Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech: What Bettors Need to Know
By Ben Burns
Georgia Tech has never lost consecutive games under Paul Johnson and is 5-0 against the spread following a straight-up loss in their coach’s three seasons.
Those streaks will be on the line Thursday, as the up-and-down Yellow Jackets head to Blacksburg for an ACC showdown with red-hot Virginia Tech (6-2, 4-0 ACC).
Since starting out 0-2, including an embarrassing home loss to James Madison, the Hokies have won six straight, covering the spread in each game. But other than a comeback win at North Carolina State on October 2, the quality of competition during the Hokies’ run has been sub-par.
Georgia Tech (5-3, 3-2 ACC) had a bye week to recover from an ugly loss at Clemson on October 23. Yellow Jacket quarterback Joshua Nesbitt was held to only two rushing yards on 15 attempts and completed only 6-of-19 passes for 83 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the loss.
In contrast, Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor has been spectacular. During the Hokies’ winning streak, Taylor has thrown 10 touchdowns with only two interceptions. He’s also rushed for more than 100 yards twice and scored three times on the ground.
To make things even more difficult for Georgia Tech, the Hokies have been deadly in November under coach Frank Beamer. Virginia Tech is 19-5 ATS in November since 2004.
The line
Virginia Tech opened as 14.5-point favorite, but the number was down to 12.5 as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Hokies are on a 38-15 ATS run in their last 53 conference games and 17-5 ATS in their last 22 Thursday games.
Georgia Tech covered as a 3.5-point home dog in last season’s 28-23 win over the Hokies.
The total
The total opened at 56 points and had seen no movement as of Wednesday afternoon.
Rain is forecast throughout Wednesday and Thursday, but is expected to clear off before kickoff, leaving cool temperatures.
Georgia Tech is averaging 29.50 and allowing 23.63 points per game. Virginia Tech is averaging 37 and allowing 20 points per game.
The teams have combined to average 48.2 points in their last five meetings.
Injuries
Both teams enter the game relatively healthy.
Virginia Tech starting free safety Eddie Whitley (foot) missed the Duke game, but is expected to return.
Georgia Tech backup running back Marcus Wright has missed the last two games due to injuries suffered in a scooter accident. He’s listed as questionable, but is not a major contributor to the Yellow Jackets’ offense.
Georgia Tech’s ground game vs. Virginia Tech’s run defense
The Yellow Jackets lead the nation in rushing, averaging 317 yards per game. They rushed for 368 yards in last season’s win over Virginia Tech.
The Hokies are in the middle of the pack when it comes to stopping the run. They are allowing 145 yards per game.
Special teams
The Hokies are known for the special teams’ prowess. They’re averaging 16 yards on punt returns, ninth most in the nation.
Georgia Tech, on the other hand, has struggled mightily on special teams this season. They’re averaging a measly 31 yards per punt.
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech Breakdown
It’s Thursday night. That can mean only one thing. No, the weekend isn’t starting earlier, it’s more Atlantic Coast Conference football.
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech (-12.5, 56)
Offense:
Somewhere in the Yellow Jackets season-opening, 28-25 loss to Kansas, the Heisman Trophy bandwagon for quarterback Josh Nesbitt crashed and burst into flames.
The player who was supposed to be among the nation’s elite this season is completing a career-low 38.2 percent of his passes for 674 yards with seven touchdowns against three interceptions. With his legs, Nesbitt has gained 651 yards, but has scored just eight touchdowns, compared to 18 he finished with a year ago.
Overall, Georgia Tech averages 317.4 rush yards per game, tops in the country, but has been sloppy with the ball, turning it over 15 times.
The Yellow Jackets average almost 30 points per game, while Virginia Tech puts up 37.
Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor has had a quietly dominant season, completing a career-high 63.9 percent of his passes for 1,602 yards with 15 touchdowns against just three interceptions. With his legs, he has rushed for 527 more yards with three scores.
