Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina State: Official matchup breakdown and prediction

Will Georgia Tech get its first win on Saturday?

Jackson Caudell | Sep 8, 2023

Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina State: Official matchup breakdown and prediction /

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Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

Gameday is inching closer and closer for Georgia Tech as they look to get their first win of the season this Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium against South Carolina State. The Bulldogs come into this matchup with a 0-2 record and will be trying to show what they have in Atlanta.

South Carolina State head coach Buddy Pough has been with the school for over two decades but is retiring after this season. Yellow Jackets head coach Brent Key talked about Pough and his legendary career earlier this week.

"It is exciting to play South Carolina State too, I wanted to talk about their head coach. Coach Pough is a legend in his conference and division and his level of football, he is finishing up his 22nd year at his alma mater and be retiring at the end of this season. We were privileged to play them many years ago when I was at UCF and they gave us a dog fight. His teams are well-prepared and they play hard and they have some good players on their team. I just wanted to make sure I noted that and his retirement and it is an honor to be able to coach against him on his final ride as a head coach after 22 seasons at South Carolina State. "

When asked about what stood out to him about the Bulldogs and what challenges they pose for his team, Key highlighted Pough and some of the top playmakers on his team:

"First of all, a legendary coach is always going to have a trick up his sleeve, you can bet that. Offensively, they are going to run the football, they have a couple of quarterbacks that can make plays with their feet, they are going to try and get the ball to the edge with their quarterback. They have two freshmen running backs, both of them are really good football players, one of them is really big and strong back that gets north and south, the other one is a little more compact, but has a way of doing some things and getting loose on those slip screen routes and flaring out of the backfield, some of the things that we have to be aware of.

On the defensive side of the football, I think they were fourth in the FCS in havoc plays, disruption, negative plays. They have two guys on the defensive line, No. 43 and No. 34, they can cause some issues and schematically with their defense, they are a penetrating up the field defense, they are gonna try to get in the backfield and cause havoc. They have a linebacker, No. 11, who has a chance to be an all-conference player for them so there is a skill set there and that we are aware of on both sides of the ball that we are gonna have to address but going out today, it was about us, it was about continuing to on what we had to learn from and correct from the first game because if we can do that, we have a chance to go out and be successful and get the win on Saturday."

So how do Georgia Tech and South Carolina State matchup? Let's break it down.

Georgia Tech's passing offense vs. South Carolina State's passing defense

Will Haynes King build off of a successful debut vs Louisville?

New Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King was not perfect, but he had a solid debut for the Yellow Jackets last week, throwing for over 300 yards and three touchdowns. Georgia Tech was explosive through the air, with plays of 55, 46,48,29, 25, and 33 yards last Friday.

What Georgia Tech needs to do this week is be more consistent through the air and I want to see them push the ball down the field. A lot of the yards for Georgia Tech came after the catch after some quick and short throws and I want to see King have the time to sit in the back and deliver strikes down the field.

It was a good debut for the receivers last week. Malik Rutherford, Chase Lane, Abdul Janneh, and true freshman Eric Singleton Jr all made big plays through the air. Singleton is one that I am particularly excited to see on Friday. He has a lot of speed and showed good ball skills last week as well. Key talked about him this week and the opportunity for him moving forward:

"Any freshman that played, don't act like freshmen. We want those guys to be able to go out and execute and not be bright-eyed and some guys are not ready as quickly or sooner than others. Eric is an explosive player and we plan on him playing and playing a lot here soon and moving forward in the future. To have explosive players like that on your team, it takes pressure off of a lot of people. It takes pressure off of your quarterback, in situations, it takes pressure off of the offensive line and running game, to be able to get the ball out in space and get someone one-on-one, that is what college football is and he is definitely someone who can do that."

In the first game against Jackson State, SCSU let Tigers quarterback Jason Brown throw for over 350 yards on 26 of 30 passing, with three touchdowns. Charlotte quarterback Jalon Jones did not have as good of a week as Brown did, but the secondary could be picked apart on Saturday if King has time to throw. Bulldogs DBs Jamare Benjamin and DJ Bethea both had interceptions last week.

Edge: Georgia Tech's passing offense

Georgia Tech's rushing offense vs South Carolina State's rushing defense

The rushing defense for South Carolina State has not been terrible through the first two games of the season.

Jackson State ran for 138 yards on 33 carries in the first game and then Charlotte ran for 220 yards on 27 carries last week. Neither team averaged over five yards per carry.

Much like the passing game, Georgia Tech is going to look to remain consistent throughout the game when running the ball. The backfield by committee mostly featured Trey Cooley, Jamal Haynes, and Dontae Smith. Haynes might be the most intriguing player this week. The converted wide receiver ran for 51 yards on 11 carries last week while also catching four passes for 56 yards. If this game gets out of hand, I want to see how true freshman Evan Dickens looks. Dickens got one carry last week against Louisville.

Last week, SCSU linebacker Aaron Smith was second on the team with eight tackles, while also having two tackles for loss and a sack.

Edge: Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech's passing defense vs SCSU's passing offense

This is where the largest gap is between these two teams.

SCSU has had up-and-down quarterback play to start the 2023 season. Corey Fields Jr. got the start in the first game and went 7-20 for 60 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Fields was dealing with a foot injury and did not play against Charlotte last week. Andre Washington got the start and went 6/17 for 59 yards and an interception. Both of these quarterbacks have struggled this year and it is only going to get harder against Georgia Tech.

The Yellow Jackets faced a tough passing attack last week against Louisville, but this is a matchup they should dominate. The thing that I think SCSU will try and do is get the ball to their players in space and see how much better Georgia Tech has improved from last week when it comes to tackling.

When it comes to receivers, two guys on SCSU stand out. KeShawn Toney led the Bulldogs in receiving the first week and Jordan Smith did last week. This passing offense has been poor to start the season and it is going to be tough to go against this Yellow Jackets secondary.

The pass rush for Georgia Tech was nonexistent last week as the Yellow Jackets had no sacks or tackles for loss. That must change this week and it should.

Edge- Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech's rushing defense vs. SCSU's rushing offense

Georgia Tech gave up over 200 yards rushing last week to Louisville and let the Cardinals nearly average seven yards per carry. This week, improving the tackling and creating havoc plays is what I am going to be watching.

The defensive line must do better at the point of attack this week and they must get into the opposing backfield. This is perhaps the biggest reason for the defensive issues in the second half of last week's game and showing week-to-week improvement would be huge for coordinator Andrew Thacker and this defense.

The Bulldogs ran for 137 yards in the opening loss to Jackson State and averaged four yards per carry. They only ran for 109 last week against Charlotte, averaging 2.9 yards per carry.

Edge- Georgia Tech

Special Teams

This unit must be better this week, particularly when it comes to field goal kicking. Gavin Stewart missed two last week, including a 33-yarder. Key expressed confidence in his kicker this week:

"The first half kickoffs were sailing through the back of the end zone and hit one short right before the second half and we get down there and have an opportunity to, I think that would have put us up eight but I don't remember, it had a chance to put us in a good position right there and he hit it thin. He has been kicking the ball well and kicking the ball well today with pressure on him and in live field goal situations today so I have confidence in Gavin. I have complete confidence in Gavin to go out there and to do his job."

Prediction

No disrespect meant to South Carolina State, but this should be the easiest game on the Yellow Jackets schedule and they should win convincingly. What I am looking for will be the improvement in areas in which they struggled last week. Tackling, pass rush, consistency on both sides of the ball, and field goal kicking (assuming there are attempts). Brent Key's team showed flashes last week of what they can be when they are clicking, but there is still plenty of work to be done.