Georgia Tech vs. Bowling Green: First-half thoughts

How did Georgia Tech fare in the first half against Bowling Green?

Author:
Jackson Caudell
Publish date:
Sep 30, 2023 5:05 PM EDT

In this story:

Georgia Tech came into this game as a big favorite and for the first couple of drives, they looked the part.

Haynes King connected with Eric Singleton Jr. for a 53-yard touchdown to start the game and then found Christian Leary on the next drive to put the Yellow Jackets up 14-0. It looked like a romp was about to occur at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Then the Falcons punched back at Georgia Tech.

Poor tackling and third-down defense helped Bowling Green cut into the lead and a special teams error made it worse. After such a great start, it was troubling to see Georgia Tech play so poorly against the Falcons, who are 1-3. Bowling Green leads 17-14 at the half and get the ball to start.

So what are the first-half thoughts from this game?

1. The tackling and 3rd down defense has been terrible

Georgia Tech had its best defensive performance of the season against Wake Forest last week, but they completely dropped the ball here in the first half against Bowling Green.

After going up 14-0 in the first quarter, things went downhill for Georgia Tech and the biggest reason why is the run defense. Whether it was poor tackling or missing assignments, it was a completely dismal performance for the Yellow Jackets on that side of the ball.

For Bowling Green, they ran 43 plays to Georgia Tech's 25 and were 7-11 on third down. The Falcons only averaged 4.3 yards per rush, but it could have been less if the tackling had been better.

2. The offense could not sustain drives and allowed the defense to be on the field for far too long

After an electric first couple of drives, Georgia Tech's offense could not muster anything of substance for the rest of the first-half. The Yellow Jackets drove the ball near the end of the half, but penalties and negative plays moved the team backward.

The inconsistencies on offense can be found in every game this season. Whether it was the second half against Louisville or against Wake Forest, this offense just goes into lulls at times and allows the defense to hang out to dry. It did not result in a loss last week, but they are flirting with disaster if they can't find anything in the second half.

3. Running game can't find anything.

Georgia Tech was not able to run the ball against Wake Forst and that has carried over into the first half today. For the game so far, the Yellow Jackets have 32 yards on 12 carries, averaging 2.7 yards per carry. Bowling Green has one of the worst defenses in the country and this is a poor result that has to change. The explosive plays in the passing game are the only thing saving this offense in the first half.

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Georgia Tech vs. Bowling Green: ESPN"s FPI heavily favors Yellow Jackets in today's game