Taylor, however, has had defenses loosened up by the running of tailback Darren Evans, who has amassed 443 yards on just 76 carries, scoring a team-high nine times. Evans has found the end zone at least once in each of the team’s past five games.
Edge: Virginia Tech
Defense:
This has been the biggest weakness of Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets are 53rd nationally in yards allowed per game (354.2), 57th in points allowed (23.6) and 75th in rushing yards allowed per game (162.2).
Meantime, Virginia Tech hasn’t been its typical dominant self on this side of the ball. Whatever the team has been packing in its lunch pails, it needs to switch it up. The team is allowing 20 points per game and is uncharacteristically soft against the rush, giving up an average of 136 yards per game on the ground.
In a 28-23 Georgia Tech win last season, Nesbitt completed only one pass for 51 yards with an interception, but ran for 122 yards as Georgia Tech finished with 309 yards rushing on 63 carries.
Edge: Virginia Tech
Special teams:
Georgia Tech has a strong kick coverage team, allowing a mere 18.43 yards per kickoff return (ninth nationally), but is among the worst in punting, averaging a horrid 37.38 yards per kick. However, the team is making a strong, 84.6 percent of its field goals.
Beamer Ball is back at it again. The Hokies are giving up an average of just 5.87 yards per punt return (24th nationally) and overall, the team has blocked two kicks this season, compared to none for the Yellow Jackets. The team also is banging nearly 93 percent of its field goals.
Edge: Virginia Tech
From the files of the beat reporters
"I think the high-low block that got John [Graves last year], I think that is being watched pretty closely in this league. I would never say they were teaching that. I just think with their style of play, it came up. To me, when the guy’s high on a guy and another guy is chopping his knee – and your attention is on the guy that’s high – then that’s a dangerous play.” – Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer on Georgia Tech’s chop-blocking.
“The bottom line is they’re going to have to beat blocks and make tackles, and we’re going to have to block them and read the thing right. Whoever does that the best is going to win. It’s not going to be some magical, mystical scheme or alignment.” – Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson on scheming against Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster.
Final score prediction:
Virginia Tech 31, Georgia Tech 17
NCAAF Odds: Hot Hokies host Georgia Tech
By: Michael Robinson
The Virginia Tech Hokies have quietly made a great comeback after a disastrous start to the season. They look to stay hot while hosting the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Thursday night.
Bookmaker.com has Virginia Tech as 14 ½-point home ‘chalk’ with the total still to be released.
Virginia Tech (6-2 straight-up, 6-2 against the spread) opened with a tough 33-30 loss to Boise State in neutral Landover, Maryland. Division I-AA James Madison was the next opponent and Va. Tech lost 21-16 as 33-point favorites, one of the most embarrassing losses in school history.
Coach Frank Beamer’s team could have folded with its national title hopes, but there was plenty to play for, namely the ACC title. Virginia Tech is a perfect 6-0 SU and ATS since the James Madison game, four of those coming in-conference.
The Hokies (4-0) have a 1.5 game lead over Miami and Georgia Tech (both 3-2) in the ACC Coastal Division. The winner plays in the ACC Championship Game with an automatic BCS berth on the line.
Senior quarterback Tyrod Taylor is flying under the radar nationally. He’s fourth in the country in pass efficiency (171.1). His yards per attempt (9.7) are tied for fourth and he has 15 passing TDs versus three picks.
Taylor also leads the team in rushing with 527 yards. That wasn’t supposed to happen with Ryan Williams coming off 1,655 yard freshman campaign, but he’s missed four games with a hamstring injury. Williams had six carries against Duke before the bye week and should be close to 100 percent against Georgia Tech.
The Virginia Tech offense is averaging 37 PPG for the year and 45.5 the last four weeks. The defense is allowing 20 PPG (29th in the nation), which is 4.4 points higher than last year (15.6).
The higher scoring this year (31.9 PPG last season), and more points allowed, has caused the ‘over’ to go 6-2.
The Hokies have paid off handsomely on Thursday nights at 17-5 ATS in their last 22 games. The ‘under’ is 12-1 in their last 13 Thursday contests.
The Yellow Jackets are 5-3 SU and 3-5 ATS on the season. They last played at Clemson on Oct. 23, losing 27-13 as 3 ½-point road ‘dogs. They went 1-1 ATS in ACC road wins at North Carolina (30-24) and Wake Forest (24-20).
Coach Paul Johnson isn’t out to trick anyone offensively. The triple-option offense is 81 percent rushing and ranks first in the nation (317.4 YPG) in that category. That’s even ahead of last year’s pace of 295.4 YPG (also top-ranked).
Quarterback Josh Nesbitt has 651 rushing yards, just behind running back Anthony Allen (692). However, Nesbitt has seen his passing yards per attempt drop from 10.5 last year to 6.61 this season. Losing big play receiver Demaryius Thomas is the main reason.
Georgia Tech’s defense is allowing 23.6 PPG (ranked 57th nationally) and 354.2 YPG (ranked 53rd). Those numbers are very similar to last season. The run defense allowed a season-high 236 yards at Clemson and Va. Tech will try to exploit that on Thursday.
This is the first year under new defensive coordinator Al Groh, who runs a 3-4 defense. The team hopes the learning curve is over and the new scheme starts to pay dividends.
The Yellow Jackets are 1-1 SU and 2-0 ATS in Johnson’s two years against Va. Tech. They rushed for 309 yards last year, winning 28-23 at home. They lost 20-17 at Virginia Tech as 6 ½-point dogs in 2008.
Virginia Tech middle linebacker Bruce Taylor (ankle) is probable. Safety Eddie Whitley (foot) is questionable after missing the Duke game.
ESPN will have the 4:30 p.m. (PT) kickoff from Lane Stadium in Blacksburg. Temperatures will only be in the 40s with showers likely.
Ga. Tech at Va. Tech Preview
By Christian Alexander
With the score 28-24, and having a play on 'over' 57.5, I just needed one more touchdown last Thursday night to seal a winner. And so as Florida State lined up from the three yard line with under a minute left in the game, I realized it was cutting it a little close but felt confident the Seminoles were about to punch it in for the go-ahead score and in the process, give me a “W”.
Of course, no sooner had that thought crossed my mind than FSU QB Christian Ponder took the snap and fumbled the ball – by brushing it against one of his teammates no less – and NC State recovered to end the game. Ah yes, the joys of gambling...
Trying to forget that game – and a few others from this past weekend – let’s turn the page and take a look at what’s on the docket for tonight. Staying in ACC country, we have a great showdown between two of the best teams in the conference over the past three years. Georgia Tech is the reigning ACC Champion, while Virginia Tech won both the 2007 & 2008 conference titles.
If Georgia Tech is to repeat as ACC Champs, coach Paul Johnson knows his team had better start winning – and now. Thanks to Virginia’s unexpected upset of Miami last weekend, Virginia Tech now leads a trio of teams including the Hurricanes, Georgia Tech and North Carolina by two games in the ACC Coastal Division. That means Georgia Tech must not only beat Virginia Tech but also Miami and Duke, and then hope the Hokies lose another conference game for the Yellow Jackets to go back to Charlotte to play in the ACC Championship Game.
But first things first. This Thursday night in Blacksburg, VA the weather is calling for rain showers and cold temperatures and if that wasn’t enough, the Yellow Jackets will have a face a Virginia Tech team with revenge on their mind. Last year the Hokies were ranked No. 4 in the nation but were tripped up in Atlanta by a score of 28-23.
To take down Virginia Tech again and keep their ACC title hopes alive, Georgia Tech is going to have to figure out a way to slow down a Virginia Tech offense which is currently firing on all cylinders.
After starting the year 0-2, including an embarrassing loss to James Madison, Virginia Tech has ripped off six straight wins. Coach Beamer’s crew has looked increasingly impressive these last few weeks, posting at least 40 points in the last four games.
The offense is run by QB Tyrod Taylor who is flying under the radar as one of the best signal callers in college football this season. Taylor has the Hokies perfectly in balance, averaging 214.8 yards on the ground and 209.9 yards in the air while averaging 37 points a game. Besides running a balanced attack, Taylor has made few mistakes as his 15-3 touchdown pass-interception ratio would indicate.
Taylor teams up with RB’s Darren Evans and Ryan Williams (hamstring) to give the Hokies a potent ground attack which might be bad news for Georgia Tech’s defense which is ranked 75th in the nation against the run.
That said, if one team in this game should be worrying about the others ground game it’s Virginia Tech. Georgia Tech will again bring coach Paul Johnson’s vaunted triple-option scheme that has dented the Hokies for over 300 yards rushing in each of the last two seasons.
This year Georgia Tech has picked up where they left off in seasons past and predictably, the Yellow Jackets lead the ACC in rushing (317.4 yards per game). The maestro of the triple-option is quarterback Joshua Nesbitt who needs just 280 rushing yards to become the eighth player in NCAA history with 3,000 career rushing yards and 3,000 career passing yards.
The senior teams up with “A-back” Orwin Smith – who averages a whopping 11.4 yards per carry - and “B-back” Anthony Allen (86.5 ypg & five touchdowns) to give the Yellow Jackets an extremely dangerous backfield.
Don’t think Frank Beamer hasn’t been preparing for this game a while. Word has it that Beamer and his staff paid a visit to Iowa last spring to pick the brains of the Hawkeyes staff after they held the Yellow Jackets to nine first downs last year in an Orange Bowl win. Talk about advance scouting.
Preparation however seems to be Paul Johnson’s forte. In fact, Georgia Tech is 8-2 over the past three years when the team has more than seven days to prepare. Combine that stat with the fact that the Yellow Jackets have never lost consecutive games during Paul Johnson’s watch – and they lost to Clemson 27-13 last time out – and maybe we should begin to regard the home team as the underdog.
One thing is for sure: The home team has been in this spotlight before as this will be the ninth straight year Virginia Tech has hosted a Thursday night game. The Hokies are 16-5 in Thursday night games since 1994. Virginia Tech has been a moneymaker this season with a 6-1 mark against the spread while Georgia Tech has not been quite as generous with a 3-4 ATS mark.
VegasInsider.com
Tips and Trends
Buffalo Bulls at Ohio Bobcats
BULLS: Buffalo has had a really tough year, as they are 2-6 SU and ATS this season. This Bulls team has lost repeatedly in blowout fashion this year, as each of their 6 losses have come in blowout fashion. Buffalo has but 1 win this both SU and ATS against FBS opposition. The Bulls have failed to score more than 14 PTS in their last 3 games, and are only averaging 14.9 PPG for the season. With a scoring offense that is 6th worst in the nation, it's put alot of pressure on this Bulls defense. Unfortunately, this unit isn't doing much better, as they are allowing 29.6 PPG for the year. The Bulls are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games as a road underdog. South Florida is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a SU loss. The Bulls are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following an ATS loss. South Florida is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Bulls are 0-4 ATS against a team with a winning record.
Bulls are 1-5 ATS last 6 games following a double-digit loss at home.
Over is 7-3 last 10 games against a team with a winning record.
Key Injuries - LB Jelani Woseley (groin) is questionable.
