Georgia Tech's interior defenders make a tackle or two, the ball carrier bounces outside, and the support disappears. Gains that pile up fast, including on third down. Tennessee's four ball carriers piled up 299 rushing yards on the Yellow Jackets in September with Georgia Tech forcing no turnover at all. Duke arrives Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 with a run-first offense pointed at precisely that seam.
That is the game. Everything else this week is a complication of it.
Who actually sets the edge
The uncomfortable part is personnel. Setting an edge is a cornerback-and-outside-linebacker job as much as a defensive-line job, and Georgia Tech's perimeter has been shredded. The Jackets lost both starting cornerbacks during the Stanford game, Daiquan White went down in the second quarter and never returned, and Zachary Tobe was hurt too, on top of already missing Jaylen Mbakwe and Trae Stevenson Jr. Entering the Duke game off the bye, Georgia Tech's list still included White and Mbakwe along with defensive end Jordan Walker, linebacker Kyle Efford, safety Savion Riley, offensive line starters Ethan Mackenny and Jameson Riggs, and running back Malachi Hosley, listed out or questionable on recent team injury reports.
The question is whether whoever is playing cornerback and edge on Saturday can turn Duke's outside runs back inside instead of letting them escape for seven and nine yards at a time. If Duke's tailback keeps reaching the sideline unblocked at the second level, the first-half scoreline will not matter much.
Key's bye-week competition cuts both ways
A patched-together perimeter is a strange place for this program to be. In his first three full seasons Georgia Tech won 23 games and finished fourth, fourth and second in the ACC. The only program in the conference with three straight top-four finishes in that span.
Alberto Mendoza threw for 268 yards with two touchdowns at Stanford, and he did it while missing starting offensive linemen Ethan Mackenny and Jameson Riggs.
What a win is worth
The market opened Georgia Tech as a 6.5-point home underdog with the total at 49.5, and the simulations give the Jackets a 38% chance. The conference-title math is already gone, roughly 0.1%, so nobody should watch this as a championship game. Duke will run at the sideline early and often, and Georgia Tech will answer with backups at cornerback and without Jordan Walker at defensive end. Turning those runs back inside is what the afternoon comes down to, and the ACC opponents still on the schedule will try the same thing.
The interactive Week 6 guide has the full picture, and our methodology explains where the numbers come from. Saturday, keep your eyes off the ball for a second and watch the perimeter.