By Dave Holcomb
SouthernPigskin.com

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Dave Holcomb on the potential of Georgia Tech.

Lots of new coaches go through rebuilding years. Its not hard to figure out why.

A vast majority of them take over programs where the previous coach was just fired. The program underachieving is the top reason for most coaching dismissals.

But at Georgia Tech, Geoff Collins is experiencing one of the toughest rebuilds ever in college football. Its not that hard to figure out why thats the case either.

Transitioning away from the run-option into a more traditional college offense was going to be challenging for whomever became the next Georgia Tech head coach after Paul Johnson. The first two seasons for Collins proved that, as the Yellow Jackets went a combined 6-16.

This fall, Georgia Tech possesses the talent to surpass its 3-win total of the last two seasons. If one is very optimistic, one might even say a bowl trip isnt out of the question for the Yellow Jackets based purely on the roster.

But that will be a tough task against a historically difficult schedule.

Based on the preseason rankings, Georgia Tech faces five teams that are ranked in the Top 15. The Yellow Jackets are just the second non-SEC school to face such a gauntlet of a schedule according to David Hale.

Georgia Tech sees Clemson, North Carolina, and Miami every year, two of which are in the Top 10 to begin the season. But dont forget that Georgia Tech also plays Georgia for the regular-season finale every season, and this year, Georgia Tech will also square off against Notre Dame.

As if that competition wasnt enough, of those five matchups, three of them are on the road and only one is at Bobby Dodd Stadium — Georgia Techs home stadium. The Yellow Jackets will visit Clemson, Miami and Notre Dame and play North Carolina at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (the matchup with Georgia is at Bobby Dodd Stadium).

It will be a surprise if Georgia Tech upsets even one of those programs. In all likelihood, all five games will be losses.

The rest of the Georgia Tech schedule is filled with winnable games but very little can be guaranteed on the slate. The Yellow Jackets should beat Northern Illinois and Kennesaw State to begin the season, but Georgia Tech doesnt have any x9cshould winx9d matchups in the ACC other than perhaps Duke,

Although North Carolina and Miami could prove to be playoff contenders, the Coastal division appears to still be muddy with a lot of just above average teams taking turns beating up on each other.

If Georgia Tech can enter that fray, the Yellow Jackets could go 3-2 against Pitt, Duke, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Boston College and view that as a step forward. If the Yellow Jackets take care of business against Northern Illinois and Kennesaw State, then thats five wins.

Another victory against the muddy middle in the Coastal or an upset win against a Top 15 opponent gets Georgia Tech to its first bowl game under Collins.

For that to happen, quarterback Jeff Sims will need to make significant improvements from his first season. Obviously, the passing game is where Georgia Tech is going through the most growing pains coming out of the run-option days.

The Yellow Jackets passing attack is slowly getting better, but it was still ranked just 13th out of 15 teams in the ACC last season. Sims threw 13 touchdowns versus 13 interceptions while completing under 55% of his passes.

Outside of their top receiver, the Yellow Jackets bring back all their featured playmakers from a year ago. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and Jordan Mason combined for 1,187 yards from scrimmage in 10 games last year. Receivers Malachi Carter and Adonicas Sanders return as well.

That should help the passing game to continue improving, thus making the Georgia Tech offense more dynamic. The Yellow Jackets were second-to-last in the ACC in points scored in 2020, scoring 23.9 points per contest.

Still, that was seven points better than their average in Collins first season. Another three or four-point improvement will get the Georgia Tech offense closer to where it needs to be for the program to compete in the Coastal.

While it will be difficult against a tough schedule, if Sims can drastically improve, Georgia Tech is on track to take another step forward in Collins third season.