We’re not going to make today’s takeaways super long because the truth is, most Tech fans are going to want to forget this game happened. It was a poor performance by everyone and throughout the entire game the better tea was evident and it was The Citadel.
1) The Jackets didn’t seem ready for the triple-option.
71 rushing attempts, 320-yards, 4.5 average. That was The Citadel’s rushing numbers on Saturday. Not exactly what you would expect out of a defense that played extremely well against the run a week ago. The Jackets really never seemed ready for the triple-option on Saturday and were out of position on multiple occasions. They struggled in stopping the Bulldogs in space and all the small carries really began adding up. You can’t blame them a ton because the offense couldn’t stay on the field but the defense needed to hand in a better performance on Saturday. As poor of a performance the offense had, the defensive performance was almost as bad and disappointing.
2) They’ll need to learn to throw the ball sometime…
We know Geoff Collins and the coaching staff is trying to work towards their strengths but the truth is, if Georgia Tech can’t find a way to begin passing the ball soon, they may be the worst offense in college football. Coming into today, The Citadel’s secondary wasn’t formidable by any means and it was a secondary that the Jackets should’ve been able to take care of. Instead, they passed the ball just 13 times. They’ll need to bump those numbers up and if none of the quarterbacks they playing can make the throws, give Jordan Yates some looks. Yes, you want to have the future in mind with freshmen but this is about putting the best team on the field and I’m not sure Lucas Johnson at quarterback or Tobias Oliver provides the Jackets their best team. Now, James Graham was out to today with a likely injury so it will be interesting to see how they sue him once he returns.
3) The offensive line is in trouble….
The Jackets offensive line going forward is in deep trouble. They keep suffering injuries along the line including an injury today to Jahaziel Lee. But outside that, they’re beginning to really struggle in pass protection and run blocking. They’re only going to face better teams going forward including a formidable and dangerous Temple team next week, Brent Key is doing all he can but when the talent isn’t there and with injuries piling up. This unit may get really ugly in the upcoming days.
We’ll have more tomorrow morning in our “The Morning After” review.