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Georgia Tech vs USF: Five Quick Hits Following Saturday’s 49-38 loss

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls and head coach Paul Johnson of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets shake hands following a game at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls and head coach Paul Johnson of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets shake hands following a game at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FL – SEPTEMBER 08: Pressley Harvin III #27 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets punts during a game against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – SEPTEMBER 08: Pressley Harvin III #27 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets punts during a game against the South Florida Bulls at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

3) Special teams is a nightmare:

Looking at the last quick hit, you may have noticed that it said the defensive unit only gave up 35-points. So where did the remaining 14-points come from for the Bulls? Well, that would be special teams, which was an absolute disaster and nightmare on Saturday.

The opening kickoff was probably a good indication that it was going to be a long day on special teams for the Yellow Jackets. Shawn Davis failed to kick the ball for a touch back as it landed in the hands of freshman Terrance Horns almost broke loose and returned it for a touchdown but a shoe-string tackle would save the Yellow Jackets from going down 7-0 just seconds in. But that was just the start of a nightmarish day on special teams.

On the second kickoff from Davis following the Jackets taking a 3-0 lead, the ball once again went to Horne. This time, nobody stopped the speedy wideout as he took the kick for a 97-yard touchdown giving the Bulls a 7-3 lead. The Yellow Jackets would answer back with a touchdown themselves and you could probably guess what happened next if you ended up missing today’s game. If you watched the game, you know exactly what happened. Horne to the house for a 98-yard touchdown.

Giving up one kickoff return for a touchdown is often seen as embarrassing on special teams but sometimes you can chalk it up to a player being a great athlete. But when you give up two touchdowns, it definitely becomes an embarrassing special teams effort. When you consider that they were on back-to-back kickoffs, it just becomes worse.

Pressley Harvin III punted just twice on the day and while he had a strong first punt (a career high 62-yards) for the Jackets, his second punt was shanked and ended up going a mere 10-yards. Harvin rarely makes a mistake, but it certainly just adds to the lack of execution from the Jackets special teams throughout the game.

The Jackets were one of the worst programs when it came to special teams in 2017 and they seem to be going down a similar route in 2018.