Thursday night's Peach State college football scouting reports
Georgia Tech at Virginia Tech
TV: ESPN
Web: www.ramblingwreck.com
Radio: Macon, WQMJ-FM 100.1; Dublin, WDBG 103.1-FM; Milledgeville, WMGG-AM 1450; Tennille, WJFL-FM 101.9; Thomaston , WTGA-AM 1590.
Line: Virginia Tech by 5
Central Georgians on Virginia Tech’s roster: None. There are seven Georgians on the roster.
Scouting Report: The Hokies have pretty much righted the ship, as expected, after the stunning 49-35 loss to Old Dominion on Sept. 22.
Granted, they’re only 2-1 since then beating Duke by 17 and North Carolina by three around a 45-23 home loss to Notre Dame.
They’ve had a little extra time, being off since the North Carolina win. That means more time to work on GT’s offense, and more time for it to get into players’ heads.
The Yellow Jackets have to simply be more consistent fundamentally, starting on keeping the ball on offense. And special team has to step up.
In the last 10 meetings, the largest margin of victory is 11 points, 37-26 Virginia Tech in Atlanta in 2011. There’s little reason, on paper, the closeness should change.
To watch
Lane Stadium is known as a pretty frenetic place for the opposing team, especially the pregame. Take a few looks
To Read
Trying to hold onto the ball, and season
Jackets are in pretty good (physical) health
Jackets a thorn in Hokies’ side
Speed a concern for the Hokies
No. 25 Appalachian State at Georgia Southern
TV: ESPNU
Web: www.ramblingwreck.com; www.watchespn.com
Radio: Macon, WXKO, 93.1,98.3-FM/1150-AM; Dublin, WDBG-FM 102.1; FM
Line: App State by 9.5
Central Georgians on App State’s roster: None. There are 16 Georgians on the roster.
Scouting Report: The two old buddies – they’ve played nearly three dozen times, dating back to their Southern Conference days – gather together with App State becoming the second Sun Belt team to get a top-25 ranking.
The Mountaineers all but had Penn State beaten in the season opener before losing 45-38 in OT.
If Georgia Southern keeps it to a nip-and-tuck game, the Eagles may have a solid advantage down the stretch. App State had four straight wins by an average of 43 points and then was challenged 27-17 by Louisiana last week in a game closer than expected.
The Eagles are more used to four-quarter games, so they may have a conditioning advantage and the confidence of winning at the end.
For whatever reason, there is plenty of room on the Georgia Southern bandwagon despite a remarkable turnaround in a year under Chad Lunsford. Amazingly, there may be empty seats in Paulson.
If the atmosphere is mid-90s App State-Georgia Southern and Paulson is rocking, App State’s visit to the polls may be a short one.
To read
GSU DC knows something about the Mountaineers