October 29, 2009

Alexi Neill
JacketsOnline.com Staff Writer

SITE: Vanderbilt Stadium

TIME: Saturday, 7:30 PM ET

WEATHER: 52 degrees, Rain (70% Chance of Precipitation)

RADIO: Georgia Tech ISP Network (WQXI 790-AM Atlanta, WYAY 106.7-FM Atlanta)

TV: CSS/ESPN360

RECORDS: No. 11 Georgia Tech 7-1, Vanderbilt 2-6

COACHES:

Georgia Tech - Paul Johnson (16-5, second season), Bobby Johnson (89-98, eighth season)

Georgia Tech Players to watch:

QB Josh Nesbitt (Jr., 6-1, 214), B-Back Jonathan Dwyer (Jr., 6-0, 235), A-Back Anthony Allen (RS Jr., 6-0, 225), WR Demaryius Thomas (RS Jr., 6-3, 229), OG Cord Howard (RS Sr.,6-5, 300), DE Derrick Morgan (Jr., 6-4, 270), LB Brad Jefferson (Jr., 6-2,236), DB Morgan Burnett (Jr., 6-1, 210), DB/PR Jerrard Tarrant (RS So., 6-0, 202) Vanderbilt Players to watch:

RB/KR Warren Norman (Fr, 5-10, 188), C Bradley Vierling (RS Sr., 6-3, 292), DT Greg Billinger (Sr., 6-3, 297), LB Chris Marve (RS So., 6-0, 228), LB Patrick Benoist (Sr., 6-0, 224), DB Myron Lewis (Sr., 6-3, 202), DB Casey Hayward (So., 5-11, 182)

Georgia Tech keys to the game

Chip on their shoulder? In every game since the loss to Miami, GT has had added motivation to play well. UNC - the defense was called out and responded. Miss St - the offense had not clicked on all cylinders, until now. FSU - Tech had never won in their stadium, until now. VT - top five in the nation, not any more. UVA - had not won in their stadium since 1990, curse broken. Vanderbilt - Can't beat the SEC? Wait, GT has already beaten an SEC team on the road this season. Luckily Tech has CPJ, who will not allow his team to have a let down. Perhaps it is his fiery personality on the sidelines, but his team has responded this season when he has asked them to.

No Procedure Penalties. Tech shot themselves in the foot against UVA with silly procedure penalties on offense. The majority were committed by offensive lineman, who would often move a split second before the ball was snapped. Five yards would not seem like much to a conventional offense, but in a predominately-rushing attack, it has really put Tech behind the eight ball. In fact, on eight of the last nine possessions that ended in a Yellow Jacket punt, they were flagged for at least one penalty on the drive.

Time of possession. The Yellow Jackets lead the nation in this category, holding the ball for almost 35 minutes per game. That is an average of nearly 10 minutes more than their opponents, which is two-thirds of an entire quarter. Dominating the clock also helps the defense tremendously. In games where Tech has had the ball for at least 38 minutes, their opponents have averaged only 228 yards of total offense per game. Add to the mix that Vandy is 0-6 when they lose the time of possession and you have a recipe for a GT victory.

Vanderbilt keys to the game

Johnson vs. Johnson. The battle of Johnsons goes back to their days in the Southern Conference. Paul Johnson coached at Georgia Southern, while Bobby Johnson coached at Furman. Both of their teams were consistently in the running for the conference championship. Paul Johnson posted a 4-2 record against Bobby Johnson while at Southern, but interestingly enough, CPJ's last game at Southern was a playoff loss to Furman. It is safe to say that Bobby has had more exposure to CPJ's offense than any other coach that he has faced so far, which could help Vandy's defense to be well prepared for the option.

Stingy Defense. Believe it or not, Vandy is currently ranked 23rd in the nation in scoring defense, giving up only 17.8 points per game. They are also 34th nationally allowing 320 total yards per game and seventh in the nation with only 156 passing yards per game allowed. The problem being that they are 85th in rushing defense at 164 yards per game, which ranks one ahead of UVA - the team that GT scorched for 362 yards on the ground.

Stormin' Warren Norman. The starting freshman running back has already run for 533 rushing yards and 668 kickoff return yards. He has also already returned two kickoff returns for touchdowns. Georgia Tech still ranks near the bottom nationally in kickoff return defense in 95th position out of 120 total teams. Norman is an explosive player and he could be a big X-factor if Vandy is to pull the upset.

Giant Killers

The Commodores have earned five wins over ranked opponents in the last three seasons. This includes victories over No 24 Boston College, No. 13 Auburn, No. 24 South Carolina, No. 6 South Carolina, and No. 16 Georgia.

Bay-Bay Biletnikoff

Bay-Bay has been named one of ten semi-finalists for the Biletnikoff award given to the nation's top wide receiver. B Thomas might need to pull an Ochocinco and change his official name if he manages to win this award. He currently leads the ACC with 93.4 yards per game and also leads the nation with a 24.9 yards per reception average. He is also on pace to break Calvin Johnson's single season receiving record of 1,202 yards set in 2006.

Gladiator

Brad Jefferson has been living up to his name over the last four games. During this span of victories, he has accumulated 31 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two forced fumbles. He is starting to play up to his potential as an All-ACC caliber linebacker.

Let it Rain

The local weather conditions are calling for wet weather again on Saturday. Georgia Tech has an advantage in the rain due to the fact that they rarely pass the ball. A soft, short pitch is much easier to catch in bad conditions compared to a long, harder thrown pass. Although not an official statistic, Georgia Tech has yet to lose under Paul Johnson when the clouds have opened up during a game.

Georgia/Tennessee Connections

Vandy has 18 players on its roster from the state of Georgia, while Tech only has one, Will Jackson, from the state of Tennessee. Several players will also be facing former high school teammates when the teams square off on Saturday. Vandy's Kennard Reeves and Tech's Jason Davis went to Duluth High School together. Vandy's Austin Newton played at Union Grove High School with Kyle Jackson and Steven Sylvester. Vandy's Warren Norman and Taylor Loftley attended Chamblee High School with Omoregie Uzzi.

Injury Update

Out: DE Robert Hall (knee), LB Kyle Jackson (foot), WR Kevin Cone (ankle), DB Cooper Taylor

Prediction

The Yellow Jackets will keep the chains moving against Vandy and eventually wear their defense down. The game will probably stay close until halftime, but Tech will follow their recent trend and put them away early in the second half. This could easily be seen as a "trap" game, but CPJ's previous coaching relationship with Bobby Johnson will be the fuel that he needs to keep the fire lit under the Yellow Jackets. GT 31 - Vandy 17