Clearly if you’re going to beat Georgia Tech, you have to stop the option. If you don’t, they’ll control the clock on their way to a scoring drive. Which keeps your defense on the field and their defense off it.
On paper it’s easy to stop the option. Make sure someone covers the fullback, the quarterback and the pitch-man, and make sure the safeties are ready for the occasional pass play. But that’s much easier said than done.
The defensive line needs to be able to withstand Georgia Tech’s cut blocking and they’ve got to make sure the fullback has no room to run.