Georgia Tech Football: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly From Opening Game vs Clemson
Georgia Tech looked like they were going to make a game on Monday night when they cut the lead to 14-10, but the Yellow Jackets could not muster up enough offense to keep up with the Tigers. Two blocked punts, ten penalties, Charlie Thomas getting ejected, and a poor offensive line performance made things unravel quickly for Georgia Tech and the Tigers prevailed 41-10.
So what were some good things that Tech can take from this game? What are some of the bad things about the game? What about ugly? Let's break it down below.
The Good
The Georgia Tech defense turned in a good performance on Monday night.
1. The Defense- In particular, Keion White. The Yellow Jackets came up with three sacks against Clemson and White led the way with two. Guys like Noah Collins and Kevin Harris flashed some ability too and Georgia Tech is going to need those guys to keep improving.
Even after Thomas got ejected, Tech's linebackers still played at a pretty high level. Demetrius Knight II came in and had six tackles and he is going to play a big role going forward. Ace Eley led the team in tackles and forced the fumble in the first half which gave Tech momentum.
The secondary had tight coverage and guys like Myles Sims played well. Safety Derrik Allen finished with eight tackles and there was not much miscommunication on the defense. Overall, a solid performance from the defense.
2. Jeff Sims- If not for Sims, Georgia Tech's offense would have struggled to move the ball at all. Sims was the team-leading rusher to go along with 163 yards passing. He was in rhythm at times in this game and really made the offense move. With fewer drops from his receivers and better protection upfront, Sims can put together a good season.
The Bad
Georgia Tech's running game struggled vs Clemson
1. The running game- It is not fair to entirely blame the poor performance in the running game on just the backs because a lot of it falls on the offensive line failures.
Georgia Tech was unable to get any consistent production on the ground from its backs and the best running plays came from Sims on either designed runs or scrambles. The Yellow Jackets want a better running game and will need one to help take the pressure off of Sims. The good news is that there are not many defenses as good as Clemson's.
2. The wide receivers- Nate McCollum and E.J. Jenkins made plays in the passing game, but there was not enough production from everyone else to make plays down the field.
Malachi Carter finished with only two catches and Malik Rutherford had one. The tight ends were also a non-factor in the passing game as well. There are going to have to be more guys stepping up for Georgia Tech to improve its passing game.
The Ugly
Georgia Tech had a terrible night on special teams against Clemson
1. Special Teams- This was just a disaster of a night for the Georgia Tech special teams. Two blocked punts that led to touchdowns and a missed field goal helped Clemson get a turnover.
The special team's miscues were huge to give Clemson momentum and when you are playing a team as good as Clemson, you can't beat yourselves. This unit has to be much better going forward.
2. The offensive line- The offensive line had the unfortunate task of playing a defensive line full of future NFL draft picks, but there is no excuse for playing this poorly.
The line missed blocks completely and was not quick enough to get out ahead of runners on screens. There was no push from the line in the running game and they just looked overwhelmed and lost for most of the game.
This unit is the key to Georgia Tech's season. If they can't be much better than they were against Clemson then it is going to make nearly every game an uphill battle.
3. Penalties- You are not going to win many games when you commit ten penalties for 86 yards. The offensive line had many false starts and there was undisciplined football at various times in the games. This falls on coaching and it must be better going forward.
4. Coaching and game management- This game was full of strange decisions from Collins as the head coach. Attempting a field goal in the first half when Tech had the ball on the Clemson 28-yard line and a fourth and five. Going into the half with three timeouts and not attempting to score. Running out of timeouts early in the fourth quarter. Just more bad examples of bad game management.
Those are all things that fall on game management and coaching and the responsibility falls on Collins.
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