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Georgia Tech Football: Jackets offense provides ugly performance against Clemson

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 22: TaQuon Marshall #16 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets carries the ball against Clelin Ferrell #99 of the Clemson Tigers on September 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - SEPTEMBER 22: TaQuon Marshall #16 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets carries the ball against Clelin Ferrell #99 of the Clemson Tigers on September 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – SEPTEMBER 22: TaQuon Marshall #16 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets carries the ball against Clelin Ferrell #99 of the Clemson Tigers on September 22, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Georgia Tech’s offense gave an overall ugly effort on Saturday afternoon against the Clemson Tigers.

Georgia Tech’s offense took on their toughest opponent yet on Saturday in the Clemson Tigers, and the Jackets offense failed miserably in it’s biggest test of the season. In the loss, the Yellow Jackets offense managed just 203 yards of total offense and just 146-yards of rushing on the ground.

Let’s break it down now position by position….

Quarterbacks: D+

Neither redshirt senior TaQuon Marshall or redshirt freshman Tobias Oliver played well against the Tigers for the most part. It was the second time this season that both quarterbacks played for the Yellow Jackets.

TaQuon Marshall: D

Marshall’s performance on Saturday as the worst of his season despite getting off to a strong start. On their first possession of the game, Marshall and the Jackets offense were moving the ball well but as the game went on, Marshall was able to do almost nothing against the Tigers. Marshall’s decision making against the Tigers was questionable at best throughout the game, missing several options to pitch the ball. Marshall’s lack of confidence in pitching the ball has been prevalent since last season and it’s continuously cost the Yellow Jackets offense. His lack of pitching the ball kept to him keeping it throughout the game and ended up getting eaten by the Clemson defense continuously. He ended the day with 25 carries for 47-yards and one touchdown.

The passing game was just about what you would expect from Marshall, he completed one pass out of six attempts for 29-yards. He also threw a near interception when there was miscommunication between him and freshman wide receiver Malachi Carter.

Tobias Oliver: C-

Oliver’s first time on the field since seeing time against USF was not what fans wanted to see out of the redshirt freshman. Oliver struggled mightily during the game, fumbling the ball multiple times though that was a problem that plagued the team throughout the game, no matter the player. Oliver seemed to be overmatched by the Clemson defense but did look better when Clemson began to rotate in their depth players. That being said, Oliver’s overall performance was still disappointing though not much should be expected from a quarterback with limit experience against one of the country’s best programs.

Oliver did have success in the passing game though, completing both of his passes for 28-yards and a touchdown.

Overall: 

Overall, it was a poor performance from both quarterbacks. For the Yellow Jackets offense to succeed, the quarterbacks need to be on top of their game and when they’re not it can get ugly fast, which we saw on Saturday against the Tigers. They’ll get a better matchup next week against Bowling Green. TaQuon Marshall will remain the starter going forward but don’t be surprised if Paul Johnson is more willing to insert Oliver into the game to get the Jackets offense moving.