Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi State

Sports

Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi State

Georgia Tech vs. Mississippi State college football photo preview.

Georgia Tech's running game should get a boost with the return of wide receiver Demaryius "Bay-Bay" Thomas (above). The sophomore from Dublin missed last Saturday's game after sustaining a concussion in the opener. (Thomas played through the injury against Boston College.) Thomas is probably the team's best blocking wide receiver and has opened up running lanes for backs on several long plays this year. Thomas is also tied for the team lead in receptions with Tyler Melton with five.

Georgia Tech's special teams will have a particular concern in Mississippi State's Derek Pegues (above). Aside from being a preseason all-SEC safety, the senior ranks fifth all-time in the conference in kickoff return yards and is averaging 26.5 yards per return this season. "I was impressed with the kid," Tech special teams coordinator Jeff Monken said of Pegues (pronounced puh-GEESE). "They do a nice job with their return."

One of Georgia Tech's defensive goals is to keep opponents' third-down percentage to 33 percent or below. But the Jackets are failing, allowing opponents to convert 44.9 percent of third downs in the ACC. The obvious solution is keeping teams out of 3rd-and-short situations. Against 3rd-and-3 or less, Tech has given up first downs on 11 of 13 plays, while allowing first down plays on just 11 of the remaining 36 third-down situations.

Mississippi State defensive end Tim Bailey (38), a National Guard member, spent all of 2005 driving cargo and fuel trucks in Iraq. He was stationed 30 miles south of Baghdad. Bailey enlisted about two weeks before 9/11. When he returned from Iraq, Bailey played in 11 games as a backup linebacker and special-teamer in 2006. He played in all 13 games as a backup defensive end last year, and entered this season as a starter. His National Guard service ends in August 2009.

The Tech offense will face, in coach Paul Johnson's estimation, probably the best defense it has faced in its first four games. The Bulldogs have allowed three touchdowns and held Auburn to just 38 rushing yards on 30 attempts. If Mississippi State tries to stop B-back Jonathan Dwyer by crashing down on him on the triple-option play, look for the Jackets to try to exploit the perimeter of the defense with quarterback Josh Nesbitt (above) or A-backs Roddy Jones and Lucas Cox.

Mississippi State quarterback Wesley Carroll (above) will be the first quarterback that Tech faces who likely won't run much. In the Jackets' first three games, Jacksonville State's Ryan Perrilloux, Boston College's Chris Crane and Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor ran a combined 43 times for 154 yards. In three games, Carroll has run 10 times for 16 yards.

This is how running back Jonathan Dwyer (above) prepares for a game. "I pray just before going to bed on Friday. Saturday I talk to my family, let them know I love them and care about them. I go the field, stretch, take a warm-up lap and do cutting drills, catch some balls, field some kicks. I listen to rap like T.I. and Young Jeezy on the way to the stadium and warming up. Once I get back to the locker room, I listen to gospel music, like Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary, to calm me down."

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Georgia Tech's running game should get a boost with the return of wide receiver Demaryius "Bay-Bay" Thomas (above). The sophomore from Dublin missed last Saturday's game after sustaining a concussion in the opener. (Thomas played through the injury against Boston College.) Thomas is probably the team's best blocking wide receiver and has opened up running lanes for backs on several long plays this year. Thomas is also tied for the team lead in receptions with Tyler Melton with five.

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