Thereās no light way to put it: What a humiliating afternoon it was Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. This was the type of performance Georgia Tech hoped it was past.
The Yellow Jackets, as three-touchdown favorites, lost to Bowling Green 38-27. It wasnāt really even that close. Tech isnāt good enough to take any opponent for granted, but one week after topping previously unbeaten Wake Forest on the road, the expectation was that the Yellow Jackets would roll here, even if they didnāt have their A-game.
It turned out Vegas oddsmakers believed more in Tech than the team itself did. This was the lowest point of coach Brent Keyās tenure. It was a pathetic showing for any program, let alone one with bowl aspirations.
āThat was an embarrassing display of football,ā Key said. āAn epic of a failure as you can possibly have. All three phases, all aspects of the program.ā
Forget covering the three-touchdown spread. The Jackets (2-3) couldnāt even manage three touchdowns ā despite getting two of them in their first two minutes and five seconds of possession ā until the end of the third quarter. They trailed 38-14 in the second half before decorating their grave. Tech was stifled, at times overwhelmed by a Falcons team that lost its previous two games by a combined total of 69-13.
How disgraceful for a program that seemingly was trending in the right direction.
āThis week, we definitely have to take a hard look in the mirror,ā quarterback Haynes King said. āWe have to figure out something. We donāt know exactly what itās going to be, but we definitely have to figure something out.ā
Preparation is a good place to start. A troubling admission from senior linebacker Paul Moala: āFor sure (we overlooked this team). Thatās an emphasis we made at the beginning of the week, I just donāt think we took it as seriously as we shouldāve. Moving forward, weāre going to work with a chip on our shoulder and make sure weāre never feeling like this again on the defensive end.ā
Receiver Dominick Blaylock, whoās familiar with top-tier preparation from his Georgia days, on what needs to be different: āFor us, just having a better mindset coming into a game. Not having the lackadaisical type of body language. Not overlooking our opponent. Thatās probably one of the main things.ā
Woah nelly, the red flags. The words ālackadaisicalā and āoverlookingā are concerning. So is the suggestion that some players didnāt take the week as seriously as they shouldāve (safety LaMiles Brooks downplayed that, but anyone watching the game would assume validity to the contrary comments). Key will tell you it falls on him and the coaches, and heās right. But the players need to hold themselves accountable, too. You canāt get too high after a nice win in Winston-Salem. This is some of what goes into building a ācultureā that all these coaches constantly preach about.
The unexpected setback could change how this season is viewed by yearās end. If the team improves as the campaign progresses, this wound will remain and could cost it a bowl. If the Jackets continue playing as they did Saturday, no bowl will even want them watching from the stands.
Saturday provided an unfortunate reminder that this team is far from relevance. And to be fair, we already knew that. This wasnāt a quick fix, even in college footballās modern era.
Two years ago, Tech lost at home to Northern Illinois. At that point, we figured where coach Geoff Collinsā tenure was headed. Just over 12 months later ā this time last year, in fact ā the program was in shambles and turned to Key as its interim coach.
Key went 4-4, defeating a couple of ranked teams, and was named the full-time coach in November. Tech started this season splitting its first four games, showing plenty of reason for optimism over that stretch, especially the offense. Bowling Green was supposed to be a win that put them above .500 and kept them on track to play in their first bowl in five years.
Yet it feels like weāre right back in September 2021. Except this misstep might be worse considering the circumstances ā and that, again, Tech just shouldāve been past this. The fans concurred, as their recurring boos indicated. It could lead to some changes on the depth chart and with playing time, too: āWeāll be evaluating,ā Key said.
Tech didnāt fare well in any facet. An autopsy:
Offense: The Jackets gained 417 total yards, with 109 of that coming with the game decided in the fourth quarter. Tech was 2-for-8 on third downs. It was 1-for-3 on fourth downs, which included a failed quarterback sneak at Bowling Greenās 14 on Techās first drive of the second half.
āIt was that far,ā Key said, holding his hands to indicate how close the first-down marker was. āIf we canāt sneak a football that far, we donāt deserve to win a football game.ā
The Jackets were down 24-14 at that point and after failing to get one yard on fourth down, watched the Falcons go score another touchdown. King then threw a pick-six on the ensuing possession, one of three Tech turnovers. After keeping King clean against Wake Forest, the Tech offensive line surrendered three sacks Saturday. The run game produced only 69 yards on 21 attempts.
Defense: Techās defensive failures began with third downs. Bowling Green converted 10 of 17 third downs, including nine of 13 across the first three quarters. Last we checked, Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes arenāt running that offense.
The Falcons also gashed Tech on the ground, producing 175 yards on 45 attempts. āYou canāt stop the run, youāre going to have problems,ā Key said. It helped neutralize Techās pass rush. The Jackets mustered only two sacks after having eight last week. Some of the effort in the fourth quarter against the run was questionable. The tackling was poor for the get-go.
Time of possession: In the first half, Bowling Green had the ball for 20:21 while Tech held it for only 9:39. Iām not sure Atlantaās Falcons couldāve managed that, much less Bowling Greenās. By gameās end, these Falcons had held the ball for 42:45. Air Force entered the day No. 1 in time of possession, keeping the ball for an average of 38:07.
Tech wonāt overlook its opponent this week because itās traveling to undefeated Miami. Perhaps Saturday is a wake-up call it didnāt know it needed. Before this, Key was building momentum. Heād generally done a nice job and seemed to have the Jackets trending up. Now weāll see if they respond or spiral.
ā(We need to) understand going into each week that itās all about us, regardless of who the opponent is,ā Moala said. āItās about us. We need to focus on what type of defense we are. The type of offense we are. The type of special teams we are. We have to maintain that focus throughout the week and stick to our identity and play ball like weāre used to.ā
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured