Can the Virginia Tech football team pull off another road upset in ACC play this season under interim coach Philip Montgomery? If they are at 13th-ranked Georgia Tech, they will need to play much better than they did last weekend at home against Wake Forest.
The Yellow Jackets are going to be a tough opponent with quarterback Haynes King, who missed last year's matchup in Blacksburg in late October with an injury. Here are three keys for an undermanned Hokies team to pull off an upset in Atlanta.
1. Win the turnover battle
This one goes without saying. Georgia Tech can control the clock and put together long drives, and keep the opposing offense on the sidelines. King can hurt you with his arm and legs. Last week against the Demon Deacons, Kyron Drones turned the ball over on a weird interception in the first quarter that led to Wake points. Gifting Georgia Tech points would make it extremely difficult for the Hokies to win.
2. Get off the field on third down
Against North Carolina State, a big key to the Hokies' upset was getting off the field on third downs. They put the Wolfpack in a lot of second and third and longs, and it made it easier to get off the field. The Yellow Jackets have had trouble putting up points at times this year, but Virginia Tech will need a defense that has a lot of key players either injured or in the portal to come up with some big stops. Being disciplined and not gifting first downs on penalties would help to.
3. Score touchdowns, not kick field goals
The story of last weekend's loss was the Hokies' inability to score touchdowns, instead having to settle for three John Love fields in the second half. The biggest miss was in the third quarter after an Isaiah Brown-Murray pick set Virginia Tech up inside Wake Forest's 5-yard line. Three stuffed runs before the goal line and a personal foul penalty forced a field attempt when Montgomery was going to go for it on fourth down. Touchdowns win games, not field goals.