Pitt Pummels Georgia Tech
On A Gray Day At Bobby Dodd Stadium, The Panthers Have Their Way With Geoff Collins’ Yellow Jackets, 52-21
Pat Narduzzi could hardly wait for this postgame handshake. The Pitt coach had just guided his Panthers to a dominating road win over Geoff Collins and Georgia Tech. He let the final seconds tick away as his troops were parked inside the Tech 5-yard line, so it must be said he brought a measure of mercy to the moment, even while beating Tech by 31 points. For the record, and unlike last December, the two coaches pulled off the handshake without pulling off anybody’s arms. But the bigger news this year was the collective backhanding that the Pitt Panthers gave Georgia Tech.
In the words of Tech CB Tre Swilling, the Jackets “laid an egg” Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Yes they did. A big ol’ square, painful egg which arrived on a day on which they had hoped–or more accurately, had expected–to build on their stirring win from just a week earlier. A victory over Pitt would have legitimized Tech’s growing self-esteem and would have marked them as a serious contender in the parity-soaked ACC Coastal division. Instead…they lost, and they lost badly. If this had been a prize fight it would have been stopped early in the 3rd quarter, when it seemed clear to many fans (as they were departing) that Tech would not be mounting any serious second half challenge. Such was the dominance of Narduzzi’s team.
This unexpectedly poor performance forces an uncomfortable question–has this Tech team indeed turned a corner, as the previous two games had led us to believe? Or perhaps we were all a bit hasty jumping onto the Tech bandwagon last week. This painful loss was marked by many old familiar miseries–turnovers, penalties at key moments that negated touchdowns, lack of a pass rush, a blocked kick, awkward time outs and a poor run game– and no notable intra-game adjustments. In short, the Yellow Jackets looked unprepared for the task at hand. Kinda like the week one loss to Northern Illinois, which we all thought was firmly in the rear view mirror.
When asked his take on the reasons behind this loss, Geoff Collins quickly cited “turnovers”. And certainly that was true. Tech QB Jeff Sims, primary author of the big win over UNC, had his first two passes of the game picked off. The first set up a quick Pitt TD, and the second one was returned for a score. After two possessions (four plays), Tech had gained 24 yards on two run plays and had thrown two passes, both intercepted. Very quickly, Collins and crew were down 14-0.
How would Tech respond to getting hit in the mouth? The answer? Not well. Yes, the Tech turnovers stopped. And yes, in Collins’ words, “they battled”. Yet the Pitt lead ballooned to 42-14 by halftime, despite some fairly decent, if sporadic, production from Sims and the Yellow Jacket offense, gaining 254 total yards in the half. But Tech was a meek 0 for 5 on third down conversions–and 0 for 2 on fourth down tries– including one right before halftime when Collins elected to forego a field goal attempt from the Pitt 4 yard line, staring up as he was at a 28 point halftime deficit. Those moments of missed opportunities on 3rd and 4th down are turnovers of a sort. They sap any useful productivity–that is, actual points–from a statistically “decent” performance. And they provided more help for Pitt QB Kenny Pickett– not that he needed it.
Whatever his future holds, Pickett will certainly miss playing against Georgia Tech. The Pitt senior QB beat Tech for the 4th straight time, oddly for the 3rd consecutive year in Atlanta, where he looks very comfortable. Tech’s new 3-3 defense did little to bother Pickett, who had almost unbelievable chunks of time to survey his multiple targets on a drop back. At times it looked as though we were watching a passing drill– no hitting/ no hurrying the QB!
And with all that time afforded, the Pitt receivers ran free. Employing all these resources at his disposal, Pickett strafed Tech’s defense for 300 passing yards in the first half on 17 of 25 throwing, and no picks. Those are nice totals for an entire game. Not surprisingly, Pitt went 4 of 4 in scoring from the red zone.
Tech’s defense sacked Pickett only once, on a stunt by CB Tre Swilling. Tech had only one other tackle for loss, by Jared Ivey. Those numbers stood out a week after the Jackets garnered eight sacks vs Sam Howell and UNC. In his post-game remarks, Geoff Collins offered “hats off” to Pittsburgh’s “really good” offensive line. And they are certainly good. But Tech’s defense was utterly unable to put any hurry on Pickett, and that trend persisted through the whole game.
From here, Tech will try to regroup as they head to Durham for a 12:30 kickoff against Duke. Duke is 3-2 and widely thought to be a beatable foe for the Jackets. But after this loss, Tech fans’ confidence is shaken. There are a lot more available seats on the Tech bandwagon than there were a week ago. Last week, Tech Coach Geoff Collins spoke of turning points for his evolving program, and pointed with pride at the apparent success of his ATL (above the line) system of readying multiple players to step up on a given Saturday to help the team succeed. On this day, however, Tech’s thin depth was laid bare, especially on the offensive line which had a difficult day. With Kenny Cooper out and Ryan Johnson apparently hobbled by injury, Tech had some new combinations on the line, which failed to impress the Panthers. Tech was never able to establish any effective running game (31 carries for 73 yards). Combined with the early deficit, this rendered Tech’s offense one-dimensional.
Likewise, on defense the lack of an effective pass rush, even with the occasional help from linebackers and defensive backs, provided a feast of opportunities for Pickett and company. They ate well.
There were some positives for the Jackets. Tech RB Jahmyr Gibbs looked spectacular making big plays from short passes, hauling in 6 for 125 yards. He also had a strong kick return. And punter David Shanahan had a good day. But those factors weren’t nearly enough to turn the tide.
Thus Georgia Tech falls to 1-2 in the ACC, 2-3 overall, with Duke on board next. From there, the Jackets have a bye week before traveling to take on Virginia. By the end of this month, the tone of the full season will be established.
After this Pitt game, we are no longer expecting success. We are back to hoping for success. Here’s to Hope.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports