More to learn about Georgia Tech’s ACC opener against Pittsburgh at Heinz Field at 12:30 p.m. (Fox Sports South in Atlanta)
Update: Right guard Will Bryan was not on the field for pre-game warmups, and Brad Morgan was taking snaps with the first-string offensive line prior to the game. Bryan is the most experienced offensive lineman on the team, with 25 career starts to his credit.
Strong in ACC openers
Paul Johnson is 8-2 in ACC openers. The only years that Tech has lost the first game in ACC play were 2012 (Virginia Tech on Labor Day night) and 2015 (Duke on a rainy afternoon with two special-teams flubs). Tech opened with Pitt last year, a 35-17 win at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Interestingly (perhaps), six of the 10 games were on the road and one was neutral site (vs. Boston College in Ireland).
The line
If you’re wondering, Tech is favored to win by 3 ½ points and the over/under is 54, according to Oddsshark.com. The site reports fairly even betting on both teams (53 percent on Tech).
Weather
High of 83, mostly sunny, 69 percent humidity. (Weather Channel)
Tickets
The low, low get-in price of $6, which will put you on the 50-yard line in the lower bowl. On StubHub.
Worth keeping an eye on
How quickly does inside linebacker Brant Mitchell pursue the ball?
On Monday, Mitchell faulted himself for waiting before pursuing the ball. It would seem part of the process of learning a new defense.
“Personally, I think I’m waiting too much,” he said. “I’m hesitating a little bit with tracking running backs and stuff. I’ve just got to let it go and have at it.”
Through two games, Mitchell has six tackles.
Worth keeping an eye on, 2
USF quarterback Blake Barnett made two big plays on a scoring drive on read-option keepers, when he put the ball in the belly of his running back to draw in defenders, then pulled the ball and ran unscathed around the left side of his line, as the fake drew in the defender assigned to contain the edge. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Pitt tested to see if the Jackets have learned how to defend the play more effectively.
The term for keeping one’s eyes trained on the right key – as opposed to watching the ball – is “eye discipline.”
“I think if this week if we can keep our eyes where they need to be, I think we’ve got a pretty good plan set for it,” Mitchell said. “But it’s going to be about eye discipline and not worry about what’s going on in the backfield.”
Worth keeping an eye on, 3
Georgia Tech was tied last season for fourth in least penalty yardage per game (35.8 yards per game). Pitt was 10th (38.2). Against USF, Tech was hit with 80 yards in penalties, its highest total since the 2013 Virginia game. Saturday’s penalty toll included the two targeting calls, a facemask on one of the kickoff returns for a touchdown and a holding when the Jackets were trying to rally in the fourth quarter.
Pitt was even worse against Penn State, with 14 flags for 116 yards.
Worth keeping an eye on, 4
Pitt middle linebacker Quintin Wirginis is part of an experienced front seven and will likely be a player Tech will try to make sure is blocked up on run plays. The more he’s in on the action, the worse for the Jackets.
Tech has problems. So, very clearly, does Pitt.
Last week against Penn State, the Panthers won the coin toss and had been told by coach Pat Narduzzi to defer. But somehow, Pitt ended up receiving the opening kickoff. It was not high on the list of problems, but needed to be addressed.
“I wasn’t even sure if they knew,” Narduzzi told Pittsburgh reporters this week. “I said, ‘Do you guys know what defer means? Just say you want to play offense or defense; that’s it, that’s all you have to say.”
More from the Post-Gazette here.
Tobias Oliver playing time?
There are no specific plans for backup quarterback Tobias Oliver to play Saturday. Oliver was a standout against USF, finishing up one drive with a touchdown after TaQuon Marshall left with a toe injury and then leading two more, scoring three touchdowns in all and running for 97 yards.
But Johnson will stick with Marshall. Oliver might get a chance, though, if Marshall has turnover problems. He threw two interceptions – one when he was hit as he threw – against USF and had an interception against Alcorn State, as well as a mesh fumble.
“That’d be the biggest reason to get hooked, is not taking care of the ball,” Johnson said.
Double-digit lead issues
Jalen Camp on the team’s difficulty with holding two-possession leads: “You can’t really let it get to you because it’ll affect the way you play on the field. But it’s definitely in the back of your head thinking, like, Man, here it is again. Thinking because you’re starting off a new season off, you’re like, Alright, this is a new season, and then you start getting flashbacks from the last season with the double-digit leads.”
A story posted Friday takes a closer look at Tech's challenges in that realm, how the offense and defense have performed in those games and how it compares with the rest of the ACC and Johnson's tenure going back to 2008.
More from Camp
Camp on Pitt’s secondary: “They’re a very heavy man coverage team and they like to press up, so we’re making an effort this week to work on our releases, get off the ball and then kind of run the corner off to occupy while we run the ball behind us.”
Quinney in the lineup
Offenisve tackle Zach Quinney will make his second career start against Pitt. He played every offensive snap last Saturday against USF in his first start.
“The next day, I’m not going to lie – I was pretty tired,” he said. “It was hared to walk around, but at the time, your adrenaline’s just flowing so much that you really just don’t even think about it. Like, when I was told I played 81 plays, I was like, No, I didn’t. There’s no way. But that’s just how it goes, I guess.”
The one advantage is that it gave him plenty of experience.
“I feel like it helped m ea lot and get hat first major game out of the way so I can just go the rest of the season without any hiccups,” he said.
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