2011 Georgia Tech Football Predictions, Odds, Picks and Schedule – 2011 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets NCAA Football Preview

2011 Georgia Tech College Football Expert Predictions, Picks, Vegas Odds and Schedule – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets NCAA Football Preview: Since he took over head coaching duties at Georgia Tech four years ago, Paul Johnson made some serious changes on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. He installed his triple option attack, which immediately transformed the Yellow Jackets into one of the top running teams in the nation. However, last year’s change to a 3-4 base defense wasn’t met with the same success. In fact, Georgia Tech struggled to a 6-6 regular season and lost to Air Force in the Independence Bowl. Neither is acceptable for this football program, and Johnson needs his team to improve in 2011-12, or the next change could be at the coaching spot.

After last season, it is easy to forget that the Yellow Jackets won the ACC in 2009. However, Johnson will have to break in starters at the two most important positions to his option attack – an attack that piled up more yards per game than any in the nation (323.3). Quarterback Josh Nesbitt and running back Anthony Allen combined for more than 2,000 yards on the ground last season, and Allen led the conference in rushing. With both players now gone, Georgia Tech needs their replacements to make an immediate impact and improve on the 26.0 points per game the offense averaged last season.

Tevin Washington will get the call at quarterback, and while he is a proven rusher that fits the system, he has struggled throwing the ball. For an offense that averaged just under  84 yards per game through the air last season, the Yellows Jackets can’t afford to become more one dimensional. Orwin Smith is the likely candidate to replace Allen, but no player on the roster has any really experience as the full-time running back in this system. Considering the leading receiver for the Yellow Jackets last year had just 15 catches, someone has to step up if the season is going to be a success. On the bright side, the offensive line returns three experienced starters.

Despite the growing pains defensively last year that saw Georgia Tech finish near the bottom of the conference in terms of points allowed, five of the front seven starters from last year’s team return in 2011-12. Another year playing in the 3-4 scheme should help as well, especially when it comes to improving a rush defense that gave up 170-plus yards per contest. That being said, the secondary doesn’t return a single starter, and even though the ACC isn’t stacked with top QBs, opponents will try to exploit the weakness. For a team that isn’t built to come from behind, giving up a few bi scoring plays could be disastrous.

The Yellow Jackets should start fast this year thanks to an easy out-of-conference schedule which includes a struggling Kansas team. The ACC portion of the schedule isn’t a killer either as the Yellow Jackets’ road games include Virginia and Duke, while the home games include Maryland, Clemson and North Carolina. A road game against N.C. State and a home game against Virginia Tech probably fall into the out of reach category as does the season finale against rival Georgia, but Georgia Tech does dodge Florida State.

In the end, this year looks like an uphill battle for Johnson and company. The Yellow Jackets run an offense that doesn’t fool anyone, and despite all the rush yards that they accumulate, finishing off drives is always an issue. There simply isn’t as much room to operate down around the red zone, especially when the opposition knows that a running play is coming. Throw in the loss of the team’s two best players on offense, and scoring points will likely remain an issue in 2011-12. While the Yellow Jackets should be able to squeak their way to bowl eligibility, another mediocre season is likely on tap.

2011 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets College Football Predictions: 6-6 Record

Preseason 2011 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets NCAA Football Odds:
Odds to Win 2012 BCS Championship: +15000
Odds to Win 2011 ACC Championship: +2000
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2011 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets College Football Schedule
Sat, Sep 3 Northwestern 12:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 10 at UCF 8:00 pm —
Sat, Sep 17 Duke 12:30 pm —
Sat, Sep 24 Massachusetts TBA —
Sat, Oct 1 Wake Forest TBA —
Sat, Oct 8 at Clemson TBA —
Sat, Oct 22 at Virginia Tech TBA —
Sat, Oct 29 at Maryland TBA —
Thu, Nov 3 Florida State 8:00 pm —
Sat, Nov 12 North Carolina State TBA —
Sat, Nov 19 at Notre Dame 4:00 pm —
Fri, Nov 25 at Miami (FL) 3:30 pm —

Check out NSAwins.com’s official 2011 College Football Over Under Team Wins Odds and Predictions and 2011 ACC Football Odds and Predictions articles.

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