This is one of those weeks where I wish BillC had broken down the box score into halves. It would have been telling. Looking at the whole picture, Tech beat Wake Forest by doing pretty much everything just a little bit better. Success rate, Yards per play, Trips, Points per Trip, and Turnovers all slightly favored the Jackets, with Wake only winning the field position battle by 2.1 yards. With that:

Week 8 Five Factors Box Scores

Georgia Tech Statistical Profile

What I Liked

Positive Turnover Margin

FINALLY

Rush Defense

Huh? This was a big point of concern for the Jackets a few weeks ago, but the stats have improved. Tech is now ranked 35th in Defensive Rush S&P+, which is an adjusted stat. As far as raw stats go, Tech’s numbers for the season are:

• Rushing Success Rate: 41.7% Rank - 66th
• Rushing IsoPPP: 0.89 Rank - 54th

Tech isn’t posting eye-popping numbers, but it’s a step in the right direction. There are still some red flags, such as Stuff Rate and Line Yards, but it looked a whole lot worse early in the season.

Offensive and Defensive Power Success Rate

Power Success Rate is the percentage of 3rd and 4th down plays, with 2 yards or less to go, that are converted for a first down or a TD. Tech’s offense has always done this well, and TaQuon Marshall’s ability to sneak has been instrumental in continuing that tradition. The defense has done reasonably well here too, performing slightly better than the national average.

• Offensive Power Success Rate: 80% Rank: 11th
• Defensive Power Success Rate: 64.3 % Rank: 45th

The FBS average is 69.1%, so both sides of the ball are performing well. Tech’s 4th and 1 stop against Wake was one of the biggest plays of the game Saturday.

What I Didn’t Like

Offensive Sack Rate

Oof. Guess which team remained one of the worst in the nation in sack rate after the Wake Forest game? That’s right, it’s your Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Jackets are 124th in adjusted sack rate, 122nd in Passing down raw sack rate and still DEAD LAST in standard down sack rate. With Clemson looming, it’s something that will need to be fixed, or the threat of the pass will completely evaporate.

Defensive Passing Downs Success Rate

This is an area where Tech has slipped up over the past couple weeks. Once one of the top teams in this category, Tech is now below average in every passing down stat. Opponents are now posting a 31.9% success rate in these situations, a below average number. For a team that was doing so well in these situations early, this is a disappointment. Regression to the mean I suppose.