Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 NOV. 20, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: GEORGIA TECH Redshirt junior linebacker Ayinde Eley nicely complemented Jackson with 9.5 tackles per game, which ranked third in the ACC. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. GEORGIA TECH PASS DEFENSE Since leading a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter six weeks ago in a 32-29 win over Virginia Tech, Irish graduate student quarterback Jack Coan has been a different player after work- ing through some inconsistency early this season. In Coan's four games from Virginia Tech through Navy, he had completed 73 percent of his passes and threw for four touchdown passes with just one interception. Coan was brought into the program more as a bridge player and a game manager than a stat- sheet stuffer, and his 13 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, leadership qualities and an ability to lead game-winning drives have made him a perfect fit. For more good news, after sitting out the Virginia Tech game with a groin injury, Irish sophomore tight end Michael Mayer is back at 100 percent and led the team post-Navy with 45 receptions and 493 receiving yards while adding three touchdowns. On the downside, the loss of reliable Irish gradu- ate student wide receiver Avery Davis (27 caches for 386 yards and four touchdowns) for the rest of this season after he suffered a knee injury against Navy creates a production and leadership void this unit will need to fill. For Georgia Tech, its pass defense features little to celebrate. Their 1.78 sacks per game ranked only 91st in the country, it ranked last in the ACC and 124th nationally in passing efficiency defense, and its three total interceptions — two by junior linebacker Charlie Thomas and one by junior de- fensive back Juanyeh Thomas — slotted Georgia Tech No. 119 in that category. Freshman defensive lineman Jared Ivey (26 tack- les, 6.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks) and junior defen- sive back Juanyeh Thomas (65 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sacks) are players to watch. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS For Notre Dame, its special teams continue to make more impactful contributions more fre- quently, most noticeably with the work of Irish running back Williams moonlighting as a punt returner. After bringing back a punt 47 yards against North Carolina that set up a short touchdown drive, Wil- liams managed a respectable 16 yards on his one return against Navy. Williams entered the Virginia game averaging 11.8 yards on his 10 returns. A do-it-all player for Georgia Tech, the aforemen- tioned Gibbs includes kickoff return duties along with his receiving and rushing responsibilities. The Yellow Jackets have not allowed or scored a touchdown on its kick return or coverage units. They've allowed two blocked kicks. Georgia Tech's punting game took a hit before this season when it lost 2020 Ray Guy Award win- ner Pressley Harvin to the Steelers in the NFL Draft. But freshman David Shanahan has neatly filled the void with a 42.7-yard punting average with 10 boots of 50 yards or more. Redshirt senior placekicker Brent Cimaglia con- verted 10 of his first 14 field goal attempts with a long of 37 yards. Advantage: Even COACHING When Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins ar- rived in Atlanta for the 2019 season, he faced the monumental task of demolishing and rebuilding the ultra-unique triple-option offense run by previ- ous head coach Paul Johnson. Lost in the headlines of the overhaul on offense was that Collins also had to find and fit the proper personnel to switch from a three-man to a four- man defensive front. It was a tall order, and the Yellow Jackets went just 3-9 overall and 2-6 in the ACC during Collins' first season. And while Georgia Tech under Collins was ex- pected to show some improvement and growth in 2020, the program, instead, was ravaged by COVID-19 quarantines and injuries, finishing only 3-7 overall and 3-6 in the ACC. Losers of three straight games and four out of five through Nov. 12 this season, Collins was 3-6 through nine games and still in search of a turn- around. For Notre Dame, head coach Brian Kelly has thrived against ACC foes the last four-plus seasons. The Irish entered their game at Virginia last week- end having lost only once to an ACC opponent in the regular-season since 2016 (Miami, 2017) and on a 23-game winning streak against the confer- ence since. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Given the magnitude of the undertaking, the Georgia Tech rebuilding project was not going to happen overnight for Collins. But now deep into his third season and showing little evidence of even a gradual turnaround, his program restora- tion isn't moving as expeditiously as hoped. Among common opponents, excluding Virginia, Georgia Tech and Notre Dame both beat North Carolina, while the Yellow Jackets lost to Virginia Tech, a team the Irish beat Oct. 9. Under Coach Kelly, Notre Dame is 9-2 at Notre Dame Stadium on Senior Day and has sent the se- niors off with a home victory in four straight years. Advantage: Notre Dame Junior linebacker Charlie Thomas paced the Yellow Jackets with two interceptions and was fourth on the team with 63 tackles through nine games. PHOTO BY