Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
2001 record: 8-5 (4-4)
Coach: Chan Gailey (First season)
Starters returning: 4 offense, 9 defense, 2 kickers

Outlook: For years the Jackets won with offense, scoring 30-something points and hoping the defense would allow just a little bit less. This season, Gailey inherits the opposite situation -- a loaded defense that needs to take the pressure off a young offense.

Nine starters are back on defense, and that doesn't include linebacker Ather Brown, a starter in 2000 who was injured last season. End Greg Gathers and linebacker Daryl Smith are All-American candidates.

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But who's the quarterback? George Godsey is gone, leaving Gailey -- an offensive coach in the NFL for years -- to choose between Tennessee transfer A.J. Suggs and redshirt freshman Damarius Bilbo. Make the right choice there, assuming there is one, and the Jackets could be a Top 25 team again.

Key game: Gailey's tenure in Atlanta will be off to a good start, no matter what else happens, if he can win at Georgia in the regular-season finale Nov. 30. Jackets fans will forgive a lot in Gailey's first season, especially as he finds a new quarterback, but they won't forget a loss to the Bulldogs.

Keep an eye on: Under former coach George O'Leary, Georgia Tech was known for producing top-notch offensive linemen. Gailey might be the recipient of the best of them all, tackle Nat Dorsey, who could become an All-American this season -- and is only a sophomore.

It's a good year if. . .: The Jackets find a dependable quarterback early, finish strong late and end up one of the better teams in the league. Whether it's Suggs or Bilbo, the team probably can't afford to go week-to-week unsure of its quarterback, which could spill over to the 2003 season as well.

Gregg Doyel covers the ACC for the Charlotte Observer.