Well, the big bowl between West Virginia and Georgia Tech is rapidly approaching so it's time to give the breakdown of the game. Obviously the story so far of the Gator Bowl is quarterback Reggie Ball and, to a lesser extent, cornerback Kenny Scott being declared academically ineligible. Sophomore Taylor Bennett will take over for Ball in the game. Bennett has not had a lot of playing time in 2006, going 16-29 for 197 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception.
But, as many will say, passers don't get much worse than Ball who went 135-304 for 1820 yards, 20 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. And that is with Calvin Johnson who many consider the best wide receiver in football. So, losing Ball may not be as bad as you would think.
By all indications, Bennett is a pocket passer and will likely be looking for All-American Calvin Johnson deep down the field to exploit the weak West Virginia secondary. Jeff Casteel needs to come after Bennett a lot in this game and West Virginia needs to at least knock Bennett around a bit to keep him scared. If we give him all day to pick apart our defense...well, we've seen what happens then. Quinton Andrews, Eric Wicks and the boys are also going to have to step it up and not allow 10-yard cushions for receivers every play, especially is WVU can't get pressure in the backfield (which we've shown problems doing at times this year). And keep Antonio Lewis away from Johnson.
If we double team Johnson every play, the Yellow Jackets haven't necessarily spread the ball around. Johnson has 67 catches, next is James Johnson with 37 catches. You have to go all the way down to Chris Dunlap with 9 catches for 3rd in the receiving corps. Of course, that probably is due to Ball's inability to throw the ball this year.
In the backfield, Georgia Tech will be trying to give us a healthy dose of Tashard Choice who has 1304 yards on 270 rushes and led the ACC in rushing. WVU has been excellent against the rush all year and I don't see Choice as the guy who is going to break the defense but too much focus on Johnson could make it a dream game for Choice. Reggie Ball was GT's second leading rusher in 2006 and third is freshman Jamal Evans with 205 yards on 39 attempts. Evans will see limited, if any, action in the game.
So, with that information what can we read into the game? WVU's defense is in a better position with Ball being out of the game despite Ball's problems this season. Georgia Tech lost their poised and veteran quarterback and their second leading rusher. Bennett isn't going to run the ball much so WVU can focus on covering Calvin Johnson in the secondary and force Bennett to look to other receivers for completions. WVU needs to contain Choice, which I don't see as a major issue, and they need to get pressure on Bennett early and often. I think WVU can force at least 2 turnovers in this game by bringing the blitz and exploiting Bennett's youth. All in all, I think our defense can step up and stop GT.
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