Bleav Georgia Tech: Previewing the Upcoming Matchup Against No. 19 Louisville

Can Georgia Tech go on the road this weekend and upset No. 19 Louisville?

Sep 14, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets wide receiver Malik Rutherford (8) runs after a catch against the Virginia Military Institute Keydets in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

One of the biggest games of the weekend will be between Georgia Tech and No. 19 Louisville. The Yellow Jackets are 3-1 coming into the game and hope they can pull off another upset of a ranked ACC team under Brent Key, while Louisville is hoping to show they are a contender in the ACC. The Cardinals have only played two games this season and they were against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. This is going to be the first big test for the Cardinals this season.

On the latest episode of Bleav Georgia Tech, RJ and Jackson welcome in Louisville On SI Reporter Matt McGavic to talk about the game and preview the matchup between the two teams.

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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.