Dogs Swat Tech Hard

Top-Ranked Georgia Makes Quick Work Of Jackets In 45-0 Romp

Georgia Tech’s 2021 season came to a merciful end on the last Saturday in November on their home field. The Bulldogs from Athens treated Tech’s allegedly progress-laden program like the proverbial fire hydrant, quickly extinguishing any faint hope the hosts had of actually contesting the game. Georgia’s dominance was so thorough that it seemed somewhat nonchalant.

And as has been their habit over the last 6 weeks, Tech’s myriad issues with basic execution and play-calling made the opponents’ task a good bit easier.

For the record, the Dogs gained 463 yards to Tech’s 166. The Yellow Jackets continued their recent habit of allowing a great day for the opposing QB. This week’s beneficiary was QB Stetson Bennett, who on this day became a passing threat in the long game. He threw for 255 yards on 14 completions on 20 attempts. Those catches included 4 for touchdowns, with no interceptions.

Tech did hold the Big Boys to 2 of 5 on third down, but that stat is deceiving. The Dogs gathered 21 first downs overall, but encountered only five third downs along the way. Meaning that…well…you get the picture. The Dogs beat up Tech, took their lunch money AND stuffed them in the locker.

Sadly, none of that was unexpected. Any Tech fans who were hoping to see some radical change in approach against the number one-ranked team were disappointed (again). Tech tried to play it straight up, and that did not go well (again). Tech averaged 2.8 yards per rush and 4.3 yards per pass. There was no significant scoring threat. Tech had no turnovers, but did incur four penalties for 38 yards. The Bulldogs had no flags. None.

On the defensive side, the Jackets continued to give up big plays– namely a 77 yard TD reception by TE Brock Bowers and a 59 yard scoring run by Kenny McIntosh. Such plays have become so common against Tech’s defense these last 8 games that it would be surprising not to see them. Meanwhile, the Yellow Jacket offensive line struggled again, opening only a few holes and providing QB Jordan Yates scant protection. It all looked too familiar to Tech fans.

The day following the game, Collins announced some staffing changes. He cut loose his OC Dave Patenaude and two defensive assisstants, Nate Burton and Jeff Popovich. Many were surprised that DC Andrew Thacker was retained, though Collins’s assertion that he needed new leadership “on both sides of the ball” hinted that Thacker may not be kept in the DC position going forward.

And Collins himself was thought to be vulnerable to quickly growing discontent among the fan base. He may have survived primarily due to an expensive buyout in his contract, one that goes down after next year. (See Paul Hewitt, Brian Gregory, etc. )

Collins’ early enthusiasm had veered toward irrational exuberance in the minds of some.  His repeated insistence that progress was being made– just not in the win column– had worn thin with fans a while back. The abysmal showing by Georgia Tech on national TV against Notre Dame last week, and again in this game vs. their nominal arch-rival, seemed to have given stronger voice to the largely heretofore tolerant Tech faithful.

And Collins’ assertion that if progress wasn’t being seen, then people weren’t looking hard enough did not help things. Fans have tired of the weekly recitations of “getting closer”, kids hurting, citing injuries as he pledges to not cite excuses, and most of all the highly repetitive displays of plain old poor play — pre-snap penalties and blown coverages. Those are things that are fixable. But deep in Year 3, they continue to haunt the Jackets’ play.

Nobody reasonably expected Tech to beat Notre Dame or Georgia this year. But all Tech fans expected a show of basic competence and some savvy– traits that would bring wins vs much of the ACC- a league that is down this year by any measure. Instead, Tech fans got a weekly dose of “hats off to [team name]”, following another loss to another seemingly beatable foe. Collins’ decision to ignore those expectations, and worse, to deride them in defense of progress of some other form that only he can see, is testimony to a persistent lack of awareness, especially surprising for a coach who seems hyper-tuned in to the PR aspect of his job otherwise.

All of which makes Tech fans wonder about the man who hired Collins, AD Todd Stansbury. Stansbury has elected for the time being to stand by his man. He has said so publicly, and over the past weekend he sent out an open letter to Tech fans and supporters stating his case. In his letter, Stansbury cites again a lessening of the “margin of error”. This phrasing doesn’t quite fit the situation. A big margin of error is good. Notre Dame has a large margin of error. Georgia has a huge margin of error. Georgia Tech has a very narrow margin of error, i.e. they can survive only a few small mistakes and still emerge victorious. I believe that Collins and Stansbury are citing margin of loss. That is, Tech is getting closer to winning more games. And they are, some weeks.

But three of Techs nine losses this year were by over 30 points. And one of their three wins was by under one score. But mainly, Tech football did not pass the “eyeball test” for most of the season, to most of the fans. These fans see repetitive, fixable mistakes, which make the gains in the weight room harder to appreciate. The overall point of the vaguer gains is to win more games. Right?

However you slice it, the last two games of Tech’s season showed a vast gulf between the Yellow Jackets and the true college football elite (to borrow a term). Recall that Tech beat UGA 5 years ago in Athens. And two years before that they also won over the Dogs. And the last time Tech went to South Bend, in 2015, they were favored to win.

So the task is not impossible. But successive routs in the form of shutouts have left the fan base wondering…if this is progress, is it forward?