Saturday at noon the Seminoles will be back in action against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on the ACC Network.
Georgia Tech is 3-4 on the season with wins over Western Carolina, Pittsburgh and Duke with losses to Clemson, Central Florida, Ole Miss and Virginia.
Florida State is 15-11-1 versus the Jackets but have lost 2 in a row. The last time FSU beat Tech was in the 2014 ACC title game.
Observations from the last game
The ‘Noles hung tough with a top 5 team and almost pulled off the upset. In the 8-minute stretch from the last minute of the first half to 8 minutes left in the third quarter FSU made mistakes in all 3 phases and Clemson opened up a 17-point lead.
The rushing attack led by Trey Benson and Lawrance Toafili was great most of the game. Running off tackle behind Robert Scott and Dillon Gibbons gave Clemson fits.
Florida State offense versus Georgia Tech defense
Tech’s defense gives up 27 points a game, but the offense hasn’t helped them out giving them short fields from turnovers and ineffectiveness.
When the Jackets defense is out there the opposing offense will try to get things going on the ground. GT is much better against the pass than they are the run, which is good news for Florida State. Running backs Benson and Toafili should have another big game, opening up some throwing lanes for quarterback Jordan Travis.
The offense will need to be careful as the Ramblin’ Wreck are good at creating negative plays and turnovers. The defenders that wreak the most havoc are linebackers Ayinde Eley (71 tackles) and Charlie Thomas (3 forced turnovers) and defensive end Keion White (4 sacks).
Florida State defense versus Georgia Tech offense
The GT offense depends on quarterback Jeff Sims for its success through the air and on ground. Sims has 1,115 yards passing and is second on the team in rushing yards with 303. With that being said Sims will either be out or limited due to an injury he sustained last week.
With or without Sims the Jackets offense will try to establish the run. The running backs Hassan Hall and Dontae Smith have combined for 553 yards. The ‘Noles continued to struggle against the run but help should be on the way as there’s a good chance defensive tackles Fabian Lovett and Jarrett Jackson will be back in the lineup.
When FSU forces an obvious passing situations, it could spell big trouble for Tech as they have allowed 4.3 sacks per game (129th in FBS).
Special Teams
Advantage: Florida State
Prediction
Georgia Tech has really struggled to put up points this year (13 points per game, 129th in FBS) so if FSU can limit the bad plays on offense the ‘Noles will put this game away early and improve to 5-3.
Florida State 34 Georgia Tech 13.
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