Blue and Gold Illustrated

GAME PREVIEW: GEORGIA TECH On PaPer BY BRYAN DRISKELL GEORGIA TECH RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Georgia Tech led the nation in rushing during the 2014 season, averaging an astounding 342.1 yards per game on 6.1 yards per rush. Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson has been generating dominant rushing attacks going back to his days as the offen- sive coordinator at Hawaii (1987-94). This season will be no different, due to the return of dynamic quarterback Justin Thomas and four starting offensive linemen. Despite the loss of 3,093 yards out of its backfield from 2014, Georgia Tech remains outstanding on the ground. Johnson's club rushed for 476 yards and nine touchdowns in its 69-6 season opening victory over Alcorn State. Notre Dame has struggled defending the triple option in recent seasons. Last fall, Navy churned out 39 points and 336 rushing yards against the Irish defense. Notre Dame also allowed 34 points and 331 rushing yards to the Midshipmen in 2013. In order to come out on top in this matchup, Notre Dame must be more disruptive and slow down Geor- gia Tech's ground game. The Yellow Jackets will get their yards, but Notre Dame will have to make them work and limit the big gains. Advantage: Georgia Tech GEORGIA TECH PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Thomas is unique for an option quarterback in that he has legitimate arm talent. He completed 51.3 per- cent of his passes in 2014, a good number for an op- tion quarterback, and passed for 1,719 yards with an impressive 18-to-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio. His 18 scoring passes were seven more than any of Johnson's Football Bowl Subdivision quarterbacks dur- ing his time as a head coach. Outside there are con- cerns, with Georgia Tech returning just eight catches and 61 yards from the 2014 receiving corps. One of the best weapons to shutting down an option offense is having cornerbacks that can play strong man coverage, and that is exactly what Notre Dame cornerbacks Cole Luke and KeiVarae Russell thrive at. Georgia Tech will look to get its receivers open deep off play-action passes, which puts pres- sure on the corners. Luke and Russell were rated by SI.com as the fifth- best cornerback tandem in the country, which will serve as one of Notre Dame's primary weapons against Georgia Tech. Advantage: Notre Dame Fifth-year senior A-back Broderick Snoddy, who averaged a team-best 10.1 yards per carry last sea- son, is part of Georgia Tech's potent triple-option attack. PHOTO BY DANNY KARNIK/GT ATHLETICS

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