Pregame Prep: Things to Know Before the Game
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET (Saturday)
TV / Radio: ACC Network / 93.9 The Ville
Uniforms:
Last Time These Two Met: 2024
In a back-and-forth contest at L&N Stadium, #19 Louisville pulled out a 31-19 win over Georgia Tech, sealed with a 55-yard blocked field goal return touchdown by Tayon Holloway in the fourth quarter. Tyler Shough completed 13-of-19 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns, with Ja’Corey Brooks logging four catches for 125 yards and a touchdown.
Read more: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW (2026): Louisville at Georgia TechNotable Numbers:
- Louisville and Georgia Tech are tied 2-2 all-time in the series, with Louisville winning the last two.
- Isaac Brown scored four touchdowns in last week’s win over Stanford, becoming the first Louisville player since Lamar Jackson (vs. Florida State, 2016) to have 4+ touchdowns in a single game.
- Defensive end Tyler Thompson has four sacks in his last three games, and leads the team with 5.5 entering this week.
- Tre Richardson had a career-high ten receptions for 140 yards in last week’s win over Stanford.
- Louisville has given up 20+ points against every FBS team up to this point this season. The Cardinals have had only one season since 2000 (2019) where they’ve given up 20+ points to every FBS / Division I-A team in the entire season.
First Down: Meet the 2026 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Georgia Tech would go on to finish 7-6 in 2024, then followed it up with a strong campaign in 2025. The Yellow Jackets started that season 8-0 and reached as high as seventh in the AP poll, but dropped four of their final five games to finish the season 9-4.
2026 has seen the Yellow Jackets take a significant step back. Georgia Tech enters the game 2-6, riding a three-game losing streak. Both of Georgia Tech’s win this season, however, have come at home against Mercer and Duke.
Second Down: Georgia Tech Offense
Georgia Tech’s offense had a big task in the offseason with replacing offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and quarterback Haynes King, both whom were instrumental to the Yellow Jackets’ success the last two seasons. Faulkner left to take the same position at Florida, and King became an undrafted free agent, going to the Carolina Panthers.
In comes George Godsey as OC, after spending the previous four seasons as the tight end coach with the Baltimore Ravens, and Alberto Mendoza, the younger brother of #1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza. So far, the results haven’t been what Georgia Tech hoped for this season. The Yellow Jackets rank just 11th in the ACC in total offense (361.1 YPG), and 13th in scoring (24.8 PPG).
Alberto Mendoza has been accurate (70.4% completion rate) and fits the competitive mold that his older brother and Haynes King have, but it hasn’t translated into results yet. He comes in with a 10/6 TD-to-INT ratio, and last week had four fumbles against Pittsburgh. Backup Grady Adamson (48.1% completion, 135 passing yards, TD in four games) has been seeing action in the last two games, and head coach Brent Key has hinted that a change at quarterback may be coming this week. Adamson is more of a runner than Mendoza is, which could give Louisville some problems if he can get into a rhythm early.
Georgia Tech’s run game has been hampered severely by underwhelming play from the offensive line (5.9 TFLs allowed per game, 11th in the ACC), along with an injury to star running back Malachi Hosley (697 rushing yards, 7.1 YPC, seven TDs in 2025) that’s kept him on the sidelines for the last four games (and is listed out for Saturday’s game). Justice Haynes and Trelain Maddox (289 rushing yards, 6.02 YPC, five TDs) have led the charge at running back, and with Adamson’s threat as a runner, Georgia Tech could give Louisville some unique problems with their run game if their offensive line can win the battles at the line of scrimmage.
Because of Georgia Tech’s limited passing game, they haven’t seen as much from their receiver group this season. Jordan Allen is a reliable target though, logging back-to-back games with ten receptions against Duke and Virginia Tech. Dalen Penson (28 rec., 434 yards, two TDs) is a big play target with 15.5 YPC, tight end Kevin Roche Jr. (35 rec., 298 yards, TD) is a massive target at 6’9″ that is almost certainly going to be a threat against Louisville’s pass defense, especially in the red zone.
Players to Watch:
- RB Justice Haynes (112 carries, 548 yards, four TDs)
- TE Kevin Roche, Jr. (35 rec., 298 yards, TD)
Third Down: Georgia Tech Defense
Georgia Tech also saw a change at defensive coordinator this season, with Jason Semore moving from Southern Miss to take the same position with the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech has struggled in recent weeks, giving up 399 rushing yards to Boston College and 281 to Pittsburgh in the last two weeks.
Like Stanford, Georgia Tech’s defense hasn’t produced enough “havoc” plays this season to make an impact this season; their 12 sacks is tied for the second-fewest in the ACC, but they can get stops in the run game (5.75 per game, tenth in the ACC). Former Louisville player Tawfiq Thomas has been solid along the interior with a team-high 7.5 TFLs this season. Taje McCoy (46 tackles, five TFLs) is a productive player for the edge position, but Georgia Tech lost a key player with Noah Carter (team-high three sacks) left the team last week. Linebacker Cayman Spaulding is the team leader at the position, he’s another player that has to step up if Georgia Tech wants to avoid the same issues with stopping the run in the last two weeks.
Georgia Tech’s secondary only has two interceptions this season (tied for the fewest in the ACC), but their pass defense has generally been solid. Only Stanford has thrown for 300+ yards (where Warren almost had 400 and three touchdowns), but it’ll be a unique test for them against a Louisville offense that loves to take shots downfield. Safety Tae Harris leads the team in tackles (50) and PBUs (three), he’ll be key with keeping guys like Tre Richardson and Jaleel Skinner from making plays downfield.
Players to Watch:
- DT Tawfiq Thomas (42 tackles, 7.5 TFLs)
- S Tae Harris (50 tackles, three PBUs)
- LB Cayman Spaulding (34 tackles, seven PBUs)
Fourth Down: Keys to the Game
Can Louisville’s offense continue to diversify their playcalling?
Despite missing wide receiver Lawayne McCoy (and potentially this week, as he is listed as questionable for Saturday), I thought Louisville had an impressive game plan against Stanford. They attacked Stanford’s defense in a variety of ways, utilizing jet sweeps and making Tre Richardson more of a focal point in the offense. They’ve also had success lately with Isaac Brown as a receiver out of the backfield, as he’s scored a touchdown reception in back-to-back games.
What I would like to see from Louisville’s offense is continuing that against Georgia Tech last week; diversifying their playcalling and keeping Georgia Tech on their heels all game. That would open opportunities for Isaac Brown to eventually break open a big run, and for Kienholz to continue pushing the ball downfield.
Will Georgia Tech be able to unlock their passing game, despite their QB situation?
With head coach Brent Key hinting that Georgia Tech is considering a change at quarterback for Saturday, Louisville could have some interesting challenges that it hasn’t faced much this season. Mendoza would give the Yellow Jackets a quarterback who is accurate and can buy time in the pocket, but the issues with ball security can’t be ignored. Adamson gives Georgia Tech more of a run threat akin to Kevin Jennings or Trinidad Chambliss, but while he has solid arm strength, accuracy has been an issue up to this point.
Louisville’s defense has had lapses all season with containing big pass plays, especially last week against Stanford (all three of Stanford’s touchdowns were on pass plays of 40+ yards). Georgia Tech also has had issues with their offensive line all season, which makes this a game where you’d like to see Louisville’s front four just take over the game. If not, guys like the 6’9″ Roche and Jordan Allen could make Louisville relive the same problems that they’ve had all season.
