FYI:
-This was my play and indepth Write-Up and Game Analysis, I released tonight on "Thirsty Thursday".
**Special-TOP RATED PLAY OF THE DAY: (4 Units)
Georgia Tech -4
Both teams coming into this one off of bad losses...GT getting blown out by Va Tech is not as bad as people think it was...Due to several erant passes and special teams debacles, which were returned for Hookie TDs...the Yellow Jackets defense was able to hold the Hokies offense to just 320 yards and 3 scores...In addition, QB Ball was coming in alittle hobbled and just getting over meningitus (sp)...and that game was also played in Blacksburg well few if any, ever leave happy..
GT Defense vs NCST Offense:....The strength of this Yellow Jacket team again is their defense which returns 8 starters from the 2004 defense that ranked 12th in the nation in yards allowed...Currently opponents are averaging 24.9 ppg and 312.2 total ypg vs the Jacket defense..but take out that Va Tech game and this defense has allowed much lower numbers...as they have been a run stuffing, ball hawking, nasty one to beat...The defense has allowed opponents only 2.7 ypc and 84.2 ypg running the ball...Plus, that secondary is currently ranked 2nd in the land with 10 ints, while also holding opposing QBs to under 50% completions....Solid!
N.C. State, comes into this game ranking 2nd in the league in both total offense and total defense....On paper they loook like a very solid team ...but look closer and you will see that they are just average on the offensive side, especially in their running game where they only average just 109.7 ypg and 3.3 ypc on the ground, which ranks them last in the ACC....Most of NCST's impressive numbers on offense can be attributed alot to that 54 pt blowout of Eastern Kentucky in week 2....Still even with that stat padding game this Wolfpack teams ranking of last in the ACC in run offense is not good as the Wolfpack, like GT, relies heavily on it...
We also need to remember that eventhough St's QB Davis and their offense has averaged the 2nd most yards in the ACC per game, they have still only won 1 game so far this year....ONE GAME!....and all their games played so far this year were at home....AT HOME!....This one takes place on the Road and GT's house... where the Yellow Jackets have won 4 straight and 9 of the last 10 games vs NCST....Hell man, if you cant win at Home...even after out yardaging your opponents, then how can a team be expected to win on the road and also against an opponent who possess a solid ass defense as well, not to mention who will want to redeem themselves after their last national Tv ass whopping they got, huh....State's in Trouble!
Side Note: NCST only managed 13 yards on the ground in their lost to North Carolina..
GT Offense vs NCST Defense: ...The Georgia Tech offense can move the ball a bit, but it hasn't been able to crank out big points or tons of yards on a consistent basis....The Yellow Jackets won 24-14 in last year's game, but Ball only completed nine of 27 passes for 91 yards with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions...Thats the thing about these Wolfpacks..they can hold an opposing QB to little yardage and even get them to commit turnovers..but they still end up on the losing end when the clock runs out....Why?...Well the answer is below...
However, for now...I feel this trio of Ball, who is healthy btw and that should make alot of difference here.....RB Daniels, who is third in the ACC with 94 yards per game and who also has surpassed the century mark in 3 of Tech's first 4 games so far....And WR Johnson, who ranks 6th in the ACC in total offense at a whopping 221.3 ypg.....These 3 will come up with enough short and long game tonight that will keep this Wolfpack team from teeing off on Ball alone...If Daniels get rolling like how NC's RB did vs this defense of St...then State is in for a long day...But if WR Johnson goes off as he did last year when they faced this Wolfpack secondary...then say goodnight baby...And there isnt anything that tells me that the 6-4 Johnson wont go off again....He proved himself again in that lost to Va Tech when he went up against the Hokies and one of the nations top secondary players in 6-3 Jimmy Williams, grabbing 5 balls for 123 yards and 1 TD....This trio working together, at Home, and also when healthy can do enough I feel to keep this Wolfpack team on its heels and led the Jackets to a solid offensive game.
Side Note: It was in last seasons game vs NCST that WR Johnson made a name for himself as a human highlight reel – making a one-handed grab over the middle on a ball thrown well behind him. The play was selected as the No. 2 college football play of 2004....So far this year he has caught 18 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns.
Side Note: In last seasons win over NCST....GT rushed for 178 yards on 33 attempts vs the Wolfpack's #1 defense...
Everyone still wondering how the hell a team can rank #1 in total defense last season, end up going 5-6 and not going to a bowl game...Doesnt make sense does it...Well guess what, this year the Wolfpack again have one of the nation's best defenses...and again they are not winning like expected, as they sit 0-2 in the ACC...and looking at yet another year not elevating to the top of the conf where others were expecting them to be.
But why arent they and what is their damn problem, you may be wondering?....Well, the problem is and starts with NCST's Red Shoes and White Sunglasses, even at night wearing (that right there should tell you something maybe loose up their..lol) Coach Amato....He is not a coach who I feel has what it takes to build a program as he was hired to do...Sure he coached under the legendary Bobby Bowden...but he lucked out when he had QB Phillip Rivers around..and that I believe was simply due to a family friendship he had with Rivers family....Remember, didnt Phillips transfer from under the wings and guidance of Norm Chow....Yep, but now Rivers is gone, gone, gone...and everyone involved with Wolfpack football is no longer thinking...but saying that Amato should now be gone, gone, gone.
This NCST teams problem is a problem which they have had since Amato got there...but which he seems to have no clue as to how to address and correct it....What he doesnt realize is that discipline and fundamentals is not being emphasized as much as his wanting to be liked by everyone at State...NCST doesnt need him for that, they need him to win games...and you cant do that if the problem this Wolfpack team continually has is turning the ball over....or their inability to stop committing costly penalties over and over, again and again....It was penalties that took away their chances to beat Va Tech...It was turnovers that killed them vs NC...and it was a combination of the two that lead to this team possessing the #1 defense in the land but still ended up going 5-6 last season....Amato, says that its just bad timing when these things happened...yes they do seem to happen at the wrong time...But he needs to find better answers then that if he ever wants to help his team and save his job....So far this year..nothing seems to have changed from the previous....ie, In only 3 games played, they have already commited 30 penalties for 260 yards and turned the ball over 9 times already.....Currently, they rank 110th nationally in penalties with an average of 10 per game...and the most common foul through three games..for them was false starts with a total of 6.
This is simply not a good thing to have as your problem....and especially going to play against a defense that already leads the nation with 10 interceptions (3.33 per game)....Or against a DC like GT's Tenuta who has been able to cause confusion and problems for opposing offenses at all cost.....So far in the past 4 years...Tenuta has been a thorn in the the sides of the Wolfpack offense, limiting them to just 15.3 ppg...leading to 4 straight losses, both SU and ATS as well..
Tenuta defense-utilizes a zone blitz scheme...where Georgia Tech will often overload one side of the defensive line and then send anyone from the linebackers to the cornerbacks (sometimes both at the same time) after the quarterback... Those who don’t blitz drop back into zone coverage...“It`s pressure and then bring more pressure,” said Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey. “We try to get to the quarterback - we make no bones about that. We`ll bring everybody. We try to create confusion.” ....Last season this worked as the Jackets defense held the Wolfpacks offense to 306 yards in total offense (43 yards below their season average) and forced QB Davis to throw 3 interceptions.
Can NCST with its 52nd rated offense finally gameplan this time to overcome these blitzing schemes they will face....I say not without a solid ground attack which will help in their play action passing....And NCST's weaknesses, as mentioned, is their running game...while GT's veteran defense, a good fundamentally sound group, strength is in stuffing the run....I can see NCST's offense not having a difficult time in this game...and even Coach Amato knows it, as he even named this GT's defensive play as "Confusion and Aggression".....
NCST may be ranked 2nd in the ACC in total offense and total defense, but penalties (30 for 260 yards in three games) and turnovers (nine in three games) have kept the Wolfpack from winning games..and that is what should happen again in this one.
Side Note: In last season's lost to GT....NCST committed 9 penalties for 94 yards......In their game in 2003...NCST committed 10 penalties for 105 yards...Both games ended in Yellow Jacket wins.
Side Note: In NCST's last game vs UNC..they had 2 fumbles in the 1st half...also a punt blocked by UNC for a TD....also didnt practice good time management using up their TO's and then allowed the clock to run out when they drove it to the UNC 7 yard line before the half....Terrible!
Side Note: How Shitty is Amato.....Well he is just 20-22 against ACC competition....Wake Forest and Duke are the only league teams he has a winning record against, and while he's 11-4 against the Deacons, Devils and Tar Heels, Amato is 9-18 against the rest of the conference...Since starting out the 2002 season 9-0, State is 16-16...N.C. State has lost five straight home games to ACC foes and six of its last seven home games against Division I-A teams since Philip Rivers left, the lone win was in overtime over Wake Forest, which went 1-7 in the ACC last fall.....And, Amato hasn't finished above 4th in the ACC, while bitter rival UNC has finished higher than 4th twice under John Bunting in the same span...
*Some Stats, Situations, and Info favoring GT...
-GT coming off a National embarrassing ass-whopping at the hands of Va Tech and you can be sure they will definately not let this happen again....as it also was one of the worst in their history..
-NCST has to still be emotionally reeling alot more than this GT after their lost to rival NC....and making it hard is how they lost, the opportunities they gave up, and the 24-14 lead in the 3rd Q that they blew....After last seasons lost to NC....NCST seemingly couldnt bounce back from it and thus their season went down hill finishing with a 5-6 record and ended their string of 4 consecutive bowl appearance as well.
-Repors say 90% chance for showers and high winds..before the game and 40-50% chance of shower around gametime.....Wet field and uncomfortable wind, make it harder on teams who like to air it out...But also making things magnified is the crowd noise on the road which Davis will surely have to contend with....All of these help in creating turnovers...and NCST has the market on doing just that.
-GT leads their all-time series 16-8...
-NCST carries an ACC-worst six-game conference losing streak.
-NCST has lost the last five tilts with the Yellow Jackets at Dodd Stadium and they are 1-3-1 against the number during that span.
-NCST have failed to score more than two touchdowns in any Division 1-A contest this season, totaling 17 points or fewer on each of those contests.
-GT is 10-2 ATS vs NCST since 1992....and 4-1 ATS in Home game vs NCST.
-NCST just 4-13 ATS vs Conf opponents last 3 years.
-NCST is just 1-8 ATS in October games.
-GT is 5-2 ATS in October games
-NCST is averaging 3.0 turnovers per game this year.
-GT is averaging 1 turnover at home this year.
Everyone seems to be looking and comparing these two teams based on how they played against Va Tech ...Well I say that wont give you an accurrate acessment of these teams at all...and especially because Va Tech, led by QB Vick was playing its first game on the road against an underdog WolfPack team possessing a nasty defense....And when GT faced this Va Tech team, it was in Blacksburg and it came when this team was on a major roll...while GT came in stubbling abit to a 3-0 record and a less than 100% Ball....Those two situations makes that comparison of play vs a common opponent not very convincing, imo to say St is a better team....However, GT's beating NC at Home..while NCST losing to NC at Home..even after leading by as much as 24-14 in the 3rd Q, says alot to me...especially after seeing how they allowed NC's RB to rush for 128 yards, and 4.8 ypc..but yet still was able to hold NC's QB to just 177 yards through the air, 56%, and 1 int..and still it wasnt enough to secure a win....Again, it makes you think, huh.
Bottom line again, GT beat NC...while NCST didnt...Plus, NCST has lost their last 7 times they faced GT on the road....Nothing currently tells me things should change here as this team is simply not playing like a team sharp enough to end the string this time around....The two defense will be good, but Georgia Tech has a little more all around offensive punch, while the defense will force at least two key turnovers..and dont forget NCST will probably shoot itself in the foot a couple times, and GT is more than good enough to jump on them when they do.... GO JACKETS!
*please disregard any typos or grammatical errors....Thxs.
