A New Test Awaits Georgia Tech's Defense This Week At Louisville

Georgia Tech was not able to stop the last strong passing attack they faced, will this week be different?

Sep 14, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defensive lineman Romello Height (9) tackles Virginia Military Institute Keydets running back Hunter Rice (24) in the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech was as dominant as you could be on Saturday, but they were facing a very overmatched VMI team. The Yellow Jackets allowed 104 yards on 47 plays, giving up only 2.2 yards per play and racking up three sacks. After the performance vs Syracuse, it had to feel good for the defense to go out there and dominate from start to finish, but they still have a lot to prove and that starts this Saturday on the road vs Louisville.

Now, to be fair, we have not seen the Cardinals against a power four opponent just yet. Louisville has dispatched Austin Peay and Jacksonville State pretty easily through the first two games, but Georgia Tech is far better than either of those teams. Is that going to make a big difference? We will see on Saturday.

With all due respect to Florida State, Georgia State, and VMI, Syracuse is the only real passing game that Georgia Tech has faced this season and the results were not pretty. The Orange racked up 515 total yards, with Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord going 32-46 for 381 yards and four touchdowns. At least four receivers caught five passes and the duo of Trebor Pena and Oronde Gadsden combined for four touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets defense could not get stops and most noticeably, could not get any pressure. McCord had all day to throw and he had as good of a game as you can have in college. It was a bad day for the Georgia Tech defense (which is improved in some areas), but they have a chance to show they have improved in a matter of a couple of weeks.

I think you could argue Syracuse has better weapons at receiver and at quarterback than Louisville, but the Cardinals still have an excellent passing game and the guy calling the plays is the main reason why. Head coach Jeff Brohm is one of the best head coaches in the country and one of the best offensive minds. There is no doubt he saw the game against Syracuse and will look to beat Georgia Tech in a similar way and he has the players to do it.

Transfer quarterback Tyler Shough has battled injuries throughout his career, but when healthy, he has shown he can be a good quarterback. He has thrown for 581 yards and six touchdowns so far this year while completing 68.4% of his passes. Alabama transfer Ja'Corey Brooks is the leading receiver with 13 catches for 172 yards and Jadon Thompson has two touchdowns. These guys are going to test the Georgia Tech secondary and Brohm is going to put his guys in a position to succeed.

When you look at the matchup, it does lean in Louisville's favor. The Cardinals are 19th in dropback success rate at 46% while Georgia Tech's defense is 112th in dropback success rate allowed. Louisville is 39th in EPA/dropback (expected points added) while Georgia Tech is 94th in EPA/dropback allowed. Now again, we have not seen Louisville play a good opponent yet, but they numbers look good through two games.

Saturday might come down to the pass rush and how Georgia Tech's defense can affect the quarterback and create havoc. It should be mentioned that Louisville has a far better running game than Syraucse does so they will not be relying just on the pass, but Georgia Tech's run defense does seem improved. Will defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci have to rely on the blitz to try and get to Shough on Saturday or will players like Romello Height, Sylvain Yondjouen, Kevin Harris or someone else to get pressure.

The defense was the big question mark for Georgia Tech coming into the year and while it is improved in some areas, they had a really bad showing against Syracuse's passing attack. They have a chance to go up against a good offense this Saturday and show that performance is not indicative of how the season will go.