Florida State vs. Georgia Tech Preview
Our Florida State vs. Georgia Tech Preview takes a look at how ACC divisional champions Florida State and Georgia Tech match up against one another in the Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. on Saturday. The television broadcast will be on ESPN.
Florida State will square off with the Rambling Wreck under the lights at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium this Saturday in a game that is being built up to be one of the more significant games between these two teams in series history. The Yellow Jackets have won two of the last three meeting despite losing the most recent of those in the 2012 ACC championship game. During the last four matchups between these two programs, the winner has won by six points or less. While the ‘Noles have been victors of 28 straight games they must respect this Georgia Tech squad that has finished the season hot on a five-game winning streak, including a rare victory against rival Georgia.
(ABOVE: Florida State vs Georgia Tech ACC Championship Game Hype Video)
When the ‘Noles have the Ball:
Points will be at a premium in this contest, barring a stellar defensive performance by the Florida State defense. Why?
Georgia Tech checks in at third in the country in time of possession, as it possesses the ball for 34 minutes per game on average. That said, GT also finds itself as a top-ten team in passes intercepted going into Saturday with a whopping 17 interceptions on the season. Among these 17 passes that were intercepted, five of them were returned for touchdowns. No other “Power Five” team in the top fifty can boast this impressive number of pick sixes.
All statistics gathered for these 17 interceptions can be seen in the chart below.
| RANK | TEAM | G | OPP PASS | OPP INT | INT RET YDS | INT RET TDS |
| 9 | GA TECH | 12 | 367 | 17 | 328 | 5 |
FSU quarterback Jameis Winston has shown an uncanny ability for shining in the big moment, when it matters the most. However, it is hard to ignore the recent struggles experienced by Winston, including a career-high four passes intercepted against rival Florida to conclude the regular season. In a matchup between a conference’s two best teams this is certainly not the type of trend any offense wants to see continue with its quarterback.
The one matchup the ‘Noles can hang their hat on is halfback Dalvin Cook and company against the Georgia Tech rushing defense. It has been since the middle of October when Florida State hosted Notre Dame that FSU hasn’t played a team that currently checks in with a top 40 rushing defense. Until now.
All statistics gathered for Georgia Tech’s rushing defense can be seen in the chart below.
| RANK | TEAM | G | OPP RUSH | OPP RUSH YDS | YDS/RUSH | OPP RUSH TDS | YPG |
| 70 | GA TECH | 12 | 397 | 2015 | 5.08 | 22 | 167.9 |
When the Jackets have the Ball:
Georgia Tech’s offense is most comparable to that of an even better Boston College as it pertains to the proficiency of the rushing attack and time of possession. This is a scary thought, considering that head coach Jimbo Fisher thought Winston played his best game of the season against Boston College, and the ‘Noles squeezed by with a three-point victory.
While the Yellow Jackets show proficiency both on the ground and in the air, their bread and butter is the ground game. Entering the ACC championship game, they average an impressive 333.8 yards per game in rushing alone, which checks in at third in the country in rushing offense.
The ‘Noles have defied both the critics and the statistics this season. If they expect to continue to do this, the game may very well be in the hands of defensive coordinator Charles Kelly when the final seconds tick off the clock Saturday night. Kelly worked under Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson from the 2008 to the 2012 season. During this tenure, Kelly became more than familiar with Georgia Tech’s triple-option threat. Kelly’s ability to have the Seminoles ready Saturday could be the difference in victory or defeat for FSU.
Yes, Paul Johnson stands on the sideline and calls out plays. However, the puppeteer couldn’t ask for a better quarterback than what he has in Prattville, Alabama native Justin Thomas. In Thomas’s first year as a starter, he has exceeded expectations by every account, both through the air and on the ground. Thomas’s rare mix of athleticism, combined with profound decision making, easily qualifies him as one of the most underrated players in college football.
All statistics gathered for Georgia Tech’s quarterback Justin Thomas can be seen in the chart below.
| JUSTIN THOMAS | WHEN PASSING | WHEN RUSHING | |||||||||||||
| SPLIT | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | YPA | LNG | TD | INT | SACK | RAT | ATT | YDS | AVG | LNG | TD |
| Season | 81 | 161 | 1460 | 50.3 | 9.07 | 79 | 16 | 4 | 9 | 154.3 | 165 | 861 | 5.2 | 65 | 5 |
| Home record | 47 | 85 | 827 | 55.3 | 9.73 | 71 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 168.8 | 85 | 404 | 4.8 | 65 | 2 |
| Away record | 34 | 76 | 633 | 44.7 | 8.33 | 79 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 138.1 | 80 | 457 | 5.7 | 33 | 3 |
FSU defensive tackle Eddie Goldman’s awareness of when to anticipate the pass and when to play assignment football and respect the run against Thomas and company will be a match-up to watch, as Goldman currently leads Florida State with four sacks on the season. Getting Tech’s offense behind in down and distance will be crucial. Sacks and quarterback hurries on those rare Georgia Tech passing downs would certainly help the cause, as an entire FSU secondary that is capable of thriving off of turnovers will be waiting for Thomas to heave one down-field.
Special Teams
Kicker Robert Aguayo has yet to miss a kick in NFL stadiums (18 of 18 on PATs & 9 of 9 on FGs). During his nearly two-year tenure at FSU, Aguayo has kicked in the Cowboys, Dolphins, Steelers, and Panthers stadiums. In total, Aguayo has made 98.4 percent of his kicks at FSU, including a perfect record on PATs.
On the other hand, Georgia Tech kicker Harrison Butker has seemingly struggled this season despite his most recent 53-yard field goal against Georgia to take the game into overtime.
Statistics gathered for Georgia Tech’s kicker Harrison Butker can be seen in the chart below.
| SEASON | FGM | FGA | PCT | XPM | XPA | PTS |
| 2014 | 11 | 18 | 61.1 | 53 | 54 | 86 |
Final Thoughts
Yes, Florida State does boast an impressive number of athletes, as the ‘Noles have NFL talent across the board. However, when it comes to coaching, both Jimbo Fisher and Paul Johnson are the best in the business when it comes to running their offenses. In fact, Paul Johnson won the ACC Coach of the Year award just this week despite Jimbo’s undefeated season. If Paul Johnson can out-coach Fisher and defensive coordinator Charles Kelly Saturday night in Charlotte, then perhaps he really does deserve it.
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As much as the ‘Noles would welcome a convincing blowout to silence the multiplying number of critics, this one will more than likely come down to a couple possessions, and accuracy in the kicking game, as the chess match between Johnson and Kelly should prove to be one of particular interest. In this case, the odds would certainly favor Groza award winning kicker Robert Aguayo over Harrison Butker.