Wake Forest goes for a 4-0 start when it hosts Georgia Tech on Saturday in ACC play
Thu, Sep 21, 2023
NCAAF News (AP)
Georgia Tech (1-2, 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) at Wake Forest (3-0, 0-0), Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET (The CW)
Line: Wake Forest by 3 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Series record: Georgia Tech leads 23-8.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
Wake Forest is going for a 4-0 start and a win in its ACC opener for the fifth time in eight seasons. Georgia Tech is trying to avoid its first 0-2 league start since 2019.
KEY MATCHUP
Wake Forest's ground game against Georgia Tech's run defense. The Demon Deacons have had multiple players in the backfield show they're capable of quality outings, namely with Justice Ellison (86 yards last week against Old Dominion ) and Demond Claiborne (165 yards against Vanderbilt in Week 2 ). Georgia Tech is last in the ACC in run defense by allowing 240.7 yards per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Georgia Tech: QB Haynes King. The Texas A&M transfer has shown how he beat out Zach Pyron and Zach Gibson in the preseason competition to replace Jeff Sims, who transferred to Nebraska. He threw for 310 yards and two scores while also scoring on the ground in last weekend's loss at then-No. 17 Mississippi. He leads the ACC with 303.3 yards passing per game and already has nine touchdown passes with one interception.
Wake Forest: WR Taylor Morin. He's a reliable target to complement a big-play threat in Jahmal Banks, with Morin coming off a six-catch, 112-yard day with two TDs against ODU.
FACTS & FIGURES
This is the first meeting between the programs since the 2017 season, a product of the ACC's former cross-divisional scheduling rotation that ended after last season. Before that, the teams didn't play from 2011-16. ... Georgia Tech has won the last three meetings, with Wake Forest's last win in the series coming by a 9-6 score in the 2006 ACC title game. ... Wake Forest rallied from 17 down to win at ODU last weekend in the program's biggest comeback since a 2017 win at Syracuse. ... Georgia Tech committed no penalties in its loss at Ole Miss for the first time since 2015 and only the eighth time overall. ... The Yellow Jackets rank 16th in the Bowl Subdivision ranks on third-down conversion rate at 53.5% (23 of 43). ... Georgia Tech coach Brent Key is one of two first-year head coaches in the league, joining Louisville's Jeff Brohm. Key went 4-4 as the interim coach last season.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll
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