The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets were brilliant in its 2014 season. Then the roof caved in in 2015 when the team was expected to be great. No one knew exactly what to expect in 2016, but it was reasonable to think that Georgia Tech needed a decent season at minimum to ensure Paul Johnson’s job security. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets exceeded expectations, and now the talk of a hot seat for Johnson should truly cool off for a few years. He has earned the right to not have to bother with any of that in 2017 or 2018. (2019 could be an issue only if each of the next two seasons don’t go well.) Georgia Tech now faces one very important challenge, however, as you’ll see below in the offseason changes subsection.
How Did They End 2016
The Yellow Jackets were coming off a blowout loss to North Carolina on November 5 and were just 5-4 on the season with games at Virginia Tech and Georgia on the schedule. This looked like a 6-6 season, which would have been good enough to get to a bowl but not exactly inspiring. Then Georgia Tech played its best football of the year. The defense was smothering in a win at ACC Coastal Division champion Virginia Tech. The defense then kept the team in the game at Georgia, before the offense delivered a late touchdown to win on the road “Between The Hedges.” Georgia Tech had forged an 8-4 season from the fire, and it then smacked Kentucky in the bowl game to finish 9-4. The late surge has reinvigorated the program, but now comes a big problem:
Offseason Changes
Quarterback Justin Thomas is gone, to be replaced by Matthew Jordan. Maybe Jordan will be fine, but if anyone has followed Georgia Tech football over the past 10 years, it has been very hit-and-miss with its quarterbacks at the helm of Paul Johnson’s triple option offense. Josh Nesbitt was great, but his successors were not. Thomas revived the offense, but now someone else has to take the baton. The problem with triple option quarterbacks is that they have so many responsibilities in terms of making the right reads and decisions – there really is no such thing as a “caretaker” quarterback in the triple option. The QB has to be really good or the whole offense suffers. Jordan has to be good for this team to be appreciably good.
Team X-Factor
Defensive end KeShun Freeman, who has never maxed out in any previous seasons in his collegiate career, is widely viewed as a player who needs to step up. If he can become a defensive terror, this Georgia Tech unit – which played great in November – can be more consistent over the course of the whole ACC season. Georgia Tech’s defense was shredded by North Carolina, Duke, and Pittsburgh. Fewer defensive collapses can enable this group to cover for the offense and minimize regression this season.
What To Expect From The Yellow Jackets This Year
Georgia Tech – because of the erratic nature of its quarterbacks – has been notoriously hard to predict on a year-to-year basis. A repeat of last year’s 9-4 seems unlikely, though – six or seven wins probably fits this team best, though if Jordan is great, nine wins are not out of the question.
Record Last 5 Seasons
2016: 9-4
2015: 3-9
2014: 11-3
2013: 7-6
2012: 7-7
Schedule & Outlook
Georgia Tech has a bit of a grind to start the season. They’ll face off with the Tennessee Volunteers on a neutral site to get the party started, which is probably a loss. Then they have a gimme against Jacksonville State before a tricky road game in Central Florida in Week 3. They also have tough games against North Carolina, Miami and Clemson – the latter two are on the road. The good news is that they won’t have to face Florida State this season – at least not unless they make a run at the ACC title.
This unpredictable team is best seen as a team which will sneak into a bowl game with six or seven wins. It is rare that Georgia Tech has won nine or 10 games in consecutive seasons.
Regular Season Win Total Prediction: Under 6.5
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