With a chance to turn this season into something special, Georgia Tech fell flat on its face Thursday night, losing to Virginia Tech 17-10. Some of the ugly numbers: three turnovers, three fumbles (one lost), six false start penalties and only one touchdown in 11 offensive possessions.

The Hokies’ defense is good – but it’s not that good.

 Here’s the link to my full column on the game on MyAJC.com (subscription).

Here are my three “Short Takes” off the game.

1. FINALLY, A DEFENSE: We’ll start with the one positive that stood out in this game for Georgia Tech. The Jackets appear to have made significant progress on defense with new coordinator Ted Roof. They often were able to pressure Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas – who completed his first nine passes but 10 of 16 thereafter – and held Virginia Tech to 55 yards rushing and 276 yards in total offense. Only 10 of the 17 points were truly earned because the first touchdown was set up by a turnover at the Jackets’ 27 on their first possession. There was a time when the defense allowing 17 points would ensure a Georgia Tech victory. Which leads to . . .

2. HAS ANYBODY SEEN THE OPTION? Coach Paul Johnson’s baby produced only one touchdown in 11 possessions. The Jackets’ offense also fumbled the ball three times (losing one), turned it over three times (one fumble, two interceptions) and committed seven penalties (six false starts, one delay of game). They looked out of sync. Quarterback Vad Lee took the blame but the issues spread far beyond the quarterback. Backs seem out of position, blocks are being missed and at times it even looked like different players were running different plays.  Tech rushed for 129 yards. That would be good if it ran a drop-back, pro set offense. It’s bad when a team lives and dies by the run (42 attempts on this day for a 3.1 average). Lee actually threw for more yards (144) than the Jackets’ rushed for, which is the first time that has happened since a game against Western Carolina in 2011.

3. BIG PICTURE BLOWN: This was a chance for Tech to build significant momentum going into next week’s game at Miami. Now, you have to wonder how good this team really is. The Hurricanes are a  much better team than Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech has been drilled in its last two visits to Miami (24-7 and 33-17) – actually three visits to the city if you want to count a blowout loss to Iowa in the Orange Bowl. Johnson will need to rebuild this team’s confidence now because his players looked shaken on the stage of national television against Virginia Tech.

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