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Georgia Tech Football: Opponent Previews - Western Carolina

By Andrew Rodrigues
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NCAA Football: Western Carolina at Oklahoma Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

In week 2 the Jackets will welcome the Western Carolina Catamounts from Cullowhee, NC to Bobby Dodd stadium. The Jackets have played WCU five times and have won all the previous matchups by a combined score of 203 to 90. Kerwin Bell enters his second season as head coach, having gone 4-7 in his first season, and compiling a 93-42 record across stops at Jacksonville and Valdosta State. The Catamounts return 19 starters from last year’s team: 8 on offense, 7 on defense and 4 specialists.

Offense

Key Losses

QB – Rogan Wells: 206 completions 355 attempts 58% 20 TDs 13 INTs 130.7 Rating. 2nd team all-Southern Conference.

The Catamounts will be looking for a new starting quarterback this fall. Wells started nine games last season. Carlos Davis looks to be the likely replacement, having started two games when Wells was injured last season. He threw 6 TDs to 5 INTs and have a 65.2% completion rate.

Key Returnees

Western Carolina returns almost 70% of their receiving yards from last season, led by All Southern Conference 1st team Raphael Williams: 73 Rec, 959 Yrds, 9 TDs as well as All Southern Conference 2nd team Calvin Jones: 38 Rec, 651 Yards, 4 TDs.

The Catamounts return their leading rusher from last season as well, TJ Jones: 125 car, 602 yrds, 9TDs and is a threat in the passing game with 33 rec, 651 yrds, 3 TDs.

Defense

Key Losses

LB - Kareem Taylor: 105 Tak, 6 TFL, 2 Sacks, 2 Forced Fumbles, 1 Fumble Recovery. Taylor was the leader of the Western Carolina defense.

Key Returnees

You can’t talk about the Catamount defense without staring with Southern Conference freshman of the year, Safety Andreas Keaton: 45 Tak, 3 Ints, 6 PBUs.

WCU returns most of their starting defensive line, led by KJ Milner:6 TFL, 1.5 Sacks and Chris Morgan: 2.5 TFL and 2 Sacks.

Specialists

The Catamounts return all their specialists from last season. The one to watch is Calvin Jones, who was all Southern Conference as a return man.

Conclusion

The Jackets are undefeated all time against the Catamounts. This game should serve as a good palate cleanser after the Clemson game in week one. Look for the Jackets to win this game and win it comfortably.

Fun Fact: The past two Georgia Tech head coaches have been graduates of Western Carolina, Geoff Collins in 1992 and Paul Johnson in 1979.

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