5 things we learned: Georgia Tech turns attention to bowl game

Before that announcement, here are five takeaways from Clean Old-Fashioned Hate:

The Runnin’ Jackets

Tech had created a perception for itself as a team with a high-powered passing offense. And after the first month of the season, Tech indeed was a pass-happy team as it had the nation’s 17th-best passing offense at the start of October.

But after 12 games, the Jackets actually ended the regular season with the ACC’s top rushing attack at 197.1 yards per game. That average now ranks 16th nationally.

Tech continued to flex its muscles in that area Saturday against Georgia by totaling 205 yards on the ground. It was only the third time since the start of the 2018 season that the Bulldogs had given up more than 200 yards rushing. As a program, Tech hadn’t rushed for 200 yards on UGA since its 2016 win in the rivalry.

Success on the ground has come from the improved play of Tech’s front five who very clearly has found their footing and become a strength of the Tech offense.

“Other position groups challenge them, but the biggest part about that offensive line is they challenge themselves each and every day,” Tech running back Jamal Haynes said. “Day-in and day-out they challenge their selves and it shows.”

Said Tech quarterback Haynes King: “The way they prepare, they work hard, how gritty they are. I really can’t say enough about them. They work hard. That’s really what makes a team, if you can control the line of scrimmage, you have a chance in any game.”

Third-quarter woes again

Tech lost six games in the 2023 regular season, and in all of them, the third quarter was a constant bugaboo.

The Jackets were outscored 62-26 this season in the third quarter and 10-0 Saturday in the loss to Georgia. Only in the defeat to Bowling Green in September did Tech outscore its opponent in the third quarter.

In Saturday’s game, Tech trailed 21-13 at the start of the third quarter and gave up a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a 39-yard Georgia field goal and then a five-play, 55-yard drive that ended with Kendall Milton 4-yard touchdown run making it 31-13 – a deficit that proved too much to overcome in the end.

Another long day on the field

The Tech defense has been much maligned when it has come to third down. Saturday was no exception in the loss to Georgia. The Bulldogs finished 4 of 8 on third down, but that doesn’t tell the entire story.

On the first play of the second quarter, UGA was trailing 10-7 and faced with a third-and-11 on its own 24. Georgia quarterback Carson Beck lobbed a swing pass to Daijun Edwards ho was waiting in the right flat – and Edwards had nothing but green in front of him for a 26-yard gain.

Later in the period, with the Bulldogs now up 14-13, Tech needed a stop on third-and-9 on its own 35. Edwards took a handoff and ran to his right for 12 yards – Edwards would then score on a 3-yard run a few plays later.

The final backbreaker? Tech needed a stop on a third-and-3 play at its own 41 with 2:52 to play, a stop that may have helped the Jackets get the ball back for a shot at a game-tying drive. Instead, Edwards rushed for five yards and a first down to ice the win for Georgia.

“When you got a chance to get those guys in third-and-long and get ‘em off the field and change the field position, you gotta take advantage of it when you’re playing a team like that,” Tech coach Brent Key said.

Can’t trade field goals for touchdowns

Georgia came into Saturday’s matchup with one of the worst red zone defenses in the country, but Tech didn’t take full advantage in that area.

The Yellow Jackets scored on all five trips inside the 20. Only two of those five scores, however, were touchdowns.

Tech had a first down at the 17 in the first quarter before settling for three points on a fourth-and-1 at the UGA 8. Midway through the second quarter the Jackets reached the Bulldogs’ 20 after a 4-yard run set up a third-and-2, but King fumbled the third down snap moving the ball back seven yards and Tech had to kick a 45-yard field goal.

In the fourth quarter, a first down at the Georgia 13 was followed by a 1-yard loss, a 4-yard gain and a third down sack that lost 13 yards before a 40-yard field goal make.

A week off (sort of) upcoming

The good news for Tech after Saturday’s loss is that it didn’t mean the end of the line for this team.

At 6-6, Tech will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2018 and that means it will get back to work this week at some point. Since the Jackets won’t find out where they’re playing, when they’re playing and whom they’re playing until Dec. 3, they will have some down time in the days ahead while also staying engaged with team activities.

“Next week, these kids need a little bit of a mental break,” Key said. “We’ll give ‘em a day off and a couple days to get away and really focus on their academics moving into the last part of the semester. Then we’ll circle back up with them on Tuesday and then proceed as we normally would with a normal week.

“That’s the big difference. The season’s not over. We’re still in-season right now. So we’ll give them a couple days and then we’ll get back to it here within a week or so.”

The ACC has 12 bowl agreements for the 2023 postseason and 11 teams eligible to play in those bowl games. No. 5 Florida State (12-0) and No. 10 Louisville (10-2) play Saturday in the ACC championship game and the result of that matchup will have a trickle down affect as to where Tech and every other league team will end up.

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