What Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins said about Notre Dame football
Here is a statistic that might surprise you.
Outside of a 31-point defeat to Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech’s six other losses this season have been decided by a total of 38 combined points. That's an average losing margin of just 6.3 points per game. Less than a touchdown and an ensuing extra point.
Perhaps that is why Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said when he looks at the players Georgia Tech has on its roster and then at the Ramblin’ Wreck’s 3-7 record, all he can do is scratch his head. When Georgia Tech coach Geoff Collins looks at Notre Dame and its 9-1 record, though, there isn’t any confusion involved.
“They’re a really good team,” Collins said. “We have a tremendous amount of respect for them. We saw them in person here in Bobby Dodd Stadium last year. We know how good they are. We know how talented they are, how well coached they are.”
Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 31-13 in Atlanta last year. The Irish built a 24-7 lead early in the third quarter and extended their advantage to 31-7 early in the fourth. It never was too tight of a game.
Tight games, though, have been Georgia Tech’s calling card in 2021.
The Yellow Jackets’ 41-30 loss to Boston College last week was just their second double-digit defeat of the season. Four of their losses have come by one possession. Collins knows it won’t be easy to maintain that trend against Notre Dame, a team vying for College Football Playoff consideration if it can win its final two games of the regular season.
The Fighting Irish had a propensity to play in close games early in the year. Three of their first five wins came by a field goal. Kelly’s team has since won four in a row by at least 10 points. It has won each of the last two by at least 25.
“We have to go in there and play at a really high level, execute at a really high level,” Collins said. “We can’t have things ending up hurting ourselves because against a great team, you can’t afford those.”
Yes, Georgia Tech has kept many of its games close this season. But the Yellow Jackets also haven’t played a team like Notre Dame. Clemson and North Carolina were ranked at the time Georgia Tech played those teams, but both have had disappointing seasons and fallen out of the rankings since then.
This week will be the only game Georgia Tech has played against a currently ranked foe to this point in the year. Subsequently, the talent on Notre Dame’s roster compared to that of Georgia Tech’s is going to be evident when the ball gets kicked off at 2:30 p.m. ET in South Bend. The Irish are favored by more than two touchdowns by most sports books for many reasons.
Still, Collins said morale is running high in the Georgia Tech locker room. The Ramblin’ Wreck is playing for pride. It’s playing for a reason to be optimistic heading into the offseason. A road win over Notre Dame would certainly qualify as such.
Collins referenced a quote from the late Bobby Bowden to assess where his team stands in its progression toward winning meaningful games: “A program is built in four stages. First, you lose big. Then you lose close. Then you win close. And finally, you win big.”
Georgia Tech is in stage two. Can it take the next step against a program like Notre Dame? If you ask Collins, he probably wouldn’t rule it out entirely.
“We’re closer than we are far away,” Collins said.
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