Three Major Questions That Georgia Tech Faces When They Play Pittsburgh On Saturday

We are 48 hours away from Georgia Tech taking on Pittsburgh on Saturday night. They have a lot of questions that will need to be answered on the road. After an embarrassing and disappointing loss to Boston College, they will get a chance to get back on track and fix some things. Let’s take a look at three questions for the Yellow Jackets ahead of their matchup vs. the Panthers.

1. Does Georgia Tech have any fight left?

This is the question that will get answered pretty early in Pittsburgh. Do the Yellow Jackets get run out of the building or do they put up a fight and make it a game at Acrisure stadium. Both teams are dealing with losing streaks, but who will answer the call?

The Yellow Jackets aren’t having the season they anticipated. A win doesn’t entirely fix what has happened in the past seven games, but it could invoke some optimism. It can change the perception of things. The Players can continue to gain confidence, and with young, emerging talent all over this roster, it is important. This is a moment right now for the Yellow Jackets, and how they play and show up will tell a lot.

“Every team's going to have moments, but the good thing about us is we've got guys to bring us along in those moments. We've had a rough season and, you know, a rough turn of events, but it's not over. We've got plenty of more games to play, five, and each week we circle that team and we get it done,” said Petty.

2. Are the second half issues going to be fixed?

One thing that has been troubling this season is that the Yellow Jackets have led in multiple games this season at halftime to only eventually lose in the second half. A few examples you can look at are Stanford and Duke games. Georgia Tech had a lead in both but couldn’t sustain it after halftime and eventually fell to both teams.

It hasn’t been easy on either side for the Yellow Jackets, who have struggled here. Whether it is starting out slow and then coming on in the second half, or starting out fast and hitting a lull in the second half. It’s been more of the latter, but still a tough sight to see. Halftime adjustments have been a major point of emphasis for head coach Brent Key this week.

“I've done a massive deep dive into halftime. I won't get into all the specifics of it, but from the time we step in the locker room to the time the ball is kicked off in the second half, I have really made a massive change with all those things. When we talk about change with the team, standards, expectations, those don't change.

A lot of things don't change. We have to do them better, do them more efficiently, do them more collaboratively, whatever that is, that specific thing. But then there are things that you look at and say, at the end of the day, guys, we're two and five. So to keep doing everything the same is the definition of insanity.

I told the players they would see the change, but there are a lot of things they won't see change. how we're going about the daily planning, responsibilities in different facets within the organizational structure of the program. So a lot of those things are things that people won't see; players won't see, until they see the final part that's given to them on a Tuesday morning or a Wednesday morning, just the preparation part of it,” said Key.

3. Will Josh Petty be a savior for the Yellow Jackets offensive line?

Josh Petty coming back last week vs Boston College was a breath of fresh air. You could even see in his press conference that he was someone that was professional and had a different mould and mindset about him. It is infectious. With all the injuries to the offensive line and how banged up they are, it comes at a perfect time for Petty to establish himself as the future and become a cornerstone player.

He did it in just 27 snaps last week and was the highest-graded player on the field for the Yellow Jackets. That is a good sign moving forward. With Ethan MacKenny being out, having Petty, who is equally or more talented than him, helps a ton. So when I say savior, I don’t mean the season at all. I mean more so someone who can save the Yellow Jackets' offensive line and be a building block for the future. Certainly, Coach Key is glad to have him back.

“But my impressions of Josh. were exactly what I've expected for two years out of Josh. Josh is a tremendous talent. Played a lot on raw emotion on Saturday. But, you know, we got in a position where we weren't able to even call runs as much in the second half. But if you watch, you know, the few runs we did have in the second half, they were pretty efficient runs. If you look at what he was able to do. to make that thing go. You see why I believe he's a special player. He's got a long way to go. 27 snaps in the last two years.

So there's a lot of things that'll happen. It'll happen fast. You know, the God-given ability and talent allow him a lot of ground to make up, where if a guy takes an inside move, he just naturally has the ability to get back in front of the guy. to post it out, and cut the guy off. And, you know, as he continues to get more and more technique-savvy with things and continues to get his football shape and condition, really excited to have him back. Really excited,” said Key.

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