Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2020 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1264448
BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 131 BY PATRICK ENGEL N othing is ever a coincidence or total sur- prise when the roadmap to completing a task is clear. Geoff Collins' road to bringing Georgia Tech out of its triple-option identity and back to steadiness in the ACC was visible in the sense that it was obviously long. The bumps and bruises in a 3-9 debut sea- son, then, were no shock. The path to a potent offense and ACC contention was not travers- able in one year. In year two, though, it seems possible. "The expectations are a lot higher," Jack- etsOnline.com publisher Kelly Quinlan said. Georgia Tech was an inexperienced team with a freshman quarterback starting out of necessity behind a battered, ineffective of- fensive line. It went as expected and yielded a defense that tired from being on the field so much. Punter Pressley Harvin III had more kicks in 2019 than 2017 and 2018 combined. This offseason, the Yellow Jackets over- hauled some important areas and also re- turn 84 percent of their 2019 production, ac- cording to Bill Connelly's SP+ metric. Only Northwestern brings back more. Redshirt junior running back Jordan Ma- son, who ran for nearly 900 yards, is back as a focal point. So is Ahmarean Brown, last year's leading receiver who matched Calvin Johnson's team record for touchdown catches by a freshman (seven). No number sums up the offensive struggles from last year better than this — of Mason's 899 rushing yards, 761 were after first con- tact. Georgia Tech also allowed 28 sacks. It couldn't block consistently. The Yellow Jackets allowed three sacks and scored just 24 points in an overtime loss to The Citadel, a Football Championship Subdivision program. But four offensive line starters are back, and two SEC graduate transfers with starting experience are in: Devin Cochran (Vanderbilt) and Ryan Johnson (Tennessee). They had six spring practices together. "The offensive line is night and day [from last year] just from watching it in the spring," Quinlan said. On defense, only one starting safety and a part-time starter on the line are gone. The secondary is sturdy and deep, led by junior corner Tre Swilling (All-ACC honorable mention) and senior safety Tariq Carpenter. "They're probably as deep as anyone in the ACC," Quinlan said of the secondary. "They've had guys transfer out of the pro- gram just because they're not getting playing time who would be in the two-deep at some schools." Still, the 2020 ceiling and team outlook will hinge on redshirt sophomore quarterback James Graham, the likely starter. He com- pleted 45.1 percent of his passes last year and averaged only 6.03 yards per attempt. Collins has surrounded him with more talent, now Graham needs to elevate his game. Solidify- ing the job is the first step. "Everything is still moving a little fast for James," Quinlan said. ✦ GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS GAME 10 • NOV. 14 • MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM X-FACTOR: Georgia Tech has a workhorse running back in redshirt junior Jordan Mason, who gained 85 percent of his 899 rushing yards after first contact. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGIA TECH ATHLETICS 2020 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2019 Result Sept. 3 Clemson L, 52-14 Sept. 12 Gardner-Webb — Sept. 18 UCF — Sept. 26 at North Carolina L, 38-22 Oct. 3 at Virginia Tech L, 45-0 Oct. 17 Virginia — Oct. 24 at Pittsburgh L, 20-10 Oct. 31 at Syracuse — Nov. 7 Duke L, 41-23 Nov. 14 Notre Dame — Nov. 21 Miami (Fla.) W, 28-21 (OT) Nov. 28 at Georgia L, 52-7 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads 28-6-1 Last Meeting: Notre Dame 30, Georgia Tech 22 (Sept. 19, 2015 in South Bend) Head Coach: Geoff Collins, 3-9 at Georgia Tech (2nd year) and 18-19 overall (4th year) 2019 Record: 3-9 overall, 2-6 ACC Coastal (7th) Returning Starters: 18 (8 offense, 10 defense) Prediction: Notre Dame 31, Georgia Tech 19 RETURNING LEADERS Rushing: RB Jordan Mason (899 yards, 7 TD) Passing: QB James Graham (1,164 yards, 12 TD) Receiving: WR Ahmarean Brown (396 yards, 7 TD) Tackles: LB David Curry (97, 6.0 TFL) Sacks: DT Ja'Quon Griffin (2.5) Passes Broken Up: CB Tre Swilling (10, 1 INT) Reasons For Optimism • Returning production • Secondary Depth • RB Jordan Mason Mason is an NFL prospect. Georgia Tech wasn't good in 2019, but it was a youthful team that should have room to grow instead of hitting the ceiling with its current personnel. The roster has some legitimately strong spots and fewer mas- sive concerns. Reasons For Concern • Quarterback play • Tough schedule • Lack of pass rush If signal-caller James Graham isn't able to make major strides, Georgia Tech's offense is still going to struggle to keep up with teams. It will face some high-scoring offenses in Notre Dame, Clemson, UCF and North Carolina. Georgia is also on the schedule. The Yellow Jackets were last in the ACC in sacks.