Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2021 College Football Preview
Created August 4, 2021
2020 Recap
Record – 3-7
ATS – 5-5
The Yellow Jackets stormed out of the gate with a road win over the Seminoles (W 16-13) as double-digit underdogs and took down LUA-VUH a few weeks later (W 46-27). The schedule got tougher and they only managed to win one more game the rest of the way (Duke). It appears there are GREEN SHOOTS sprouting up in Atlanta. Let’s see if they can take a step forward in 2021.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2021 Outlook
OFFENSE
Georgia Tech improved their yardage output by over 100Y in 2020 and finally started to show some promise after transferring from the triple option offense a few years ago. They were particularly effective on the ground (191 YPG, #6 ACC) and bring back a REALLY deep RB unit this season (top-four RB). QB Jeff Sims led the team in rushing LY (492, 6 TD) and showed enough promise passing (13-13 TD to INT, 55%) to make us think they have a pretty good one. Three of their top-four WRs are back in action and we expect more production and efficiency through the air. The OL performed well LY and they are talented and LARGE. Adding LT Devin Cochran from Vanderbilt is a bonus.
DEFENSE
The Jackets struggled on D LY and allowed a whopping 459 YPG (#14 ACC). Ten starters are back but they’ll be without their best defensive player from 2020 in LB David Curry (#1 tackles, 9 TFL). The LB group should still be fine with #2 tackler Quez Jackson back and note they add Ayinde Eley from Maryland who booked over 100 tackles over 3Y with the Terps. The secondary is the strongest unit and includes a rock solid combo at safety (Tariq Carpenter, Juanyeh Thomas). Georgia Tech should be a lot better on defense this year, particularly if they can find a way to get to the QB (T12 sacks/game ACC LY).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Ouch. Losing an NFL-bound (!) punter really STINGS. The good news is that they bagged a pretty good veteran FGK from the Vols in Brent Cimaglia. Tech was GHASTLY in the FG department LY (3/8). There’s continuity at PR and KR.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – They should get off to a 2-0 start (N Illinois, Kennesaw St) but then face Clemson and UNC in back-to-back weeks. They also have road games at Miami and Notre Dame, not to mention the season finale with the mighty Georgia Bulldogs (H).
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – Nothing overly-spooky is noted.
Season Win Total
Per 5Dimes August 4
Over 5 -115
Under 5 +105
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under.
We really like the team on paper but that schedule is nasty. They’ll need to win four games after starting 2-0 to hit the ‘over’ and it’s hard to find too many wins on that docket.
MEGAmazing Tidbit
The rivarly with the Georgia Bulldogs is referred to as CLEAN, OLD-FASHIONED HATE. How great is that, yo? They’ve been rivals since 1893 and the Bulldogs lead the series 68-41-5.
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Geoff Collins definitely has this program moving in the right direction. They have a potential emerging star at QB and the defense should be significantly improved. The schedule is flat-out nasty so it seems to us that this squad will be better on paper (and vs the point spread) than the eventual win-loss record. Achieving bowl eligibility would be impressive but look out in 2022!
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WEBSITE
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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
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