Georgia Tech defense will have its hands full with No. 9 Florida State

ATLANTA — Georgia Tech’s challenge this week shifts from offense to defense.

Rather than worrying how to get the running game in gear, a problem that seemed to resolve itself last week against Pitt, the Yellow Jackets must find a way to generate a defensive effort that’s capable of slowing down Florida State, which fields one of the best offensive teams in the ACC.

Kickoff for the game, which will be shown on ESPN2, is 7 p.m.

“They’ve got explosive playmakers and they get big yards in big chunks,” Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

The No. 9 Seminoles average 33.5 points, 191.7 yards rushing and 253.7 yards passing per game. Their 445.4 yards of total offense ranks third in the ACC.

The offense is led by sophomore tailback Dalvin Cook, who leads the ACC with 955 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns. He averages a nation’s-best 4.50 yards after contact. Cook rushed for 177 yards and one touchdown against the Yellow Jackets in the ACC Championship game last year and was named MVP.

The FSU quarterback is Everett Golson, a graduate transfer from Notre Dame who is second in the ACC with 241.5 yards passing per game. He’s thrown for 1,449 yards and 11 touchdowns and has not thrown an interception.

“The Cook kid may be the best back I’ve seen in a long time,” head coach Paul Johnson said. “He’s so fast and can make plays in the passing game and running game. He’s surrounded by good players.

“The quarterback, the thing that’s most impressive about him is the decisions he’s made. It’s hard to believe you have one turnover in six games. He’s a big part of that. When he gets pressure, he just kind of pulls the ball down or eats it. He’s not trying to force plays.”

The lack of turnovers isn’t just limited to Golson. FSU has just one turnover and has yet to turn it over on offense. The Seminoles didn’t give up against the Yellow Jackets in the conference title game last year and only had to punt twice.

“No turnovers. That’s a tribute to them and a real challenge to us,” Roof said. “That will be a big factor for us in this game.”

It would be a good week for Georgia Tech to start producing some turnovers. Over the last five games, the opposition has fumbled seven times and the Yellow Jackets have recovered four. Georgia Tech has intercepted four passes during that stretch, but only one over the last three weeks.

Even when they’ve forced a turnover, the Yellow Jackets haven’t been cashing in on the opportunity. Those eight takeaways have resulted in only 23 points, with one of the touchdowns coming from Adam Gostis’ fumble recovery in the end zone against Clemson.

“We haven’t gotten the number we had last year and we’ve got to do a better job and find a way to make a couple more plays,” Roof said. “The games we’ve lost, we’re a play or two away. There’s a fine line between winning and losing and right now we’re on the wrong side of that.”

Last week may have been the worst example this year. Georgia Tech had no takeaways, no sacks and no tackles for loss against Pitt.

“It’s a combination of things,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to get off the field when we get people behind down and distance. We have to be able to make some plays. To this point we haven’t. A year ago we did. We created some turnovers, got them off the field. We were good enough offensively. If you wanted to play shootout, we were right there with you. This year we haven’t been able to do that.”

It’s not likely the Georgia Tech offense will have a field day, though. Florida State ranks 19th in the nation against the run (113.5 yards) and has allowed only one rushing touchdown. The Seminoles have allowed a combined 119 yards rushing in their last two games against Miami and Louisville.

The Yellow Jackets seemed more in synch on offense last week against Pitt. Justin Thomas seemed more in tune at quarterback, although he lost a fumble and threw an interception. Freshman B-back Marcus Marshall (159 yards rushing last week) gives them a breakaway threat at the position, and some of the young A-backs like Clinton Lynch, Mikell Lands-Davis and TaQuon Marshall are starting to find their way.

The Yellow Jackets ran for 376 yards, their most during the five-game skid.

“Those kids played pretty good (against Pitt),” Johnson said. “Did they do everything right? No, but they played pretty good. And we averaged almost nine yards a play.”