At the start of the month, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key made a change in roles on his defensive staff. Linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer was given the title of defensive coordinator, and Andrew Thacker, the defensive coordinator to that point, turned his focus to coaching the team’s safeties.
The move paid immediate dividends as the Yellow Jackets went to Miami, then ranked 17th in the nation, and won 23-20. Tech held the Hurricanes to three first-half points and forced five takeaways.
But on Saturday, Tech’s defense regressed to what appears to be the norm with another rough outing. A 38-23 loss to Boston College left Sherrer’s unit once again searching for answers.
“As far as effort, I don’t believe we left anything in the tank out there on the field as a defense,” Tech linebacker Paul Moala said Saturday after the game. “I think we ran well to the ball, I just think there were minor tweaks and mishaps that happened out there on the field that didn’t allow us to execute properly.”
Tech’s defense certainly has had some flashes of brilliance, like the aforementioned Miami game or its eight-sack, five-takeaway outing in a victory at Wake Forest. But by and large the unit has fell flat and now ranks last in the ACC in third-down defense, first downs allowed, total defense and rushing defense. And where it matters, on the scoreboard, Tech is surrendering two more points per game than it did in 2022.
The issues start with Tech’s inability to stop the run consistently. Only North Texas is allowing more yards on the ground than the Jackets’ 227.7 per game, and against BC, the Jackets gave up more than 300 yards rushing, 153 of them coming in the fourth quarter.
“Does that mean things were done differently? Does that mean things were called differently? No, it’s the ability to execute in the fourth that was different than the third and the second and the first,” Key said. “It’s attributed to a lot of different things that we have to continue to work on and got to continue to get better at.
“We’re aware of it. We saw it, and that’s one of the things we talked about Sunday with the team.”
It should be noted that Tech has faced some very good offenses through seven games. Miami (10th), Ole Miss (12th) and Louisville (18th) all have units ranked inside the top 20 nationally in total offense, and Boston College now has the nation’s 14th-best rushing offense.
The road ahead for the Jackets doesn’t get any easier, either.
No. 17 North Carolina, the opponent Saturday, leads the ACC in third-down conversions, first downs, passing offense and total offense. The Tar Heels (6-1, 3-1 ACC) have one of the nation’s better quarterbacks in Drake Maye, an exceptional running back in Omarion Hampton and four receivers, including explosive playmaker Devontez Walker and former Tech wideout Nate McCollum, who all have at least 280 yards receiving.
Carolina has been held to less than 20 points in two of the past 33 games. One of those games was a 21-17 loss to Tech in 2022.
“They play really hard,” North Carolina offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey said this week with regard to the Tech defense. “They’re physical, especially on the perimeter with their DBs. They play with their hands well; they’re very active.
“They’re a challenge because they are athletic, they’re physical and they’re going to present some challenges for us.”
After Saturday’s matchup with UNC, Tech faces the No. 87 (Virginia), No. 44 (Clemson), No. 63 (Syracuse) and No. 3 (Georgia) offenses in the nation to close the regular season.
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