Predictions: Georgia Tech

The Jackets have several question-marks going into the 2017 season. Matthew Jordan inherits the quarterback position based on last season’s win at Virginia Tech. He’s bigger and stronger than Justin Thomas, a good runner with little in the passing department. The good part about that is that Johnson won’t be tempted to pass as much as last year’s 23% of the time. Jordan is steady enough that the only way one of the two less-experienced signal-callers will see the field is if the Jackets are far ahead or behind. One of the kids could shine against Jax State, and earn more playing time. Johnson may plan on playing a kid for a series or two each game, in an effort to give them some experience in case Jordan gets hurt. The lack of a standout QB could be a thorn in Tech’s side all season. 

Last month Johnson dismissed his top running back, but says the corps will be able to handle the load. Let’s hope so. I have no problem keeping the ball on the ground. Late in games with the lead opposing defenses will expect the pass. At these times the Jackets should be able to advance to ball down the field on the ground even easier, making first downs to stop the clock. But knowing Johnson, he’d put in one of the backups to throw – most likely resulting in sacks and incompletions.

There are many teams on Tech’s schedule that I really don’t know many specifics about. Pitt. UNC, Wake. Virginia. The Hokies. Duke. I know their reputations and past history. Many of these teams are on the uptick, with quality head coaches in their second year of rebuilding. Tech often trades wins with these teams, so I’ll pretty much be throwing darts.  

September 4 vs Tennessee at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. All the SEC experts are down on the Vols because they pick them to be good every year, then they fail to meet expectations. Tennessee is still an average SEC team with much better athletes than Tech. Paul Johnson can often out-coach the likes of Butch Jones (coach circles around him, actually), but doing so in the first game of the season, on a national stage, with a new weak-armed QB, will be a tall task. Jackets start 0-1.

September 9 vs Jacksonville State. Who calls for a "Gold Out" against a pasty? Hopefully at least one of the backup QB’s will see action, if not all three. 1-1.

September 16 at Central Florida. Only Tech schedules a road game like this. They’ll be lucky if they don’t get beat. Maybe they’ll go early and visit Disney. Not a cakewalk, but take Tech. 2-1.

September 23 vs Pittsburgh. After two relatively easy games, the Panthers will bring Tech back to reality. The shock will be too much for Tech to bear. 2-2.

September 30 vs North Carolina. My dart lands on a Tech win. 3-2.

October 7: bye week.

October 12 at Miami. The nationally televised Thursday night game. Mark Richt is in his second year, with lots of big, fast, talented athletes. 3-3.

October 21 vs Wake Forest. A rare winnable game. Afterwards gleeful alumni take to AJC.com/sports to predict a Clemson takedown. 4-3.

October 28 at Clemson. Alumni no longer gleeful. 4-4.

November 4 at Virginia. Jackets always struggle in Charlottesville. 4-5.

November 11 vs Virginia Tech. Matthew Jordan has VT’s number. 5-5.

November 18 at Duke. Buildup the week of the Duke game: Tech needs to win to become bowl eligible. Faced with such pressure on the road, the Jackets stumble. 5-6.

November 25 vs Georgia. Big talk from the Tech side. Big walk from the Dawgs. Georgia wins big. 5-7.

Bowl game: Tech backs into a bowl bid thanks to ACC commitments. They luck into a manageable opponent, and win the game. More bragging about a team that finished 6-7.