Boston College 2016 Preseason: Opponent Preview - Georgia Tech

The Boston College Eagles football season is fast approaching, so that means it’s logical to look ahead at the different teams who will cross the schedule in 2016. While each game is its own individual scenario, it’s worth sizing up the roster to try for predictions.

Ultimately, how things play out will be different from what we say here, but why not take a look at the different teams to get a basic understanding?

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

School: Georgia Institute of Technology
Mascot: Yellow Jackets
Recommended Blog: From The Rumble Seat
Conference Affiliation: ACC
Date of Game: September 3, 2016
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Head Coach: Paul Johnson, 9th Year.

In an era of spread formations and pass happy offenses, Johnson is the coach known for running what many consider the biggest gimmick offense in all of college football.

The innovator of the modern triple option, it’s been successful under his tutelage. At Georgia Southern, Johnson went to three straight NCAA I-AA Championship Games, winning back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000. In 2002, he took the job at Navy, where he engineered the turnaround of a moribund Midshipmen program. After going 2-10 in his first year, Navy made five straight bowl games, winning no less than eight games every year, including a 10-win season in ‘04 that saw them finish in the top 25.

Taking over Georgia Tech in ‘08, Johnson led the team to bowl games in every season - until last year.

2015 Record: 3-9 (1-7 ACC)

Recapping the 2015 season:

Boy did Georgia Tech fall of a cliff last year. After starting the year with back-to-back pasting wins of Alcorn State and Tulane, they fell apart in Week Three and never looked back.

They lost their next five straight, with four in a row coming by one score or less. At 2-5, they inexplicably beat the ninth-ranked Florida State Seminoles by returning a blocked field goal over 75 yards for a touchdown as time expired.

They then lost their next four games by a combined 17 points.

With the exception of a 43-24 loss to Clemson, Georgia Tech lost their remaining eight games by one score or less.

Preseason Excitement Level: 10/10

Even without the location switch to Ireland, this game was going to be incredibly exciting. Two teams who clearly underperformed last year open the season against one another in a huge conference game coming right out of the gate. Both need to prove last year was a fluke, and a win against each other is the perfect way to start disproving the haters. A loss, meanwhile, might not be the end of the world, but there’s going to be potential concern coming out of a respective fan base.

There’s so much unknown on both sides that it becomes a storyline unto itself. There’s a dozen or so different ways people will talk after this game, especially with a long season upcoming. This already has a big game feel to it, and it’s only the first game.

Then factor in the location change with the teams heading to Ireland. It’s going to have plenty of eyeballs on the game because of its novelty feel, and with all of that coming into play, there’s an explosive edge added to an anticipation that only continues to grow.