Preview 2023: Georgia Tech vs Boston College Football
Boston College football will return from their October bye week and travel down to Atlanta to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 2023. This match-up will start the Eagles’ second half of the season and fans will have a pretty good idea by this point if BC is rebounding well from their disappointing 2022 campaign. If all goes well, they should be able to pull out a win against a GT team that is in the midst of a lot of turnover.
When: Saturday October 21st at [TBA]
Where: Atlanta, GA
Georgia Tech Overview
Georgia Tech had one of the worst scoring offenses in the entire nation last season, scoring just 17.2 points per game, not too far off from BC’s 17.8 points per game. This was mostly due to their mess of a passing game that featured a carousel of quarterbacks. QB Jeff Sims started out the Yellow Jackets’ season as QB1, but he struggled and often failed to muster even 200 yards through the air in a given week. Sims was eventually injured and replaced by a combination of Zach Gibson and Zach Pyron behind center, neither of whom could find much success themselves. Their defense was better than the offense, but still struggled. Almost all of their opponents scored at least 20 points against them and 5 of them scored 30+ points, in large part thanks to the worst rushing defense in the ACC. Head coach Geoff Collins got fired just four weeks into the 2022 season and was replaced by assistant head coach Brent Key.
The highlights of the season came after Collins was let go and Key stepped up. The Yellow Jackets earned two ranked wins over #24 Pitt and #13 UNC as he led them to a 4-4 record over the final 8 weeks of the season. It was an inspired effort from the former Georgia Tech offensive lineman, who was promoted to full-time head coach this offseason.
And he’s not going to stop there. Key overhauled the offense through the transfer portal, bringing in Texas A&M transfer Haynes King at quarterback, a former 4-star recruit. Key also welcomed Alabama transfer Christian Leary at wide receiver and Louisville transfer Trey Cooley at running back. It’s a completely new look for the Yellow Jacket offense that lacked big playmakers in 2022, except for the offensive line that brings back 4 of 5 starters from last season. There is still a long way to go after having a terrible bunch of years, but the influx of talent is setting them up for an upwards trajectory.
The GT defense needs less help in this rebuild, but still could improve by leaps and bounds. Texas A&M transfer Andre White and Minnesota transfer Braelen Oliver should help shore up that struggling interior rushing defense, but the loss of star pass rusher Keion White could contribute to a step backwards overall. They’ll likely still end up finishing towards the bottom-middle of the ACC after all is said and done.
How Does BC Match Up?
Head coach Jeff Hafley said last week that he wants to do a better job of establishing the run game this year and that his improved offensive line should be able to do it. This match-up against Georgia Tech will be a perfect proving ground for that strategy. GT likely will still be struggling against the run in 2023 and it will be critical for BC to take that advantage to establish the rest of their offense. If a solid running game can be accomplished, then the Eagles’ odds look pretty good in this one.
Meanwhile, offense is still a huge question mark for Georgia Tech. Head coach Brent Key looks like he has them on a path to improvement over their abysmal past few years, but it’s going to take some time. If the BC offense can establish the run and hold their ground on time of possession, then the BC defense should have a pretty good shot at containing the Yellow Jackets.
Basically, this whole game could be riding on the Boston College running game.
Preseason Prediction
Call me an optimist, but I think BC will take a bigger leap this season than Georgia Tech. Both teams had disappointing 2022 campaigns, but Boston College seems to be in a better position to rebound in 2023. The Eagles are bringing back most of their important pieces, while there are just too many new players and question marks surrounding the GT offense.
Final Score: Boston College 24 Georgia Tech 13
