Gameday is once again here for Georgia Tech. Tonight, they welcome their cross-town rival Georgia State and the Yellow Jackets will be looking to start their season 2-0 for the first time since the 2016 season. After being able to beat Florida State in Ireland last week, will Georgia Tech be able to avoid the letdown?

This is going to be the first ever meeting between the two programs and you can bet that Georgia State is going to want to come out and ruin whatever good feeling that Georgia Tech has been able to generate over the last week. There has been a lot of national attention on the Yellow Jackets over the past week and tomorrow is going to be the first indication of how they have been able to handle it and remain focused on their goals for the season.

So how do these two teams matchup and who will win tonight? Let’s preview the game.

Georgia Tech Offense vs Georgia State Defense

Last week, Georgia Tech was able to control the line of scrimmage against a very talented Florida State defense and on paper, they should be able to do what they want in this game. There could be some interesting wrinkles though that Georgia State could throw at the Yellow Jackets.

The Panthers defensive coordinator is Kevin Sherrer, who was on the Yellow Jackets staff last year. Sherrer took over as the defensive coordinator and play caller last year around the middle of the season and while the Georgia Tech defense did not improve much, they did have some games where they were able to force a good number of turnovers. The Panthers defense has some new faces on it and it will be interested to see how they are used.

Haynes King played a really sound game vs Florida State and made plays on the ground and through the air. Georgia Tech clearly wanted to beat the Seminoles on the ground last week and I wonder if they could try and attack Georgia State through the air and open up the offense. The best number for King last week was that he committed zero turnovers. King made timely throws and was a dynamic runner last week and will be a vocal point again tonight.

The running attack ran for 190 yards and nearly six yards per carry last week against Florida State and they should be able to dictate things tonight. Jamal Haynes led the way last week and Chad Alexander was the main backup. Head coach Brent Key said the health of this room is good heading into the week, which means Trey Cooley might be back. If this game does get out of hand, look for freshman Anthony Carrie or Evan Dickens to get carries as well.

The offensive line did a great job last week of opening up holes for the run game and protecting Haynes King from the Florida State pass rush. The Panthers defensive line is nowhere is near as talented and this should be the biggest mismatch on paper in the game. Georgia Tech should be able to move the ball rather easily on the ground and it will be interesting to see how Georgia State tries to slow the Yellow Jackets.

Malik Rutherford was the top wide receiver last week, but guys like Eric Singleton Jr, Chase Lane, Abdul Janneh, Leo Blackburn, and Bailey Stockton all got time as well. The Georgia State defense was one of the worst in the country last year when it came to defending the pass, but that was last year and there are a host of new transfers on that side of the ball for the Panthers.

Some guys to watch on the Panther’s defensive line include Henry Bryant and Fuches Lewis in the middle and transfers Dorian Royal, Sir Mells, and Bishop Thomas as well. Justin Abraham and Kevin Swint are a talented group of linebackers and Gavin Pringle could be a difference maker in the secondary. Will the Panthers defense be better? It is hard to say, but they have brought in quite a few transfers on that side of the ball.

As long as Georgia Tech does not turn the ball over, they should be able to do what they want to against this defense. The run game should be strong and I would look for the Yellow Jackets to take some shots through the air as well.

Georgia Tech Defense vs Georgia State offense

The Georgia Tech defense was one of the stories of the game last week and they showed massive improvement from a year ago. They held Florida State to under 100 yards rushing and had seven tackles for loss. They are going against a far less talented offense this week, but they need to show they can string together consecutive strong performances.

Georgia State could play multiple quarterbacks tomorrow night and Georgia Tech is very familiar with one of the options. Former Yellow Jackets quarterback Zach Gibson might get the start for Georgia State tomorrow or it could be former Penn State/Pitt transfer Christian Veilleux. The Panthers took multiple transfer quarterbacks this offseason and they could play multiple today.

The running attack is going to be led by USF transfers Michel Dukes and Colorado transfer Sy’Veon Wilkerson. The offensive line for the Panthers could see a lot of rotation tonight and they will have a tough time against Georgia Tech’s front four.

Last week, the Yellow Jackets defensive line did a great job of slowing down the Florida State offense. Zeek Biggers and Makius Scott did a great job on the interior, while Romello Height, Sylvain Yondjouen, and Josh Robinson had strong games off the edge. Expect there to still be strong rotation with this group still.

Kyle Efford had a strong game last week against Florida State and Trenilyas Tatum will be the other starter at linebacker. E.J. Lightsey and Tah’j Butler were the other linebackers who got playing time last week.

The strongest position group on Georgia State in my opinion is the wide receiver group. Petey Tucker, Ja’Cyais Credle, and Tailique Williams are the guys to know. This is a talented group, but do they have a quarterback to get them the ball? That is one of the many questions facing the Georgia State offense.

The Yellow Jackets secondary had a solid week against Florida State and Ahmari Harvey, Warren Burrell, LaMiles Brooks, and Clayton Powell-Lee will have to make sure none of the Panthers receivers have any big plays.

X-Factor

I feel like a broken record, but turnovers are the biggest key to tonight. Georgia Tech is the superior team in every way on paper and the only reason this game could be close is if they are careless with the football. As long as they take care of the football, I have a hard time seeing this game go in favor of Georgia State.

Prediction

The Yellow Jackets struggles in games like these is well documented and they are going to have to prove this is different. I think this team is out on a mission and they win this game very comfortably behind a big game through the air from Haynes King. Georgia Tech will be 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and head into the game vs Syracuse playing very well.

Final Score: Georgia Tech 45, Georgia State 17