North Carolina State @ Georgia Tech preview
Bobby Dodd Stadium
Last Meeting ( Nov 4, 2006 ) Georgia Tech 31, North Carolina State 23
Georgia Tech goes for its eighth straight ACC regular-season win dating to last year when it hosts surprising North Carolina State at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday.
Both teams bring potent offenses that control the clock in different ways. Whoever wins the time of possession battle likely will win the game.
Behind its devastating option attack, Georgia Tech (2-1, 1-0 ACC) generates 345 rushing yards a game, third-best in the nation.
Senior quarterback Joshua Nesbitt (267 rushing yards, 6 TDs) leads an impressive backfield featuring powerful B-back Anthony Allen and a host of speedy A-backs.
Senior center Sean Bedford anchors one of the top lines in the ACC.
The Jackets average an ACC-best 6.1 yards per carry, but the Wolfpack (3-0, 0-0) allow only 2.7 yards per rush.
Tech held the ball for exactly 35 minutes in last week’s 30-24 win at North Carolina and is averaging 32:24 in time of possession. The Wolfpack average 32:17.
One of two unbeaten ACC teams along with Boston College, N.C. State relies on its own mobile quarterback, Russell Wilson, who leads the ACC with eight touchdown passes.
The 5-foot-11 junior has not been picked off and is throwing for nearly 250 yards per game. He’s especially dangerous when rolling out, so Tech has emphasized containment in practice this week.
Five Wolfpack receivers have caught at least eight passes, with Jarvis Williams (20.4 yards per catch) possibly the most dangerous.
N.C. State is coming off a 30-19 victory over Cincinnati in which Wilson threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns.
Saturday’s winner should vault into the Top 25. Both teams are receiving votes but are unranked.
While coach Paul Johnson has the Yellow Jackets aiming to repeat as ACC champs – they haven’t lost a conference game since Sept. 17, 2009, at Miami – N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien finally appears to have turned the corner in Raleigh.
O’Brien went 75-45 at Boston College before taking over the Wolfpack four years ago. The Pack went 16-21 in his first three years, but this is his most seasoned team yet.
N.C. State is trying to win its first ACC opener in O'Brien's tenure.
Georgia Tech holds a 17-9 edge in the all-time series, although N.C. State won the last meeting in Atlanta, 17-14 in 2005.