Georgia Tech Football: Five takeaways from Jackets 45-0 loss to Virginia Tech

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets simply stood no chance on Saturday afternoon when they took on the Virginia Tech Hokies, losing 45-0.

Takeaway No.1: Virginia Tech just wanted it more

While it’s safe to say no one expected Georgia Tech to really have a great chance at winning on Saturday, I’m not sure anybody expected Georgia Tech to be dominated like they were on Saturday. The Jackets from the start were outmatched, outplayed, and outcoached. It was a poor effort from the entire program and it’s a huge step back from where they’ve been performance wise the last few weeks. This Virginia Tech team certainly isn’t a tremendous team but they definitely wanted it more on Saturday. No matter what stat category you look at, Virginia Tech just was that much better and they were ferocious in the process. The Hokies ultimately outgained the Jackets 461 to 134, had fewer penalties and had zero turnovers.

Takeaway No.2: James Graham takes a step back from performance against Virginia

Last week, James Graham had a tremendous performance against Virginia all things considered. However, against the Hokies, Graham had potentially his worst game as the Jackets starting quarterback. The redshirt freshman completed just 7-of-14 passing attempts for 43-yards. He also threw two interceptions on the game. Graham additionally had nine rushing attempts for two yards.

True freshman Jordan Yates came in for relief of Graham in the game but didn’t fare any better himself, completing just 4-of-11 passing attempts for 38-yards. He also had nine rushing attempts for 12-yards.

That being said, it’s not all of Graham’s fault for his performance as…

Takeaway No.3: The offensive line has its’ worst day of the season

The Georgia Tech offensive line on Saturday was simply bullied from start to finish. No matter if it was pass blocking or the run block, the Jackets struggled in keeping the Hokies out of the backfield and it can be seen in the numbers. The Jackets were able to manage just 53-yards on the ground throughout the game on 31-attempts, an average 1.7 yards per carry. In the pass block, the Hokies were able to get home several times and when they didn’t Graham and Yates were still running for their life.

Takeaway No.4: Pressley Harvin III with one of his best days as a Yellow Jacket

While seemingly everyone else on the Georgia Tech football program had a bad day, junior punter Pressley Harvin III had potentially his best day as a Yellow Jacket. Harvin punted the ball nine times on Saturday evening for 434-yards and average of 48.2-yards He only pinned the Hokies inside their own 20-yard line once but his long of 58 and average is pretty impressive and is why Harvin will have a lengthy career at the next level.

Takeaway No.5: Loss puts reality back into state of program

Perhaps with the strong play of late, there’s been a resurgence around the fan base that the program was coming around quicker than originally thought. That still may be true but for now, it’s safe to say the program still has a long way to go. They’ve played well in a lot of games this season and have had opportunities to win but this type of loss is simply deflating. Now, yeah, Virginia Tech needed this game A LOT more than the Yellow Jackets, but that shouldn’t be an excuse. To come out flat like the Yellow Jackets did and not find any way to adapt is simply inexcusable. Now, you shouldn’t put a ton of stock into one game and I 100% agree with that but this loss probably puts a bit into perspective that there is still a lot of work to do in Atlanta.