The B-backs take a back seat. Tech wins big anyway

1. The B-backs played bit parts in this rout. In the opener against Alcorn State, Tech's B-backs scored five touchdowns and totaled 277 yards on 23 carries. (For those without an abacus, that's an average of 12 yards per attempt.) Tulane held the three B-backs to 107 yards on 19 carries (a mere 5.6 yards per rush), not that it availed the Green Wave much of anything. The Jackets still rushed for 439 yards. "Today was an A-back game," coach Paul Johnson said, but three of Tech's leading rushers on the day were ... quarterbacks.

2. A quarterback controversy? Nah. Some quarterback depth? Maybe. The loss of backup Tim Byerly to injury caused consternation among Tech fans: "If Justin Thomas gets hurt, what have we got?" Well, they've got Matthew Jordan, the sometime A-back who served as No. 2 quarterback against Tulane and who led the Jackets in rushing. (He had 72 yards to Thomas' 71.) Jordan's only pass went for a 35-yard touchdown -- "He's leading the nation in quarterback rating," Johnson said -- and scored on a 65-yard run. As if that weren't enough, third-stringer Brady Swilling gained 49 yards on six carries.

3. Tech's defense has yielded 16 points in two games, but guess who isn't happy. Johnson noted that Tulane was six of 15 on third down, "and that's better than Tulane usually does." The Green Wave's only touchdown came on a 44-yard pass to Devon Breaux -- he'd also scored against Duke in Week 1; no other Tulane player has crashed the end zone this season -- that cornerback D.J. White should have defended. (Breaux warded off White in the end zone.) Tech did have three sacks, but that, per the coach, was a product of early-down blitzing. "We need to bring pressure," Johnson said. "We're not very good at getting it with four people. We've got to bring pressure and, to this point, we haven't been a very good coverage team. We need to sic 'em and go get 'em."