Projected Score: 10
BOBCATS: (-16, O/U 45.5) Ohio has won their past 5 games, as they are easily playing their best football of the season. Surprisingly, the Bobcats are winning impressively thanks to an offense that has scored at least 30 PTS in each of their past 5 games. The Bobcats are playing their final home game of the season, so this wildly successful team wants to end on a big note. The Bobcats are 6-3 SU, including 4-1 in MAC play. The Bobcats are 3-2 ATS at home overall this season. Senior QB Boo Jackson is finally healthy, and it's showing on the field. Jackson has thrown at least 3 TD's in 2 of his past 4 games. The Bobcats have an impressive running game, averaging nearly 175 YPG on the ground this season. Defensively, Ohio is allowing 21.4 PPG, 43rd best in the nation. The Bobcats are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games played in November. Ohio is 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games as a home favorite of 10.5 points or more. The Bobcats are 4-1 ATS against a team with a losing record. Ohio is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Thursday games. The Bobcats are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games as a home favorite.
Bobcats are 13-3 ATS last 16 conference games.
Over is 5-0 last 5 games played in November.
Key Injuries - DL Terry Peden (knee) is questionable.
Projected Score: 34 (SIDE of the Day)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Virginia Tech Hokies
YELLOW JACKETS: Georgia Tech is coming off their bye week, as they've had plenty of time to think about their last game, a 13-27 loss at Clemson. The Yellow Jackets are 5-3 SU this season, including 3-5 ATS. Georgia Tech is only 1-3 ATS on the road this year. Georgia Tech will be playing their 3rd game as the listed underdog tonight, as they are 1-1 both SU and ATS in this scenario. The Yellow Jackets have the most prolific rushing attack in the nation this year, averaging 317.4 rushing YPG this season. RB Anthony Allen and QB Josh Nesbitt have each rushed for more than 650 YDS this season, combining for 13 TD's on the ground alone. Nesbitt has also thrown for more than 650 YDS, including 7 TD's. Overall, this rush based attack averaging 29.5 PPG for the year. Georgia Tech is playing better defensively than in season's past, allowing 23.6 PPG for the year. The Yellow Jackets are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a SU loss. Georgia Tech is 13-5 ATS in their last 18 road games. The Yellow Jackets are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following an ATS loss. Georgia Tech is 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Thursday games. The Yellow Jackets are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 games following a bye week.
Yellow Jackets are 5-1 ATS last 6 games as a road underdog of 10.5 or more.
Under is 6-1 last 7 games following a bye week.
Key Injuries - WR Quentin Sims (undisclosed) is questionable.
Projected Score: 17
HOKIES: (-13, O/U 56) Everything is looking up for Virginia Tech, as they are coming off a bye and are playing in their lovable Thursday night confines at home. The Hokies have won their last 6 games, both SU and ATS since starting the season 0-2. Virginia Tech is undefeated in league play, and easily looks like one of the 15 best teams in the nation. Virginia Tech is getting it done offensively, as they have the 14th best scoring offense in the nation at 37 PPG. Only twice this season have the Hokies been held under 30 PTS. QB Tyrod Taylor has been an amazing leader for the Hokies, as he leads the ACC with a 171.1 passer rating while throwing for 1,602 yards with 15 touchdowns against 3 INT's this year. Taylor also has more than 500 rushing YDS, most of which have come on broken plays where he's turned nothing into something. Defensively, the Hokies are only allowing 20 PPG this season. Virginia Tech has revenge on their minds tonight, as they lost 23-28 SU last season to Georgia Tech. The Hokies are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games as a favorite. The Hokies are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as a home favorite of 10.5 or more. Virginia Tech is 17-4 ATS in their last 21 games played in November. The Hokies are 17-5 ATS in their last 22 Thursday games. Virginia Tech is 38-15 ATS in their last 53 conference games. The Hokies are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games following a SU win of more than 20 points. Virginia Tech is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a bye week.
Hokies are 9-0 ATS last 9 games following a ATS win.
Under is 12-1 last 13 Thursday games.
Key Injuries - CB Eddie Whitley (foot) is questionable.
Projected Score: 31 (UNDER-Total of the Day)