Brandon Watts is out. The pressure is on outside linebacker Malcolm Munroe and inside linebacker Quayshawn Nealy, the likely replacements, to produce.
Watch the B-backs. After awarding the first-string B-back job to David Sims for the first five games, coaches re-opened the competition for the starting position among Sims, Preston Lyons and Charles Perkins. A desire to catch coaches' notice may well spill over into the game against a Maryland defense that has three freshmen or sophomores in the starting front seven. It could be four if linebacker Kenny Tate, listed as doubtful, doesn't play.
A Georgia Tech win would …
- Secure the Yellow Jackets' bowl eligibility for the 15th consecutive year.
- Make this year's team the 13th in school history to start 6-0.
A Maryland win would …
- Be coach Randy Edsall's first with the Terrapins over a ranked team.
- Improve Edsall's record against Johnson to 2-1, having split games when they were at Connecticut and Navy, respectively.
Keep an eye on …
For Georgia Tech: Defensive tackle Logan Walls is at the heart of the Jackets' 3-4 defense. If he can hold his ground in the run game against Maryland's guards and center Bennett Fulper, Tech's day likely will go much better.
For Maryland: Quarterback Danny O'Brien has to make sure the game doesn't get away from the Terrapins. Maryland has scored 37 first-half points in its first four games. In the first halves of its five games, Tech has put up 132 points.
The numbers game
1 Fumble by Maryland this season in its 286 offensive plays.
33.5 Yards-per-catch average for Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill, highest in the country.
The history book
Series record: Tech leads 13-6.
Last meeting: In what turned out to be then-coach Chan Gailey's final season at Tech, the Jackets gained 484 yards on Oct. 6, 2007, but were done in by mistakes and missed opportunities. The last was an errant 52-yard field-goal try by Travis Bell in the final minute that sealed a 28-26 win for Maryland.
The bottom line
This is a game that Tech should win, and perhaps even by a comfortable margin. Likely weakened at linebacker, the game should reveal something of the Jackets’ depth and ability to adjust.
