College Football Predictions – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2019 College Football Preview
2018 Recap
Record – 7-6
ATS – 5-8
It’s the end of an era.
The Yellow Jackets managed to win seven games in Paul Johnson’s final season in Atlanta but they ended the year on a sour note. Georgia Tech got smoked by Georgia (reasonable) to end the regular season but then got POLEAXED by Minnesota (not reasonable) in the Quick Lane Bowl.
New HC Geoff Collins comes over from Temple and starts from GROUND ZERO. Let’s take a peek at their prospects for 2019.
2019 MEGALOCKS Opening Power Rating
Coastal Division – #7
ACC – #14
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2019 Outlook
OFFENSE
“And here we go” <The Joker> <The Dark Knight>
This won’t be easy, especially in year one moving away from the option. The starting QB gig is wide open as we go to press, but our ACC INSIDERS feel that Lucas Johnson has the edge based on his passing ability and performance in the spring. It’s unclear what kind of weapons that the soon-to-be starting QB will have when choosing to MATRICULATE the ball down the field in the passing game as the WR corps is a mystery. The good news? The Yellow Jackets are loaded at RB, and even with the switch away from the option attack, it’s good to know that there are fellas who know how to get yards on the ground. The offensive line returns just a pair of starters and they will be learning an entirely different scheme. And don’t forget that their excellent guard Parker Braun transferred to Texas.
It’s not clear what to expect, but we project them to average at least a TD per game less than last season (33.6).
DEFENSE
The Yellow Jackets have some work to do on this side of the ball. They only return four starters to a stop unit that allowed 29.3 PPG LY (#9 ACC) and bagged 17 sacks (2nd last ACC). In fact, Georgia Tech has been lacking in the PENETRATION department for quite a while tallying fewer than 20 sacks in each of the last four seasons (!). Georgia Tech also loses their top-three tacklers from a season ago and don’t return a single starter on the defensive line. Yikes. We hate to cut this preview short but we start curling up in the FETAL POSITION when thinking about their short-term prospects.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Finally, some good news. PK Wesley Wells was MR AUTOMATIC last season converting on 9/9 FG attempts and 39/39 XP. Waaaaaaaaaaaat? Georgia Tech also boasts a fantastic KR in Juanyeh Thomas who had two (!) KR TDs a season ago. We LIKEY LIKEY.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Wow. Start with Clemson (hide the men, women, and children) and finish with Georgia. The ACC slate doesn’t look like much fun either, yo.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – at Miami (October 19)
We love getting down some SWEET ACTION on underdogs but this will be Georgia Tech’s third road game in four weeks and Miami has a way of laying the WOOD at home.
Season Win Total
Over 4 +140
Under 4 -160
MEGALOCKS says:
‘Over’ doesn’t seem like an option. We don’t usually participate in DUMPSTER DIVING but it feels like ‘under’ or nothing.
MEGAmazing Tidbit
Bobby Dodd Stadium is the oldest stadium in the FBS and has been the site of more home wins than any other venue.
MEGALOCKS ATS Outlook: Negative
We can’t sugar-coat the situation. It remains to be seen how the transition away from the option offense works out BUT year one will be a struggle. There’s no way around it. They will likely get better as the season rolls along but it seems illogical to expect anything more than 3-4 wins this year.
Historical ATS records need to be discarded, no matter what the guys like TREND GUY and QUANTITIES ARE LIMITED GUY tell you on Twitter. New ball game. Our recommendation is to avoid them when crafting your weekly wagering cards until (if) they show signs of stabilizing.
Want more Georgia Tech football ?
WEBSITE
http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/geot-m-footbl-body.html
FORUM
https://247sports.com/college/georgia-tech/Board/Hive-Sports-Center-104173/
https://gtswarm.com/forums/georgia-tech-football.4/
https://georgiatech.forums.rivals.com/forums/the-buzz-members-only.6/
NEWS
http://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/
http://www.ajc.com/sports/georgia-tech/
https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/_/id/59/georgia-tech-yellow-jackets
http://bleacherreport.com/georgia-tech-football
Hashtag – #TogetherWeSwarm
Accounts to follow