Vanderbilt Commodores
(1-1 SU 2-0 ATS)
vs.
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
(2-0 SU 0-1 ATS)
TV: ACCN
By Jason Green
9/17/16
The ACC and the SEC do battle this Saturday with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets playing host to the Vanderbilt Commodores. Tech had a close call in their season opener, winning by 3 points, and then they laid a beat down on Mercer last week. They are the home favorite in this Game and all time facing Vandy they are 19-14-3.
The last time these teams played it was in 2009 when Tech crushed Vanderbilt 56-31.
Vanderbilt lost at home in their season opener failing to South Carolina and then won last week facing Middle Tennessee State. In that Game they won 47-24 and easily covered the spread as a 5-point favorite. This will be their first road Game of the season.
Tech’s first Game was a PICK since they were favored by 3 and won by 3 and there was no line last week for the Mercer Game. The Yellow Jackets have not played any powerhouse teams, but they have only given up 24 points in their first 2 Games.
The Yellow Jackets main concern on defense is stopping the run. Vandy rushed for 231 yards in the win over Middle Tennessee and lead back Ralph Webb already has 308 rushing yards through 2 Games. The Commodores do not feature a great aerial attack with QB Kyle Shurmur, who has passed for only 186 yards in 2 Games and has completed only 46% of his passes.
One big question for the Commodores is which defense will show up? The one that shut down South Carolina in the season opening loss or the one that gave up over 400 yards of total offense in the win over Middle Tennessee? One thing they have going for them is that they have defended the run well only giving up an average of 108.5 yards per Game on the ground. That is key since Tech has a run-first offense.
Tech runs the triple-option and in the first 2 Games they have averaged 241.5 rushing yards per Game. The Yellow Jackets spread the wealth when running the ball, as they have 3 players that have at least 80 rushing yards led by Qua Searcy. QB Justin Thomas is the 2nd leading rusher and while he only has 25 pass attempts so far on the season he may want to air it out since the Vanderbilt secondary is the weakness of their defense.
Vanderbilt has covered the spread in 14 of their last 20 road Games and in their last 8 road Games the total has gone Under 7 times. Tech has only covered the spread in 1 of their last 5 home Games and they are only 1-9-1 ATS in their last 11 Games overall.
Jason’s Pick: Georgia Tech was only 3-9 last season, but they have gotten off to a good start this season. Besides being able the run the ball their run D has been pretty good and that is key in this non-Conference match up. Look for a close Game this Saturday, but in their house the Yellow Jackets will win and cover the 6.5-point spread.