Collegiate Times

Well, at least this won’t be too difficult.

Coming off a 31-17 win over then-No. 6 Clemson, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will look to continue their success against a Virginia Tech team that just played arguably its sloppiest game of the year, a 14-10 win over Duke on Oct. 29.

Since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004, only two different teams from the league’s Coastal Division have played in the conference championship game: Tech and Tech.

Don’t expect that to be changing this season, as the winner of this game will more than likely represent the division in Charlotte yet again.

The Tech-squared game is known up and down the East Coast to always involve drama, and more often than not come down to the wire. Trust me when I say that Hokie fans have plenty of reasons to be concerned about this Yellow Jacket squad.

Here’s why I’m afraid of Georgia Tech:

THE TRIPLE OPTION

You all know what it is. I hate it. You hate it. It’s incredibly boring to watch. But it works.

Since head coach Paul Johnson came to Atlanta in 2008, the Yellow Jackets have ranked among the top four in the nation in rushing offense every season. The key to stopping it is discipline — you have to tackle your man, even if he doesn’t have the ball. If the Hokies can manage that, they’ll be fine. If not, it could be a long night.

TEVIN WASHINGTON

Tech fans should remember the junior starting quarterback, who played the entire second half of last year’s game after starter Josh Nesbitt broke his arm trying to tackle Davon Morgan after an interception.

He can run (70.67 rushing yards per game) and throw (133.2 passing yards per game), and is overall very dangerous with the ball in his hands. Whether Tech’s defense can slow him down will go a long way in determining the outcome of this game.

STEPHEN HILL

The junior wideout doesn’t get the ball much (only 20 catches through nine games) but when he does, he tends to make plays. He leads the nation in yards per catch, with 30.4. His next closest competitor in that regard is Stanford tight end Coby Fleener, who averages 21.6 yards per catch — just to put things in perspective.

Hill is big (6 feet, 5 inches), fast and has good hands. The Yellow Jackets won’t throw the ball a ton — they average just 12 attempts per game — but when they do, watch out for No. 5.

16th

This is perhaps the scariest thing about the Yellow Jackets. Their pass defense ranks right up there among the nation’s elite, and facing a young starting quarterback like Logan Thomas is something I can guarantee they’re looking forward to.

They allow just 185.3 passing yards per game, and have snagged 11 interceptions on the year, including three apiece from defensive backs Isaiah Johnson and Rod Sweeting. If they can do a good job of shutting down Thomas’ favorite targets — Jarrett Boykin and Danny Coale — early on, it could spell trouble for the Hokies.

There are plenty of reasons to be afraid of this game if you’re a Hokies fan. However, there are a few areas where you should be confident. Here’s why I’m not afraid of the Yellow Jackets:

DAVID WILSON

He’s been on this list just about every single week, and until someone slows him down, that won’t change. He ranks second in the country in yards (1,185) and third in yards per game (131.7). He’s run for 100 yards in eight of the team’s nine games, and has a good chance to break several school and conference records by season’s end. He should be able to find some running room against the nation’s 69th-best rushing defense.

Oh, and I bet Paul Johnson screams at his kicker if he sends one No. 4’s way.

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A version of this article appeared in the Nov 10 issue of the Collegiate Times.