Who: No. 9 Florida State Seminoles (6-0, 4-0 ACC) at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2-5, 0-4 ACC)
When: Saturday, October 24th at 7:00 P.M. eastern time
Where: Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (ESPN2)
After becoming bowl-eligible with a 41-21 win over Louisville last week, Florida State will look to notch its 29th straight victory over an ACC opponent and assure itself a 39th straight winning season as the Seminoles go to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. Prior to the season, this contest was circled as one of the big ones in the ACC after the Yellow Jackets won the ACC’s Coastal division and the Orange Bowl last season.
At 2-5 however, Georgia Tech has been one of college football’s biggest disappointments and is still looking for its first conference victory after dropping a 31-28 heartbreaker to Pittsburgh. Three of the Yellow Jackets’ five losses this season have come by eight points or less.
Despite being winless in ACC play after reaching the conference’s title game last season, Georgia Tech ranks fifth nationally in rushing, averaging nearly 286 yards-per-game on the ground. Running back Marcus Marshall leads the attack with 439 yards rushing while averaging nearly 11 yards-per-carry.
Stanford transfer Patrick Skov has 331 yards on the ground this season and leads the team with 6 rushing touchdowns. Quarterback Justin Thomas has accounted for 15 total scores, but has struggled a bit as a passer, completing only 45 percent of his throws this season.
Injuries have been a huge concern for the Yellow Jackets this season, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. This week, Georgia Tech will be facing a Florida State offense that seems to be finding its rhythm. The Seminoles have averaged 525 yards and 35 points over their last two games.
The heart and soul of the FSU offense is running back Dalvin Cook. Cook ranks in the top 10 nationally in both rushing yards with 955 and yards-per-carry with an 8.7 average. Cook has also found the end zone a total of 11 times for the Seminoles.
Senior quarterback Everett Golson has 11 touchdown passes for FSU this season without an interception — a problem he dealt with last season at Notre Dame. Golson has passed for a total of 663 yards over the last two weeks.
His top target for the season has been junior wide receiver Kermit Whitfield, who leads the Seminoles with 29 catches for 397 yards. Whitfield is coming off a career-day in which he totaled 172 yards receiving against Louisville. Sophomore Travis Rudolph leads the team with three touchdown grabs on the year.
Defensively, FSU is yielding the ninth fewest points-per-game in the country at 15.2 per contest. Cornerback Jalen Ramsey headlines a defense that isn’t exactly full of All-Americans, but has played well as a unit this season.
Senior linebacker Reggie Northrup leads the team with 38 total tackles for the season while junior defensive end DeMarcus Walker leads FSU with 4.5 sacks. Walker and sophomore linebacker Ro’Derrick Hoskins have combined for 10 tackles for loss.
FSU will be without two starters in the secondary as Trey Marshall is done for the year with a torn bicep and fellow safety Tyler Hunter is out with a concussion. The Seminoles could have senior linebacker Terrance Smith back after missing two games with an ankle injury.
Georgia Tech junior linebacker P.J. Davis is also questionable for Saturday’s game with an ankle injury. Davis leads the Yellow Jackets in tackles and sacks this season. Senior D.J. White has been solid at the cornerback position this season for Georgia Tech, leading the squad with two interceptions and a forced fumble. Georgia Tech has struggled defensively against the ACC, yielding an average of 34 points-per-game in conference play.
Florida State defeated Georgia Tech 37-35 in last season’s ACC title game and by a 21-15 margin in the 2012 ACC Championship — the only two meetings under FSU head coach Jimbo Fisher. Saturday’s game will be the first regular season meeting between the teams since Georgia Tech beat the Seminoles 49-44 in Tallahassee in 2009. FSU has not won at Bobby Dodd Stadium since 2002 when Stanford Samuels sealed the 21-13 victory with an interception in the end zone, but the Seminoles have played there just once since then.
Marcus Sims fumbled into the end zone with the Seminoles threatening to go ahead in the waning seconds of FSU’s last trip to Georgia Tech — a 31-28 Yellow Jackets’ victory. The last six contests and eight of the last nine between the schools have been decided by eight points or less. FSU is 14-9-1 all-time against the Yellow Jackets.
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