Georgia Tech Football: First Look at Western Carolina in Week Two

What does Georgia Tech need to be watching when they face Western Carolina?

Jackson Caudell | Sep 8, 2022

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Georgia Tech fell in their season opener to Clemson 41-10 and are now quickly moving on to their next game against Western Carolina. There is plenty for the Yellow Jackets to work on heading into this game against the Catamounts and it will be a chance for Georgia Tech to get their first win of the 2022 season.

This is the sixth time that Georgia Tech and Western Carolina have met and Georgia Tech is undefeated against the Catamounts. The last time that these two teams met was 2011.

One interesting wrinkle in this game is that Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins is an alum of Western Carolina and coached there previously. Collins arrived at Western Carolina as a walk-on defensive back in 1989. He went on to earn four letters for the Catamounts from 1989-92 as a defensive back and outside linebacker.

Collins played in two of the previous five meetings between the Yellow Jackets and Catamounts, as a freshman in 1989 and as a senior in 1992. He was credited with six tackles and a tackle for loss from his outside linebacker position in the 1992 matchup. Collins later served as a student assistant for the Catamounts for two seasons (1993-94) before graduating from WCU, and later returned to serve as the program's defensive coordinator from 2002-05.

Western Carolina's current head coach is Kerwin Bell, who is in his second year as the head coach. This is a very experienced group that is returning 19 starters from the team last year.

So what should Georgia Tech fans expect from the Western Carolina team this weekend? Let's break it down.

Offense

Western Carolina quarterback Carlos Davis — Western Carolina brings a powerful offense to Atlanta this Saturday / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Western Carolina is going to be driven by their offense. The Catamounts are coming off of a game in which they had 52 points and over 600 yards of offense. Collins spoke highly of the Catamounts offensive firepower this week at his weekly press conference:

"I think they were one of the top ten offenses in all of college football last year and I think they put up well over 600 yards this past week and over 50 points. Tremendous skill players, a quarterback that can do a lot of things, a big offensive line and they have a tight end and a running back corps that has depth and has talent and has a lot of speed. They do a lot of formations, a lot of motions and shifts and a bunch of layered routes. It is going to be a challenge so we have to make sure that we are doing everything we can in preparation for all of the things that they do and they have really good players on top of the schematic things that they do really well."

The guy leading the charge is quarterback Carlos Davis. Last week, Davis threw for 433 yards on 28-36 passing and six touchdowns, as well as two interceptions. This is Davis first full year as a starter after being a reserve last season and he looked good in the first game of 2022.

Last weeks leader in rushing was freshman Desmond Reid, who had 72 yards on nine carries. Look for TJ Jones to be a big factor as well, as he led Western Carolina in rushing last year.

For the receivers, Raphael Williams is the top guy to watch for this weekend. He was an All-Conference selection in the preseason and had over 100 yards in his first game. Williams nearly had 1,000 yards last year. Other receivers to watch will be Calvin Jones, Terrence Horne, Censere Lee, David White, and Ajay Belanger.

Christian Coulter and Tyler Smith are two names to know on the offensive line.

Defense

Western Carolina defensive back Andreas Keaton — Andreas Keaton is one of the top players on Western Carolina :: ALEX HICKS JR./SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL / USA TODAY NETWORK

Western Carolina surrendered 38 points to Charleston Southern last week and Georgia Tech will certainly be looking to top that.

The Catamounts got six sacks last week and that means that a Georgia Tech offensive line that struggled last week is going to have to be prepared on Saturday. EJ Porter, Mateo Sudipo, Ed Jones IV, Hayward McQueen and Aiava Lealaimatafao all got sacks last week against Charleston Southern. Porter is a good linebacker and one of the better players on the entire defense.

In the secondary, Andreas Keaton is the guy to watch for on Saturday. He is a potential All-Conference player and is a good play maker.

Overall

The key to beating Western Carolina is going to be stopping their offense. Georgia Tech's defense had a good showing against Clemson on Monday, but they need to carry the momentum over and take care of business this week.

I think if Georgia Tech's offensive line holds up, the Yellow Jackets should not have a problem scoring on Western Carolina.

The bottom line is this is a game that Georgia Tech should win by a lot and they need to win comfortably against Western Carolina on Saturday with a game against Ole Miss on deck next week.

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Offense

Defense

Overall

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