A week ago, Georgia Tech rode high atop the ACC’s Coastal Division. On Saturday, the Yellow Jackets will try to start slugging their way out of a six-way brawl.
It might be too early to say that the Jackets’ 3:30 p.m. game at Miami is an elimination game for the division title, as all six Coastal teams are within one game of each other in the loss column. But not by much.
“This is a must win, because right now, we’re still in control of our future thus far,” center Jay Finch said. “We want to keep it that way.”
Finch almost had it. Even if Tech, ranked No. 22 in the BCS standings with a 6-1 record (3-1 in the ACC), wins the remainder of its ACC games to earn a 7-1 league record, it would need Virginia to lose another ACC game. Regardless, the Jackets’ loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday, as it raised doubts about their fitness as a title candidate, simultaneously contracted their margin of error.
With games against heavyweights Clemson and Virginia Tech still ahead, a loss to the Hurricanes would handicap Tech with two losses within the division and likely necessitate a sweep of the Tigers, Hokies and Duke just to have a chance at reaching the ACC championship game. Meanwhile, a win would set the Jackets back on track, likely drop the Hurricanes (3-3 overall, 1-2 ACC) out of the race and raise the stakes for Tech’s Oct. 29 showdown with No. 7 Clemson.
“This year is back more like maybe the first year when I was here, when there was a lot of teams grouped together,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said, referring to the 2008 season, when the Jackets shared the Coastal title with the Hokies with 5-3 records. “But you can’t worry about it.”
Johnson has enough concerns. Quarterback Tevin Washington has a 30.8 percent completion rate in the past three games after completing 64.3 percent in the first four. The Jackets have scored 21 points in each of the past two games, below the 51.6 points they had averaged through the first five games and the 28.2 that Tech averaged in Johnson’s first three seasons.
The Jackets have been getting plowed by the run, surrendering 237.7 rushing yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry in the past three games. Elements of the special teams have failed to inspire trust.
“Of course, a lot of teams are going to look at film like [Saturday’s loss to Virginia] and say, ‘You know, we’re just going to run it down their throat,’” defensive end Jason Peters said. “Until we stop them, they’re going to continue to do that.”
The Jackets, though, can re-capture momentum at Sun Life Stadium. Johnson eased the practice load this week in hopes of keeping players’ legs fresh. After ineffective play in recent weeks, the offensive line may have gotten the reality check it needed in the Virginia loss.
“I think this is going to be a game for us to re-establish the ‘Goon Squad’ or else it won’t be so friendly around the locker room,” said Finch, referring to the line’s nickname.
Likewise, the Cavaliers’ 272 rushing yards left the Tech defense resolved to hold the point on the defensive line, control runs to the perimeter and tackle better. With Miami boasting the ACC’s No. 2 rusher in Lamar Miller, Tech may play more man-to-man coverage in the passing game in order to commit more players to run support.
Miami, with a lineup depleted by injuries and perhaps emotionally sapped after two draining Saturdays, could well prove to be Tech’s trampoline into its closing stretch.
“It’s like everybody wants to end the season and bury the team,” Johnson said. “Maybe they’re right, but let’s at least go play and see what happens.”
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