August 28, 2009

Corey Dowlar
Warchant.com Staff

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After traveling to the Northeast with a matchup against Boston College on October 3rd, Florida State returns to Tallahassee for a tilt against Georgia Tech in what could be the most difficult home game of the season.

Revenge will be on the mind of the Seminoles as they were just inches away from a remarkable comeback victory in Atlanta a season ago. An unfortunate fumble from Marcus Sims on the goal line was all that kept FSU from escaping Bobby Dodd Stadium with a win.

Georgia Tech, an improved team under second year coach Paul Johnson, features a relatively unique offense in the double wing, triple option attack that gave the Seminole defense fits last November.

The series with Georgia Tech has been an exciting one over the years. The Yellow Jackets dominated the series early before the Seminoles rattled off 12 straight wins after FSU joined the ACC in the early 90's. With the win last year, the Seminoles' advantage was cut to a 12-8-1 mark.

Florida State will look to make it thirteen wins all time against the Jackets this year.

Previous Meeting:

Florida State got off to a hot start last year marching down the field for the game's opening score. The 'Noles used a short, timing based passing attack to neutralize the potent Yellow Jacket's pass rush. However, after taking an early 10-3 lead in the first quarter, things went downhill for FSU.

Georgia Tech scored 21 second quarter points and took a 24-20 lead into the locker room at halftime. ACC offensive player of the year Jonathan Dwyer and the Jackets wasted no time when the second half whistle sounded. The player nicknamed The Diesel" by Tech fans, took a handoff and raced 66 yards to pay dirt to put the Jackets up 31-20, in what would be their final score of the game. The Florida State defense held the home team in check thereafter but were greatly aided by starting quarterback Josh Nesbitt leaving the game with an injury.

The Seminoles found some fourth quarter magic when D'Vontrey Richardson provided a spark off the bench. The 'Noles' backup quarterback tossed a 39-yard touchdown pass to Preston Parker. A two point conversion to Greg Carr had the Seminoles within three points. Late in the fourth quarter, FSU appeared to be well on their way to recapturing the lead with a first and goal inside Georgia Tech's 10-yard line. That's when disaster struck.

Fullback Marcus Sims took a handoff and appeared to be headed in for the winning touchdown when the football was separated from his grasp and eventually recovered by Georgia Tech in the end zone. That untimely turnover effectively ended the Seminoles chances at a comeback. The final score would hold up as the home team held on for a dramatic 31-28 victory.

Key Losses and Returners:

Georgia Tech took a hit on the defensive side of the ball thanks to the NFL draft. Defensive end Michael Johnson, and defensive tackles Vance Walker and Darryl Richard, were all selected in last April's draft. In addition to that, offensive tackle and leader Andrew Gardner also heard his name called. Cornerback Jahi Word-Daniels has since signed a free agent deal with the San Francisco 49ers.

Although the Jackets did suffer considerable losses on the defensive line, they do return Derrick Morgan. The junior defensive end had 9.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, and recovered four fumbles last season. As a result of his efforts, he was named honorable mention All-ACC.

The Tech linebackers are relatively young, but athletic headlined by senior Seddrick Griffin. Griffin is supported by juniors Anthony Barnes and Brad Jefferson.

The secondary will be the strength of the Jacket defense as they return every starter with the exception of Word-Daniels. The unit is led by junior All-American candidate Morgan Burnett at safety. Dominque Reese is expected to handle the other safety position and sophomore Cooper Taylor looks to nail down a spot at cornerback.

Offensively, the Yellow Jackets will return their entire talented backfield highlighted by Jonathan Dwyer. The ACC's leading rusher a year ago racked 1,395 yards and 12 touchdowns. Quarterback Josh Nesbitt showed great ability handling Paul Johnson's option attack as a major threat himself running for 693 yards and seven touchdowns. Sophomore Roddy Jones, who rushed for 214 yards against Georgia last season, is also back.

While not always featured in the passing game, receiver Demaryius Thomas should not be forgotten. Thomas, now a junior, caught 39 passes for 627 yards and three touchdowns in 2008.

Crucial Matchup:

Florida State's front seven against the talented backfield of Georgia Tech.

The Seminoles defense has no choice but to play more disciplined against Paul Johnson's triple option attack, and that will demand good, assignment football. The defensive line must be able to penetrate, but not too far as to run themselves out of the play, while the defensive ends will attempt to turn everything inside.

Florida State's linebackers have a tendency to freelance which is counterproductive in this type of this matchup. Misdirection in this system offense will destroy a defense that has linebackers that over pursue.

Keys to a Seminole victory:

Florida State's offense will need to click and put a few points on the scoreboard in this one. Fortunately, that is a very possible scenario. The Seminoles offense can't afford to turn the ball over or commit costly mistakes. It may take a goose egg in the turnover column for FSU to emerge victorious.

The defense has to play smart, disciplined football. Georgia Tech's offense starts and ends with the rushing attack, so obviously the Seminoles will have to limit the big gains on the ground. The triple option creates many chances for a defense to make mistakes with the quarterback reading the defense and then deciding whether to hand-off, run or pitch. The defense will have to take advantage of this and come up with turnovers at each opportunity.

Altogether-too-early prediction:

Georgia Tech will present an enormous challenge to the Seminoles when they roll into town on October 10th.

It could be a long, frustrating, but exciting game for the fans. Both sides will likely make a fair share of big plays, as they usually do in this series. However, it might just end up being the last big play that wins it as it was last year in Atlanta.

The defense is a major concern as they proved fairly ineffective in last year's matchup. Unfortunately, so far in the preseason Mickey Andrews' squad hasn't shown signs of dramatic improvement. As a result, it may be difficult to surpass their performance in 2008.

Georgia Tech by three to seven points.

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