Georgia Tech looks to rebound against the Seminoles after laying an egg at homecoming against the streaking Virginia Cavaliers.  Tech lost their first homecoming in 13 years to UVA in a game where the normally stifling GT Defense looked rather, well, ordinary.  Virginia was able to win the time of possession battle despite playing against a run-based wishbone offense, which is very hard to do.  However, GT did do their best to help UVA by missing countless open field tackles which led to a very efficient third down conversion rate for the Cavaliers (11-18) that in turn kept numerous drives alive.  As a result, there were very few total offensive possessions in the game, making every possession in the second half that much more important.  GT only had 5 offensive possessions total in the second half, 3 of which resulted in turnovers by sophomore quarterback Josh Nesbitt.  The first was a fumble on the first possession of the second half that halted a momentum building 6 play, 30 yard drive with Tech up 14-10 at the time.  UVA then took over and marched in for the touchdown to re-take the lead at 17-14.  This was a big turn of events, but the most pivotal turnover was the second of the half, that came by way of another fumble (surprise surprise – GT is second in the nation in total fumbles).  Tech had driven the ball all the way down to the 5 yard line and looked poised to score the go ahead touchdown, but instead coughed the ball up again.  The final turnover came on an interception on the last Tech possession on a pass that was thrown about 3 seconds too late.  All in all it was a very frustrating and disappointing effort, but it served as a reminder that GT is still a very young team on offense and their defense won’t always be dominant.

One positive to take away from last week is that GT should come into the game this weekend against FSU extremely hungry.  The defense now has something to prove, especially against the Seminoles who own the top scoring offense in the ACC at over 36 ppg.  GT has also tried in vain to beat the Noles, having lost in all 12 of their attempts since FSU joined the ACC in 1992.  As a matter of fact FSU is the one team that I have personally wanted the Jackets to conquer more so than any other team that I have witnessed them play, which is probably why Tech has yet to beat them while I have been a fan!  The challenge will be no easier than in years past as FSU comes in ranked 15 in the BCS standings behind a very well balanced attack.  They are 1 of only 6 teams that are top 20 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense (USC, Florida, Penn St, Ball St, and TCU).

FSU’s offense is lead by sophomore quarterback Christian Ponder who is a threat with both his arm and his legs.  Ponder looked good early against some of the cupcake opponents but has struggled in ACC play having thrown only 3 tds along with 5 ints and only completing 52% of his passes.  Ponder is much better when he is called upon to do less by handing off to senior running back Antone Smith, who leads the ACC with 11 rushing touchdowns.  Ponder also has two playmakers at wide receiver in Preston Parker and Greg Carr.  Parker is more of a possession wr while Carr is their deep threat.  Carr is a very talented player with great hands and a useful 6-6 frame in the red zone.  Carr was hand picked to be the next Calvin Johnson type wr in the ACC but has yet to live up to the hype, but then again nobody really has and nobody probably ever will.  FSU is anchored by a very young but talented offensive line which includes returning freshman All-Americans Ryan McMahon and Rodney Hudson.  Look for GT’s superb defensive line to really tee off against the young fellas, especially coming off of a poor showing last week.  This is the first really big key to the game – getting pressure on Christian Ponder early and often.  Too many times last week UVA’s qb had seemingly all day in the pocket to stand tall and make good decisions.  Tech faces a similar situation this week against a qb capable of burning them when given time, but also the potential to make bad decisions when under pressure.  Hopefully it will be more of the latter, because when given time FSU’s wrs will make Tech’s dilapidated secondary pay dearly.  GT missed Word Daniels’ presence tremendously last week, especially in the tackling department.  His services will not be available this week and to make matters worse safety Dominique Reese is banged up after suffering a mild concussion last week but is expected to play.  Tech is so desperate for bodies right now that they are considering moving safety Morgan Burnett up to play corner.  This concerns me because the predator is much more effective when he can lurk across the entire field and not be bottled up on one man.

FSU’s defense is once again very dominant and laden with pro talent.  They are lead by future first round defensive end, Everette Brown, who is third in the ACC in sacks and second in tackles for loss.  FSU also has a solid middle linebacker in Derek Nicholson and a very experienced secondary guided by the talented future NFL safety Myron Rolle.  This is by far the best rush defense GT has faced all season as the Noles give up a paltry 80 yards per game – good for 7^th best in the nation.  Tech, however, comes in with the 9^th best rushing offense in the nation at almost 240 yards per game.  The numbers speak for themselves – something’s gotta give.  One final intriguing stat about the FSU defense is that they lead the nation in third down defense.  Their opponents have only converted 16 of 92 attempts all season long which is almost unbelievable.  This brings me to they second key of the game.  GT will need to be effective on first and second downs to set up third and manageable yardage situations.  If GT gets stuffed on first and second downs to force third and long situations, they will be in for a very long day.

Overall the task ahead on Saturday appears very daunting on paper, which is why I think that GT will come ready to play.  Sadly, it appeared that this might be the year that Tech veered away from playing down to the level of the competition, but mistakes due to the combination of youth and unfamiliarity with the new offense will probably prevent GT from soundly beating mid-tier ACC teams.  I think that this will be a game won by our defense with Ponder on his backside all game long.  The curse of FSU will finally be lifted and I can joyously watch FSU fans walk out of our stadium in silence.