From the Upper Deck: Hoos Host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Hoos host Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon in a must win situation if they want to go bowling. With five games remaining, and four wins needed to become eligible, all games are important, but this home matchup with Georgia Tech is pretty much essential. Let's look at some of the keys to Saturday's game From the Upper Deck.

1) Limit the dive play - If you aren't familiar with the triple option, check out this week's THE COLUMN for a brief explanation.  A key for this week's game is to limit option 1, the dive play.  This is when the QB hands off to the H-back up the middle with the hope that you gain 3-4 yards each attempt.  Once the defense keys on this play, it opens up the edges for the hope of a bigger gain.  If Virginia can force the action to the outside by limiting the inside option, they can  keep the Jackets behind the down and distance and force them to the outside where the strength of the Virginia defense lies.

2) Keep the Ball in Front - Nobody would ever confuse Georgia Tech for having a prolific passing offense, but where they beat you is with the one or two big plays over the top in the passing game. If Virginia can avoid giving up the big play and force the Jacket's offense to use a lot of clock to score points, they can give the Virginia offense a chance to score enough points to stay in front of the Yellow Jackets.  However, if Georgia Tech can convert on a big play or two they could score early and often putting the Hoos in a tough position to catch up.  Which leads us to...

3) Limit Turnovers - Obviously after last week's five turnover debacle, limiting turnovers seems obvious and 20/20 hindsight.  However, this week going against Georgia Tech, a team that predicates itself on controlling time of possession and finishing each opportunity with points, it is imperative that Virginia not give the Yellow Jackets free possessions. If they do, they could find themselves behind on the scoreboard, but most importantly behind without an opportunity to catch up.

Make sure to watch, whether from Scott Stadium or your viewing place of your choice at 3 PM. And make sure to check back Sunday morning to see how these keys had an effect on Saturday's game.