Hokies Humble Georgia Tech
Dismissing the Jackets 45-0, Virginia Tech Avenges With A Vengeance
Georgia Tech Coach Geoff Collins gave credit to the victors, saying Virginia Tech had the best roster the Jackets had faced since the Temple loss.
This one felt off kilter from the start. Somehow Georgia Tech incurred a delay of game penalty before the first snap of the game? That’s hard to understand..and harder to explain. But a couple of hours later, it seems that the Jackets would have been better off if they had just delayed the entire game– indefinitely. Maybe for a few weeks.
Because this match was no match at all. Had it been a prizefight the referee would have been stopped it after 15 minutes. At that point the Hokies were ahead 14-0. And far out of proportion to that score they had completely dominated Georgia Tech, not just statistically but physically as well. Watching it, you felt as if the bully wouldn’t let up, not only winning but endangering the health of his victim. The Yellow Jackets earned no first downs in the first quarter. None. At quarter’s end, they had run 12 plays for 27 yards total. The Jackets’ defense fared no better, yielding 3 long touchdown drives in the first half, including 5 explosive plays of over 30 yards. Meanwhile, the visitors were happily busy. After an intial 3 and out, the Hokies scored on those long drives on their next 3 possessions and then added a defensive score on a 17 yard interception return by VaTech’s Caleb Farley. Farley picked off an errant toss from James Graham who began Georgia Tech’s 5th possession with a pass from his own 3 yard line. In his post-game comments, Farley was quick to reference last year’s game between these 2 teams. In that game, the Yellow Jackets were the team imposing their will, and they won big without completing a single pass in a 49-28 win at Blacksburg. In 2018, Tobias Oliver, subbing that night for injured starting QB TaQuan Marshall, ran the Jackets’ (then) option offense to perfection. He personally gained 215 yards in that game and helped his offense garner 35 first downs on 465 rushing, including 25 yards by a sub named….James Graham.
What a difference a year makes. This time around, Georgia Tech had one first down at the half. (It came on a 17 yard scramble by Graham on a broken play).
Tech tight end Tyler Davis said of the offense “..we just didn’t execute.”
This year Tobias Oliver got only 4 touches total, 3 on kickoff returns and the 4th on a pass reception that lost 2 yards. Likewise, Jordan Mason had a frustrating night, netting only 12 yards on 6 carries. For the night, the Jackets netted only 134 yards on 56 plays. Freshman QB Jordan Yates was responsible for 50 of those yards, completing 4 of 11 for 38 yards through the air, mostly in the 4th quarter.
Georgia Tech freshman QB Jordan Yates saw significant 2nd half action, as Collins was “…looking for a spark” for Tech. In a relative sense, Yates answered the call. He moved the team on 2 short drives but was unable to generate a score.
The Yellow Jackets’ defense struggled with several screen passes along with a long reverse run by the Hokies. Linebacker David Curry blamed himself and his teammates for poor execution, as they yielded 461 yards total, generating no turnovers and only one sack.
One bright spot for the Jackets was a resurgent performance by punter Presley Harvin, though he may have flirted with leg fatigue. He punted 9 times for an average net of 44 yards.
The abject dominance by Virginia Tech on this night, coupled with the recall of last year’s Yellow Jacket victory made this a deflating loss. Georgia Tech seemed out of synch from the outset. Mistakes included the delay penalty, another flag for motion in a punt formation, errant snaps, interceptions and the like. After just a few possessions, the outcome was no longer in question. This performance by Georgia Tech was surprising as it followed several recent games in which there was definite evidence of noticeable overall improvement–albeit without a win since that giddy day in Miami 4 weeks ago.
For better or worse, Georgia Tech (2-8, 1-6) has only 5 days to prepare for their next game, a Thursday night home date against NC State. Collins vowed “.. when we get this thing regrouped, we’ll have it”. He stated that coaches and players would begin immediately to get ready for the Wolfpack. While Collins stopped short of promising more playing time for Freshman QB Yates, he did laud new NCAA rules allowing players to play in up to 4 games in a given season and still maintain a redshirt option. How that manifests in Tech’s next game remains to be seen. Collins and crew will be looking to bounce back big.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports