The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets got to play Middle Tennessee State Saturday night. So that's pretty good. The Jackets continued their offensive explosion from Week 1 against slightly better competition, winning 49-21 and producing 604 yards worth of offense.
Starting quarterback Tevin Washington accounted for four touchdowns, though he might've had the most casual four touchdowns you'll ever see. Two were short runs, and the other two were catches Tech receivers took for 70-plus yards. A fine game, and more power to him for scoring with such efficiency.
That trick play the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets deployed last week, the one during which handoff coordinator Tevin Washington loosed the ball from his grip, but not like a pitch, and propelled it forward? It keeps occurring! The Jackets are popping Middle Tennessee State 21-0 in the first quarter thanks to two catch-and-runs that gave Washington a passer rating in the 1000s for a spell.
Washington also ran in a two-yard score.
The Jackets have outgained the Blue Raiders 325 yards to 69, and have 14 touchdowns to MTSU's four. This game is over, but it'll be fun to see whether Paul Johnson continues to attack from the heavens. The real challenge will be whether Tech can retain this dimension into the tougher parts of conference play, but it's got to be encouraging to see.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets passed for eleventy yards last Saturday against Western Carolina. Wide receiver Stephen Hill, perhaps America's least impressive No. 1 receiver in 2010, was named the ACC's best at his position for the week. Will it be back to basics or back to bombardment for Tech against the Middle Tenn. St. Blue Raiders (at 7 pm ET, Sept. 10 on ESPN3.com)?
As long as the Jackets come to play, MTSU shouldn't pose much more of a challenge than it did in 2010, when Tech won 42-14 in their most decisive victory of the season (South Carolina State put up a fuss, you guys). Then again, the Blue Raiders nearly topped the Purdue Boilermakers in Week 1 on the road despite replacing quarterback Dwight Dasher.
Which brings us back to the weird fact that the Jackets are playing Middle Tennessee on the road. It's not ideal, but it's a home-and-away-and-home arrangement. That's not going to impress anybody, but life's like that.
After tuning up against Western Carolina, Georgia Tech will hit the road to take on Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders were a trendy pick in 2010 to take the Sun Belt Conference crown but those hopes came crashing down the moment that quarterback Dwight Dasher was suspended for his involvement with a booster. Dasher has since exhausted his eligibility and the Blue Raiders are left as a team in transition.
A Closer Look At The Blue Raiders Coach: Rick Stockstill 33-30 in six seasons at MTSU Last Season: 6-7, 5-3 Sun Belt, Lost GoDaddy.com Bowl To Miami (Ohio) Returning Starters: 10 (Seven offensive, three defensive) Key Players: QB Logan Kilgore, T Mike Williams, LB Darwin Davis
Middle Tennessee State will be one of the less experienced teams in the Sun Belt this season with only 10 starters returning combined on both sides of the ball. There will be depth concerns particularly on defense. Offensively quarterback Logan Kilgore stepped in for Dasher while he was suspended and takes over the offense full time this season. The receiving corps is experienced but wasn't used a lot last season due to the heavy run offense initiated by coach Stockstill. The offensive line has some experience as well and figures to be a positive going into the season.
Defensively Middle Tennessee State will be a work in progress as they try and recover from the loss of Jamari Lattimore and Dwight Smith up front. Lattimore was the Sun Belt's Defensive Player of the Year last season. There is some returning experience at linebacker led by Darin Davis but the secondary is thin as well and how well this unit can get off the field will say a lot as to whether or not they can extend their bowl streak to three seasons.
Georgia Tech won't dismiss this game simply because it is on the road. However, due to the lack of depth up front, Tech's high powered run offense should provide more than MTSU can handle. The Blue Raiders' inexperienced secondary could even provide the opportunity to take a few shots down the field early while going for an early knockout. The important thing for the Yellow Jackets in this game will be to get going early and not let the Blue Raiders hang around which could make an upset much more likely. Tech should get out of this game unscathed and set up a 2-0 start with Kansas visiting Atlanta the next week.
