Left uncorrected, it may become Georgia Tech’s undoing. Or perhaps concern about the Yellow Jackets’ first-half play is merely a quick conclusion based on a handful of data points.
Regardless, the Yellow Jackets are being mindful this week of how they start Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern. Tech fell behind in each of its first two games and doesn’t want to make a habit of it.
“That’s an issue,” B-back Zach Laskey said. “We came out Saturday and turned the ball over the first play. As each week gets on, we get into bigger and better competition, so we have to eliminate those mistakes if we want to stay perfect.”
Tech trailed 9-7 against Wofford late in the first half before a half-ending field goal gave the Jackets a lead they never gave up. Against Tulane on Saturday, the Jackets trailed 7-0, 14-7 and 21-14 before overtaking the Green Wave by the end of the half. That lead also was never lost.
Georgia Southern took a 17-3 halftime lead on N.C. State in both teams’ season opener before losing 24-23.
“Saturday needs to be our best game,” safety Jamal Golden said. “We have to come out clicking on all cylinders and put a whole game together instead of just a half.”
The Jackets defense began to take the game away from the Green Wave after giving up a 61-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter, an explosive play that echoed Wofford’s 92-yard touchdown run on the Jackets in the second quarter. With 9:38 left in the half, Tulane had scored three touchdowns in its first five possessions — two of them on 75-yard drives — and was averaging 8.4 yards per play. However, after that possession, Tulane didn’t score the last six times it had the ball and averaged 3.9 yards per play in those possessions.
The defense’s performance in the first half against Wofford was hardly shabby, with a considerable exception granted to the 92-yard run. The Terriers had five possessions in the first half and punted on three, scoring a field goal and the touchdown on the other two. Wofford then scored 10 points on its first two possessions of the third quarter, driving 41 and 75 yards, respectively.
Both Golden and defensive end Roderick Rook-Chungong said emotions and nerves have been a factor. The offense and defense are loaded with players getting either their first college snaps or their first extended playing time.
“We’re just a little too ‘up,’” Rook-Chungong said. “We just have to settle into the game. We’ll be fine.”
On offense, Tech hit its stride against Wofford late. The Jackets scored seven points and averaged 5.9 yards per play in the first four possessions, but piled up 31 points with an 11.2 yards-per-play average over the final six possessions, including the final clock-killing drive.
Against Tulane, the offense again scored seven points in its first five possessions. Two of the drives were short-circuited by a fumble on the first play of the possession. Quarterback Justin Thomas did not protect the ball on a rollout and was stripped on one and did not execute a pitch with A-back Tony Zenon on the other.
“We need to play a lot better,” quarterbacks and B-backs coach Bryan Cook said. Ball security “would be No. 1.”
In both games, Tech had effective drives thwarted by missed field-goal attempts by kicker Harrison Butker. While the scoreboard would beg to differ, the point could be argued that with six more points and one particular player not making two correctable mistakes, Tech might not have a problem with starting slowly.
Despite the slow starts, Tech has finished its games well. Against Tulane, besides the second-half shutout, the Jackets’ offense scored three touchdowns and a field goal over five possessions in the final 34:19 and was driving for another score when the game ended.
“Do we need to play better? Yeah,” coach Paul Johnson said. “Is the competition going to ratchet up? Yeah. So all those things are true, but you keep working on it. It doesn’t mean everything is terrible.”
