Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2022 College Football Preview
August 2, 2022
2021 Recap
Record –3-9
ATS – 4-8
At the halfway point of the year, things looked pretty good. The Jackets were 3-3 and could have easily been 5-1. They lost to Northern Illinois by a point and gave Clemson all they could handle in a 14-8 (!) road defeat. Georgia Tech lost four more close games to start the 2nd half and then mailed it in the final two weeks. The Irish and Georgia beat them by a combined score of 100-CACK.
It’s year four of the Geoff Collins experience. Can these guys finally show some improvement?
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 2022 Outlook
OFFENSE
The Yellow Jackets were mediocre on offense (again) LY and finished #7 in the ACC in rushing offense and #10 with the THROW GAME. QB Jeff Sims showed some impressive flashes LY (12-7 TD to INT; 372 yards, 4 TD rush) and we’d love to see what he can do in a full season. Losing star RB Jahmyr Gibbs is a kick in the JACOBS (746 rush, 36 receptions LY) but they did a decent job reloading by snagging Buffalo RB Dylan McDuffie (1,049, 11 TD) and Louisville’s Hassan Hall thru the transfer portal. The OL is less experienced than last season but they added a lot of talent via the portal and have the potential to mold into an above-average group. Our biggest concern is the situation at WR/TE where the talent seems pretty thin. Tech has averaged 24 PPG in each of the last two seasons and we anticipate similar production in 2022.
DEFENSE
Georgia Tech has finished #12, #14 and #10 in ACC total defense under Geoff Collins and they haven’t been able to find any kind of pass rush over that time horizon (20 sacks, #12 ACC LY). We don’t have a good feeling about the 2022 stop unit as the Jackets will have an entirely new starting DL and recall that they were disgusting vs the pass LY (dead last FBS pass efficiency D, 28-3 TD to INT, 9.8 YPA). The secondary gets an infusion of talent from the portal (sound familiar?) so maybe that’ll help. The LB group is the strength of the defense with the return of Charlie Thomas and Ayinde Eley who combined for 160 tackles and 13.5 TFL in 2021. The Jackets seem destined for another season of allowing 30+ PPG.
SPECIAL TEAMS
RUH ROH. There’s almost a complete overhaul underway, but at least they added former LUA-VUH return man Hassan Hall.
Schedule Analysis
Overall – Yup, it’s brutal. They get a nasty draw from the Atlantic (Clemson, Noles), have to face UCF and Georgia on the road, and four of their final five games are ON THE HIGHWAY.
Potential ATS Trouble Spot – November 19 – at North Carolina
This will be their third road game in four weeks and North Carolina will be looking to avenge their blowout loss to the Jackets LY (L 45-22). Added bonus – Tech has their rivalry game with Georgia up next.
Season Win Total
Over 3.5 +100
Under 3.5 -130
MEGALOCKS says:
Lean: Under
You can pencil in a win over Western Carolina. After that?
MEGAmazing Tidbit
The Jackets have been a money-burner vs Vegas under the Collins regime posting an ATS mark of 11-22-1 (33%). Could this be the year that things go in the other direction?
Georgia Tech has won exactly three games in each of the last three seasons. #Numerology
MEGALOCKS Outlook:
Ya, we get it. It’s not easy to transition from a triple-option offense. Having said that, there aren’t many GREEN SHOOTS to point at signifying progress and the roster still looks mediocre overall. This has the makings of a another long season and we’d be surprised if they come close to sniffing a bowl bid.
Want more Georgia Tech football ?
WEBSITE
https://ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/
FORUM
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