Tech Handles SC State At Home Sweet Hyundai
Phantom Thunderstorms Postpone The Inevitable For Those Bulldogs From Orangeburg In 48-13 Tech Romp
Last week Georgia Tech Coach Brent Key took exception when a writer commented that the SC State game was “penciled in” as a win. Key quickly jumped in to say that nothing was penciled in and that every opponent demanded respect and focus. All true. Also true is that TechWorld had long ago penciled in this SC State game as a win.
In that respect, mission accomplished. Tech got the W, bringing their record to 1-1 for 2023. Beyond that, we really didn’t learn much. Many of the questions prompted by the close loss to Louisville in the first game still linger. Yes, the offense looked better. Yes, the defense made some meaningful plays. All good. But the truer tests lie ahead.
To be fair, a game like this offers only a little to gain– and of course, much to lose, as demonstrated in the previous Tech football administration (see The Citadel gane 2019). Not that South Carolina State is not well- known and respected. They are both, and Coach Oliver Pough has a strong track record to prove it–not to mention some impressive alumni who made their mark in the NFL, including Harry Carson and Deacon Jones among others. But the Bulldogs live in a different stratum of the football world, with far fewer resources than Tech, and so they accept the challenge, and the reported $400 k, to come to Atlanta to face the Jackets.
Brent Key’s first challenge was to rally the boys for the 1pm home opener. Mother Nature then confounded things with multiple reports of “lightning in the area”, which led to a string of delays ultimately pushing kickoff back almost 2 hours. Once the skies cleared, Tech got to work on delivering the win.
Like the Louisville game though, there were significant miscues, including a fumble on the goal line by Trey Cooley and another missed FG by Gavin Stewart that together cost Tech 10 first half points. RB Jamal Haynes turned in a long run on Tech’s final possession to set up another score to go up 28-6 at the half .
Armed with that lead and some high volume coach talk at halftime, Tech was able to use this game to its larger purpose, including getting some playing time in for some subs. One significant new face was kicker Aidan Birr, who replaced Stewart for two field goal tries in the 2nd half, converting both and setting up apparent open competition for that job.
Back-up QB Zach Pyron ran the 4th quarter offense capably. And the receiver group and running backs rotated throughout the game to good effect.
Putting all that toward the issue of what’s next still leaves a question. Bill Parcells believed that confidence is born only of demonstrated ability. So as Tech next takes on a talented Ole Miss team, what good did the SC State game do? It’s a reasonable question, and you could even make the argument that Tech plays the role of ” SC State” to Ole Miss this week. After all, Georgia Tech hasn’t had a winning record since 2018. And they lost 42-0 to the Rebels last year in Atlanta, in a game that was so lopsided that some wondered if the “Q” word has shown up on the Tech side. Lane Kiffin did call off the Rebs late, but he later invoked Tech’s successful triple option heritage in reference this Rebels’ dominant running game when describing the thrashing his team had just inflicted on the Jackets. So if the Rebels are caught overlooking Tech, it would not be a shock.
But this year’s Tech team has a very different feel. They are more disciplined….and less penalized. They play hard and largely so far, they play together. With all that , they are 18 point underdogs to Ole Miss.
Tech’s biggest weaknesses this year so far have been on defense– quarterback pressure and good tackling have been missing from the Jackets’ D. If that doesn’t change on Saturday, Georgia Tech could in for another lopsided loss to the Rebels. Brent Key declined to give specifics on what changes the Tech staff plans to upgrade the defensive performance — a defense that so far has produced no sacks and four tackles- for -loss this year. That doesn’t bode well for Georgia Tech, but if they can bother the Rebs a bit, it could be a ballgame. The full story will be told on Saturday night in the Land of Faulkner.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com
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