Georgia Tech lost in heartbreaking fashion to Miami on Saturday, but it did successfully address one major problem in its first four games. The Yellow Jackets did not fumble in 61 offensive snaps.
Entering the game against Miami, Tech had fumbled 14 times, which was tied for 126th out of 130 FBS teams. Coach Paul Johnson made ball security a high priority during the team's open week before the game. The fact that the offense didn't put the ball on the ground once was more impressive considering the heavy rains that deluged the field in the second half. (It wasn't an entirely clean game. Tech fumbled twice on kickoff returns, recovering one and losing the other on the final play of the game after several desperation laterals.)
“I think we really emphasized it in practice,” quarterback TaQuon Marshall said. “I don’t think it was anything else. Everybody knew that we needed to take care of the ball to win the game, so we just knew we couldn’t turn the ball over.”
Marshall said the heightened awareness made a difference to him. He said he repeated the message in the huddle, reminding players to hold onto the ball tight.
“I definitely made sure I was holding onto it tight every time I tucked it down and ran,” Marshall said.
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