Wake Forest Demon Deacons (4-5, 3-5 ATS) at No. 10 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-1, 5-2 ATS) Bobby Dodd Stadium Saturday November 7th, 3:30PM Eastern
By Jay Horne of Predictem.com
Point Spread: Wake Forest +14.5/Georgia Tech -14.5
Over/Under: TBA.
Bet Wake Forest at +28.5 by using a 4 team 14 point monster teaser at 5Dimes.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets have climbed back into the top 10 in the polls after a shaky first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores last week. The Yellow Jackets were tied with Vanderbilt at the half at 28-28, but rallied in the latter portion of the game to score another 28 unanswered points to win 56-31 over the Commodores. The Yellow Jackets will get back to ACC action this week when they host Wake Forest in attempt to stay in control of the ACC Coastal division. The Yellow Jackets control their own destiny, but one slip-up could shake up the entire race.
Wake Forest has disappointingly dropped 3 straight games over the past few weeks including an upset loss to Navy two weeks ago. The Demon Deacons jumped all over 19th ranked Miami last weekend and even led 27-14 going into the 4th quarter. However, the Hurricanes rallied back behind quarterback Jacory Harris to steal the win from Wake Forest 28-27. The loss dropped the Demon Deacons under the .500 mark on the year at 4-5 and they will be desperately be trying to get back on track as any more losses would allow the season to start slipping away.
The good news for Demon Deacons fans is their big time quarterback in Riley Skinner will have his chance to let loose this weekend. Skinner has completed 65% on the season with 18 touchdowns and 10 picks. The Demon Deacons quarterback ranks 2nd in the ACC in passing yards with 2,298 total on the year. Skinner will get to attack a Georgia Tech secondary that has been suspect to allowing big plays through the air. If that continues to happen this week, Wake Forest will have a chance at the upset. Wide receivers Marshall Williams and Devon Brown have been the recipients to most of those big plays. Both players have combined for 1,100 yards on the year with 7 scores with over 40 catches a piece. If these guys get loose in the secondary, things will get very interesting.
The bad news for Demon Deacons fans is the defense. The Wake Forest rush defense is allowing 141 yards per game and that has been to primarily passing offenses. The last time the Demon Deacons faced an offense similar to Georgia Tech’s is when Wake Forest fell a few weeks back to Navy 13-10 in a rain filled contest. The Yellow Jackets rank 2nd in America in terms of rushing offense averaging over 300 lucrative yards per contest. The Demon Deacons defense will have their hands full slowing down Georgia Tech this Saturday. However, if they can find a way to slow down the option attack and then it will give their offense the chance to win the game.
Georgia Tech as stated before provides a scary option style offense that simply can not be defended. Defenses know what is coming, yet for 2 years running have been unable to defend it. QB Josh Nesbitt has 763 yards as he tends to keep most of the handoffs. However, tailback Jonathan Dwyer is the big play threat. Dwyer has over 300 yards in the Yellow Jacket’s last two contest against Virginia and Vanderbilt. Dwyer leads the team in rushing with 904 yards and an impressive 6.2 yards per carry. Not only are these two guys a nightmare for defenses, but running back Anthony Allen will also get in the mix and he is averaging over 10 yards per carry on limited action.
Also not much is said about Nesbitt in terms of throwing the football. The reason is because the Yellow Jackets rarely ever throw the ball averaging just 11 passing attempts per game. However because of that limited passing action, WR Demaryius Thomas has benefited from catching defenses by surprise. Thomas is averaging 25 yards per catch with 34 receptions for 823 yards on the season. There may be no other receiver in college football with more 50 plus yard receptions and the Yellow Jackets will definitely give him a look or two. If Wake Forest gets caught sleeping after countless running attempts, Thomas will have the chance for another big play.
Jay’s Pick – Skinner should keep things interesting by moving the ball against the Georgia Tech secondary. Take Wake Forest against the spread at +14.5.