Georgia Tech focused on stopping Virginia Tech rushing attack
ATLANTA -- The Virginia Tech running attack has not garnered much positive attention this season. Averaging 161.7 yards rushing per game, the Hokies rank a modest 79th in the country.
Now it's up to Georgia Tech's injury-beset defense to make sure head coach Frank Beamer's team doesn't pick Thursday night to discover itself, as other opponents have done against the Yellow Jackets.
"We've got to play better against the run," Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson said. "If we don't play better against the run, it doesn't matter what anybody is going to do."
The two ACC Coastal Division rivals meet Thursday night in a nationally televised game. The games between the two have been close, and a year ago Harrison Butker kicked a field goal at the buzzer to give the Yellow Jackets a win.
Georgia Tech will need to find some answers against the run if it wants to keep this one close. In its last game prior to an off week, Georgia Tech allowed Virginia to rush for 233 yards and possess the ball for 36 minutes, 43 seconds -- a strategy for success that's long been favored by the Yellow Jackets. During the past seven games, the Georgia Tech defense has allowed five opponents to run for at least 200 yards. In three of those games, the opposition has possessed the ball longer than the Yellow Jackets.
"We've got to be able to stop the run and do better on third down," Johnson said. "Early in the year, we were doing that; lately we weren't. Played better against the run against Florida State (which had only 70 rushing yards), and it helped our third-down defense. We got off the field, and they only had the ball three times in the second half. We've got to do both.
"We've got to put together some offensive drives and play better against the run."
Georgia Tech will have to stop surging Travon McMillan, a redshirt freshman who leads the Hokies in rushing with 665 yards and three touchdowns. He also has caught 12 passes, including one for a score.
Georgia Tech will have to work some magic without defensive tackle Adam Gotsis, who is out for the season after suffering a knee injury on the first play of the Virginia game, and Jabari Hunt, who is suspended for this week because of a team violation.
The absence puts an additional load of on tackle Patrick Gamble and second-tier players like Francis Kallon and true freshman Kyle Cerge-Henderson.
Another key will be Georgia Tech's ability to handle the ball cleanly on offense. In a series that's tilted heavily toward close games, turnovers can play a big role. During the past six games, the Yellow Jackets have had 11 turnovers that have resulted in 41 points.
They have had two giveaways converted into 10 points in each of the past two games.
"The turnovers have been huge in this game," Johnson said. "That's been a big part of it when we play, and that will be a huge part when we play Thursday. We've killed ourselves with untimely turnovers all year and against a team as good defensively as Virginia Tech, you don't want to do that."
Neither team is going to represent the Coastal Division in the ACC Championship game this season, something that has happened only once since its inception in 2005. Both teams are running out of chances to extend their active bowl participation streaks; Georgia Tech has gone to 18 straight, Virginia Tech has gone to 22 straight. The Yellow Jackets (3-6) must win their final three games to become bowl eligible, while the Hokies (4-5) need two more victories.
"I think everybody understands it and knows it. I'm not sure I've heard any of the players talk about it," Johnson said. "Virginia Tech is in the same boat; they've got to win two out of three. I'm sure both teams will be aware of that when we play."
This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 9:48 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech focused on stopping Virginia Tech rushing attack ."