For the fourth consecutive year, Senior Day at Georgia Tech ended with a double-digit loss. The Yellow Jackets’ efforts to send out their teammates playing their final home game with a bang were not enough, this time in a 35-14 loss to Miami at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Before an announced crowd of 33,857, Tech was done in by mistakes (including four interceptions) and an inability to keep up with the talent and athletic ability of its opponent. The road only becomes steeper for interim coach Brent Key’s team, with road games to No. 15 North Carolina and No. 1 Georgia to finish the season.
Five takeaways from Saturday’s game:
Questions afoot at quarterback
Key may have some problems at quarterback to solve as he and his staff prepare for North Carolina next Saturday. After the game, Key did not have an update on freshman Zach Pyron, who left the game after appearing to injure his left shoulder in the third quarter and did not return. In his third appearance, backup Zach Gibson could not lead the offense effectively when the game’s outcome was still undecided.
Key was not fully clear about the status of starter Jeff Sims, who was available only on emergency basis for the third game in a row after spraining his foot against Virginia. Asked to clarify the meaning of “emergency basis” – it could reasonably be understood to mean a situation in which injuries have depleted the depth chart either completely or to an untenable point – Key said only that “(Sims) was deemed an emergency basis in the game and, the time that Pyron got hurt, he was not available to go in.”
Asked if Sims was cleared to play, Key responded, “I’ll just leave it at that.”
In the event that Pyron and Sims can’t play against North Carolina – Key did not have an update on Pyron’s injury after the game – the Jackets’ likely choices would be either to try Gibson again or turn to Taisun Phommachanh against a team that has been held under 30 points just once in 10 games this season. (Tech, conversely, has attained that same benchmark once in its 10 games, and that was against FCS Western Carolina.)
Phommachanh, a transfer from Clemson, has not played this season. He would provide Tech with a running threat at the position and might not be someone the Tar Heels count on facing.
Nate McCollum continues standout play
In the loss, wide receiver Nate McCollum continued his breakout season with eight catches for 101 yards, both team highs, and a second-quarter touchdown catch. McCollum has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games after posting his career high against Virginia Tech (103 yards) last week. It was his third 100-yard game of the season.
McCollum’s excellence was on display in the third quarter, when he turned a routine underneath crossing route from Pyron into a 42-yard gain by slipping a tackle attempt and then rocketing through the Miami backfield. In the first quarter, but for a superior play by Miami safety Kamren Kitchens, McCollum might have had a touchdown catch on Tech’s first drive of the game. (Kitchens, in fact, was the player who finally chased down McCollum on the 42-yard reception and also intercepted Gibson on a deep ball to McCollum in the fourth quarter.)
Fourth in receptions in the ACC with 54, McCollum has a shot at all-conference recognition, although playing for a team that will almost surely finish below .500 and being 10th in receiving yards per game (59 yards per game) won’t help. Regardless, there can’t be many receivers in the ACC who have meant more to their teams than McCollum.
With 54 receptions and two games remaining, McCollum is now tied for ninth (with a player named Calvin Johnson) in the Tech record books for most catches in a season.
Special teams show mixed results
The good news for Tech’s punt team was that, after giving up 188 punt return yards to Virginia Tech last week, the unit didn’t surrender any against Miami. The bad news, however, was that punter David Shanahan and the coverage team netted 34.8 yards on four punts as Shanahan didn’t have the best ball-striking day. Also, Trenilyas Tatum drew a personal foul on the first punt of the second half, giving the Hurricanes an entirely unnecessary lift.
Further, Miami punter Lou Hedley put on a brilliant display, as the Hurricanes netted 42 yards on five punts and three times stuck the Jackets inside their 10-yard line. With Hedley’s play, Miami is in the top 10 in net punting in FBS for the third year in a row.
Tech’s remarkable streak of six consecutive successful onside kicks was broken at game’s end, as the Hurricanes recovered Jude Kelley’s attempt in the final minute.
Defense gives way
Gashed on two long touchdown drives in Miami’s first three possessions, the Jackets defense helped Tech gain more control of the game after, limiting big plays and forcing punts on four consecutive possessions (not counting a kneel-down to end the first half).
Tech gave way, finally, after Gibson’s first possession in relief of Pyron in the fourth quarter ended with an interception and gave the Hurricanes the ball on their 49-yard line.
On that drive, Miami quarterback Jacurri Brown’s speed and explosiveness were too much on a second-and-10 in which he escaped a closing pocket from the Tech 38 and ran for 24 yards, his longest run of the game. It put the Hurricanes in position for an 8-yard touchdown pass that raised their lead to 21-7 and effectively ended the game. The Hurricanes cashed in another short field for a touchdown after a turnover on downs on Tech’s ensuing possession positioned Miami on the Jackets’ 34.
The turnovers that have been Tech’s hallmark were elusive; it was the Jackets’ first game without a takeaway this season. They had plucked 22 in the first nine games, which was third in FBS. The pressure that often generates turnovers was in short supply. Tech had one sack (by nickel back K.J. Wallace at a pivotal moment in the second quarter), no forced fumbles, quarterback hurries or pass breakups.
“We knew this team coming in that they do a really good job knocking the ball out as well as any team in the country,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said.
Especially for a first-time starter, Brown made good decisions with the ball (14-for-19 passing) and Miami’s protection largely held up, particularly considering the Hurricanes started two linemen with a combined one career start.
Ultimately, Tech’s defense gave up 28 points (not counting the interception return for a touchdown) and 353 yards to a team that hadn’t scored a touchdown in the previous nine quarters and had been held under 300 yards in the previous two games.
Challenging times ahead
With possible problems ahead at quarterback and a discouraging Senior Day loss behind, the Jackets will have to dig deep to compete with a Tar Heels team that is rolling on a six-game winning streak and with its win over Wake Forest on Saturday clinching the ACC Coastal Division title.
Key said he challenged players after the game to show their character and come to practice Sunday having put the loss behind them and ready to prepare in earnest for a huge challenge in North Carolina. The same test could well be extended to his staff. Their chances of staying on at Tech likely hinge on whether Key is retained as full-time coach, and the chances of that happening were, at the least, not helped by Saturday’s events. Key did not anticipate a problem in his team’s response.
“You only get so many games of football in your life,” Key said. “They run out at some point. Those guys have to wake up (Sunday) and be ready to come in and understand what the mistakes were and what we have to correct, but then also build on things that were good in the game and move forward and be ready to play a good North Carolina opponent next Saturday.”
About the Author
