Jackets Fall to Pitt
Sluggish Offense Dooms Tech’s Hopes in 20-10 Loss
Tech Coach Geoff Collins praised his team’s effort
On a sunsplashed afternoon, appropriately cool for early November, home underdog Georgia Tech (2-5) saw its upset hopes fade into the gloaming along with the light and warmth of the day. The Jackets entered the game still energized by their most recent game, a big overtime win in Miami 2 weeks earlier. Pitt (5-3) had lost to that same Miami team last week.
In this loss vs the Panthers, Tech’s tepid offense was the culprit, failing to make enough hay of 3 first half turnovers. The poor first half production prompted a QB change at halftime, with Lucas Johnson inserted for starter James Graham. Johnson had played little in the past few weeks coming back from injury. The personnel switch brought another type of failure in the 2nd half. After an uptick in production, the home team’s hopes were dashed by one play gone bad late in the 3rd quarter. As the Jackets’ best drive of the night proceeded toward the Pitt goal line in quest of what would be a game-tying touchdown, Lucas Johnson attempted to poke the ball over the goal line, only to lose it inside the one yard line. Cam Bright recovered for the Panthers and his 79 yard return flipped the field, ultimately yielding 3 points for the visitors who rode that margin out to a final of 20-10.
Offensive production in this game for Georgia Tech took a significant step backward from prior weeks. The Yellow Jackets totalled just 194 yards for the game. They were particularly weak on 3rd down, converting only 2 of 13. In the 1st half, James Graham was off target for the most part. He said later he felt hurried. Coach Geoff Collins praised Graham’s good attitude regarding the QB switch at halftime. Collins noted that Graham had a better focus when he re-entered the game following a new injury to Johnson on the fumble play.
James Graham was not happy with his QB play. “I felt like I was rushing everything.”
Tech’s offense, however, continued to struggle mightily in the 4th quarter. On 3 possessions following Pitt’s extension of the lead to 10, Tech ran a total of 7 plays gaining only 6 yards. One of those plays was an interception thrown by Graham on the first play of a fresh possession following a missed field goal by Pitt’s Kessman.On that play, down 10 points with nearly 9 minutes left, the Jackets went for the deep ball. Graham’s launch was badly off the mark. Pitt Safety Paris Ford brought it back to the Tech 41. Again Tech’s defense held and the Yellow Jackets regained possession after the Panthers’ punt and a fair catch by Ahmarean Brown at the Tech 11. And once more the offense sputtered, moving only 2 yards on 3 plays. Following Harvin’s 8th punt of the game the Panthers were able to run out the clock. Thus Pitt was never really challenged again, making that 10 point lead feel more like 20. Want another measure of dominance? The Panthers held the ball for over 11 minutes of the 4th quarter.
Pitt Coach Pat Narduzzi said “..we’ve got to learn not to turn the ball over”
Tech’s brightest offensive moment in the game came on a 51 yard TD pass from Graham to Ahmarean Brown early in the 2nd quarter. Beyond that, Tech moved only in fits and starts. Thus the halftime decision to pull Graham for Johnson who, coming off injury, had seen little action in the past several weeks.
Collins spoke with pride about how the Jackets’ defense held the Panthers to a field goal following Johnson’s fumble on the goal line. Tech defenders actually pushed Pitt backward 9 yards on that possession that began at the Tech 21. Collins also praised the positive attitude of Graham, who came back into the game when Tech regained rhe ball with the score now 20-10. Although Graham would later say he felt more composed during his second stint, the results were little different and the game ended with Pitt running out the clock.
Tech’s defense played quite well, especially in the 2nd half. They had a stated goal of producing more turnovers, and they succeeded. Pitt QB Pickett was intercepted twice in the 1st quarter. A fumble recovery was added to the total and Jerry Howard blocked a punt as well for Tech.
The kicking game was a bit inconsistent. Brenton King missed a field goal before making his next try. Kickoffs by Wells were a bit short and one did go out of bounds.
All in all, there was much to work on and Collins pledged that his team would begin that work on Sunday.
Georgia Tech travels to Virginia next week to take on the Cavaliers who will be looking to avenge last year’s overtime loss to Tech in Atlanta.
Patrick Conarro