In another big game this past weekend, Georgia Tech traveled to South Bend to play No. 8 Notre Dame.
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At least the Yellow Jackets have a healthy Justin Thomas at quarterback. Fournette leads the nation in rushing, averaging 193.5 yards. But he was stuck throwing dump passes last week against Northwestern and threw for 150 yards, even though he completed 24 of 39 passes.
Duke and Georgia Tech have a long and storied history on the gridiron, dating back to the days when Hall of Fame coaches Wallace Wade and William Alexander dueled in the 1930s.
Ever since Virginia Tech’s domination of the ACC’s Coastal Division ended in 2011 after winning five titles in seven years, Georgia Tech and Duke have replaced the Hokies as division champions. The Yellow Jackets are also seventh in yards per play (7.6) and eighth in yards per completion (16.5). He managed to resurrect Duke’s lacking rush defense into one of the most intimidating in the ACC. However, a powerful defense on the ground was not enough to gain the Blue Devil’s a victory against Northwestern.Quarterback Thomas Sirk’s five-yard touchdown during the first quarter was not as impressive as his performance in the previous two games. Tech also will get national television exposure in both of its games in the NIT Season Tip-Off, held November. 26-27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York The Yellow Jackets face NCAA third-round opponent Arkansas on Thanksgiving Day (ESPNU) and either pre-season top-10 Villanova or defending NIT champion Stanford on Nov. 27 (ESPNU or ESPN2). What better way to find out than against Georgia Tech, who is going to test every part of your team.
“When you come off a loss, it’s always a little challenging to go back and get your energies and emotions where they need to be”, Duke head coach David Cutcliffe said. “One of them is that you tend to sometimes push a panic button and say we have to stay on the field, we’ve got to make some first downs”.
“Last year when we beat them, we tackled really well”, Duke safety Jeremy Cash said. Facing a good quarterback this week in Thomas Sirk, the Georgia Tech defense will once again have to be on their toes. In order to force the Yellow Jackets into third-and-long situations and require Thomas to beat them through the air, the Blue Devils will have to stay disciplined and can not afford missed tackles.
“You put it behind you and move forward and get ready for the next game”, said Johnson. “We’re inside a system and we’re going to continue to improve”.
“They’ve got one of the fastest players in the league playing quarterback”, Cutcliffe said.
It will be important that Tech performs well in both halves against Duke. Conservative play did not bring the Blue Devils back against Northwestern.
“Everything is assignment football when you play Georgia Tech“, Cash said.
Both the 20th-ranked Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils are coming off losses in nonconference games they could have won, and enter Saturday’s game with a very real sense of urgency.
Chris Brown is another player who usually has a lot of critics.
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The two teams are best known for their offenses. But the victor still takes an early lead in ACC Coastal. This year North Carolina already has posted six scoreless quarters through just three games.
