5 takeaways from Georgia Tech’s loss to Virginia

Rough night for Tech offense

Losing quarterback Jeff Sims to an apparent aggravation of his right-leg injury in the second quarter was impactful, as was his not appearing to be at full strength for the time he was in the game. Interim coach Brent Key didn’t refrain from mentioning that, when Sims left the game, the offense lost a big threat to run, and Virginia was able to defend the Jackets differently.

“Anytime you become one-dimensional on the offensive side of the football, you’re going to feel the stress of it throughout the rest of the game, throughout the whole team,” Key said.

However, the issues were wider than that on offense, which gained a meager 201 total yards. Pass protection was besieged, and quarterback Zach Gibson often held the ball too long, particularly in light of the protection challenges, leading to his being sacked seven times. How much that rattled him in his first extended play as a Jacket is unclear, but he had trouble making accurate downfield throws and was 10-for-25 passing for 99 yards. Last season at Akron before transferring, he completed 100 of 157 passes (69.4%) with no interceptions. Before Thursday, Gibson had played two snaps against Duke when Sims left the game in overtime with his leg injury.

“I just think for me (Thursday), it was about getting my feet wet,” Gibson said. ”Obviously, I played a really poor game in my opinion. I did not do what I needed to do in order for us to win, and it showed.”

He ended the night with a most forgettable play, running out of bounds at the Tech 37 as time expired after getting chased out of the pocket. A desperation pass was unlikely to succeed – he saw no downfield targets and knew that, being righthanded and escaping to his left, he couldn’t get much power behind the throw – but he acknowledged later that he had to at least give his teammates a chance to make a play.

“But it’s not a good look, and I know that,” he said in a remarkably transparent recounting of the play.

There were other questionable decisions, particularly offensive coordinator Chip Long’s call for Gibson to pass on third-and-1 from the Virginia 8-yard line with 33 seconds left in the first half. Had Tech run for it and picked up the first down – certainly not a given on this night – it could have called timeout and taken three more shots at the end zone. But Gibson’s pass was off target and Tech settled for a field goal that cut the lead to 13-9.

While Key was determined to get the run game going in the second half, the Jackets all but abandoned the run starting with the fourth-quarter possession after Gordon’s blocked punt gave Tech the ball at the Virginia 36. The run game wasn’t gangbusters by any stretch, making the switch to the pass understandable. But the Jackets were having even more difficult throwing.

Key said that he didn’t want to comment on play-calling until after reviewing the game video, but confessed that “there were times in the game we got a little one-dimensional (on offense)” and accepted responsibility.

Defense does its part

For the third consecutive game, the Jackets defense did its share. Tech forced three turnovers, with safety LaMiles Brooks returning a Brennan Armstrong interception 37 yards to the end zone for the Jackets’ only touchdown of the game. Virginia was 2-for-14 on third downs, Tech’s lowest rate for a single game since the Pitt game in 2017 (1-for-13). This was after the Jackets held the Panthers to 2-for-12 on third downs two games ago.

The Jackets were susceptible to big plays – Virginia had five plays of 30 yards or more compared with none for Tech – and also were not able to contain Armstrong. He was not sacked and hurried once.

But the defense also delivered stops to keep the Jackets in the game. Its play continues to barely resemble the unit’s performance before the coaching change.

Brooks continued his solid run of play. He made nine tackles and had two pass breakups, often showing up to contribute to stops on third down.

“We don’t concern ourselves with what the offense has going on,” defensive end Keion White said. “We just focus on what the defense has to do.”

Officiating has a hand

Tech caught some tough breaks with the officiating. Perhaps most notably, the Cavaliers appeared to get away with what looked like defensive pass interference on two occasions, one on a deep ball down the seam to wide receiver Leo Blackburn in the second quarter and another on a pass to wide receiver Malachi Carter on Tech’s second-to-last drive of the game. On the former, the Jackets ultimately went three-and-out, punting and giving Virginia the ball back at its 31-yard line, from where the Cavaliers went on to score their second touchdown of the game on a 44-yard catch-and-run pass play to Dontayvion Wicks. Tech ultimately gained a first down on the latter drive after the non-call.

The non-calls could have been a factor, particularly the first, as well as others that went Virginia’s way, but Tech’s inability to move the ball throughout the game had far greater impact on the outcome. The Jackets had plenty of opportunities to overcome any setbacks created by missed calls.

“Flags or any bad circumstances make it tough to play, but … it doesn’t matter what cards we’re deal, we’re taught to put the ball down and make the best of any opportunity,” Brooks said.

What’s next for Gibson

It would not be a surprise if Gibson were to start a week from Saturday at Florida State, and it also won’t be a surprise if the game plan is far more tailored to Gibson’s strengths and Gibson himself were more comfortable behind center. Gibson said that he had a lot of practice time leading to the Virginia game with the first-string offense.

“Had two great weeks of practice,” he said. “I mean, not just me – everybody.”

Nevertheless, it appeared to be a game plan fitted for Sims, whose arm is better suited for the downfield throws that Gibson had trouble making with accuracy.

But, beyond the game plan, Key and his staff face the challenge of picking up players and instilling the offense in particular with confidence after such a dismal showing against Virginia. After the upset win over Pitt, Key was pointed in not wanting to answer questions about that game, instead choosing to focus on the coming game against Duke, one way to prevent players from resting on the laurels of the win.

He’ll have the reverse challenge over the next week, trying to keep players (perhaps Gibson particularly) from sliding downhill and instead building up energy and urgency to play Florida State.

“We’re back on Sunday practicing and with Zach being the quarterback, we’ve got to go to the drawing board and find what gives him the best chance to run the offense and gives us a chance to win,” Key said. “That’s something that, it’s not about me being confident. That’s only a small part of it. It’s the other guys on the football team that have to have confidence in that.”

Key probably doesn’t need to bother giving defensive end Keion White any pep talks.

“Everything is still ahead of us,” he said. “The plan is just go win out and win the rest of the games we have.”

What’s next for Key

For Key, it wasn’t the ideal first impression to make on new athletic director J Batt, who was in attendance at the game with his family and will start officially Monday. Without Sims – and even with him – the offense was off-kilter and could generate only three points (with the defense accounting for the other six).

Batt also could wonder about the effectiveness of the offensive line that Key has been responsible for recruiting and developing for the past three-plus seasons. And there were different aspects of the game plan that may have caused some degree of consternation.

However, it may be that Key’s audition before Batt is only beginning. Every team stumbles, and perhaps a true measure of a coach is how his team responds after falling on its face. The Jackets clearly have to find some answers on offense, and the coaching staff may need to settle a team that was outplayed by a team that had lost three games in a row.

Key was already shown able to rally a team once, in the week that Geoff Collins was fired. If he can redirect his team this week again before the trip to Tallahassee, that surely will reflect well on his ability as a coach.