Georgia Tech heads into Week Two with a lot to clean up and not much margin for error.
That was the blunt takeaway after Thursday night’s loss to Colorado, a game that left the Yellow Jackets with far more than a bad feeling. Even if Aidan Birr’s kick had gone through at the buzzer, the overall performance still would have felt wrong. The concern now is bigger than one opener; it’s about how quickly Georgia Tech can stop the slide before the season gets away from it.
The biggest problem starts up front. Georgia Tech’s offensive line was a mess against Colorado, and it now faces a Tennessee front that looks like an even steeper climb.
The highest-graded starting lineman for Tech posted a 28 PFF grade, which says plenty about how ugly that night was. That kind of performance cannot carry over if the Jackets want any chance of moving the ball on Saturday.
If the line doesn’t change dramatically, Georgia Tech could end up with fewer than 51 rushing yards against Tennessee. That would be a brutal outcome for a running back room that, on paper, should be getting a lot more out of the offense than it did in Week One.
Tennessee’s front seven makes the challenge even tougher. The Volunteers’ linebacker group got stronger when the NCAA reduced starter Arion Carter’s suspension to one game, and the unit also includes Amare Campbell, Jeremiah Telander, and Edwin Spillman.
Campbell and Telander were the only two to play against Furman, and they combined for 11 tackles. Tennessee’s defense as a whole held Furman to 221 total yards and just 43 passing yards, while Pro Football Network gave the Volunteers’ defensive line a 93.7 grade, third-best in the country behind Colorado and LSU.
Xavier Gilliam, a 6-foot-2, 305-pound defensive lineman, was especially disruptive with five tackles, three sacks, and one forced fumble. If Georgia Tech’s protection breaks down again, the offense could be in real trouble.
There’s also the issue of discipline. Coach Key said the team looked poorly coached, poorly disciplined, and soft, and the film backed that up.
The clock management was rough. The penalties piled up.
Georgia Tech had three straight false starts in the first half and back-to-back offside penalties on a Colorado extra point. The low point came when the Jackets lined up with only 10 players for a PAT, then had an 11th player sprint onto the field and literally hop over the ball as it was snapped.
Those are the kind of mistakes that scream unfinished business, and they should have been cleaned up before the season ever kicked off.
Not everything was bleak, though. Alberto Mendoza gave Georgia Tech a real spark in his first college start.
He finished 17-for-23 for 237 yards and earned the team’s highest PFF grade by a wide margin at 87.3. He looked calm, accurate, and in control, and he delivered several throws that stood out, including a third-and-12 strike to Jordan Allen.
The staff didn’t let him throw as often as he probably should have, and it would make sense to open things up more for him going forward. He also looked like a player who could handle a few designed runs.
In a game filled with problems, Mendoza was one of the few clear bright spots.
Tennessee also showed plenty in its opener, even if it came against an FCS opponent. True freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon went 13-for-17 for 226 yards and added 68 rushing yards, finishing with five total touchdowns, which is tied for the most in a season opener by an FBS freshman this century.
Desean Bishop, an All-SEC running back, added 97 yards on 14 carries and a touchdown. When the starters sat late in the third quarter, the backups kept rolling.
George MacIntyre completed 5 of 7 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown, while Justin Baker ripped off a 73-yard score in the fourth quarter. Mike Matthews was explosive too, catching four passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
That’s a lot of firepower for Georgia Tech to deal with, especially against a Tennessee team that also produced six sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Yes, it came against Furman, but the Volunteers looked like a team with enough talent to punish every weakness Georgia Tech showed last week.
So the question is whether this can turn around fast enough. The Jackets don’t need perfection on Saturday, but they do need something better: heart, execution, and real improvement. After what happened against Colorado, that’s the minimum.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Faces One Defining Problem Against Tennessee
Georgia Tech heads into its matchup with No. 18 Tennessee still sorting through the biggest issue that showed up against Colorado: whether the offensive line can hold up well enough to let the rest of the offense function. The Jackets have already made roster changes up front, and the staff is leaning on younger players to sharpen both the run game and pass protection before the stakes rise again.
Tae Harris has made the point plain, stressing that physical play at the line of scrimmage has to improve on both sides if Georgia Tech is going to be more than just competitive in a test like this one. Against a ranked opponent, the Yellow Jackets do not need perfection, but they do need more sturdiness up front than they showed last time out, and that remains the defining question as kickoff approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Tech Has A Line Of Scrimmage Problem Fans Cant Ignore
Georgia Techs trip to Colorado in Week 1 offered an early look at just how difficult life in the trenches could become for the Yellow Jackets this season. Colorado second-year lineman Chauncey Gooden came away from the opener with the Outland Trophys National Player of the Week honor after a performance that stood out on both sides of the line, and his ability to work at offensive guard and defensive line was part of what made the Buffaloes so hard to sort out.
For Georgia Tech, the bigger concern is less about one award than the broader problem it pointed to. Gooden became only the second two-way player in the Coach Prime era at Colorado, and Deion Sanders said he earned that chance by first taking over one side of the ball. That kind of versatility can stress an opponent in a hurry, and it is the sort of line-of-scrimmage edge the Yellow Jackets cannot afford to overlook as they move deeper into the season. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Faces Its First Real Test After That Explosive Opener
Georgia Tech opened its season with a gut-punch loss to Colorado, dropping a game that slipped away on a late touchdown. It was the kind of finish that leaves a team with a quick chance to respond, and now the Yellow Jackets get a much better read on themselves with Tennessee coming in after a dominant Week 1 win.
For Tennessee, this is the kind of early-season road check that can show whether the opener was a true statement or just a warm-up. DeSean Bishop looked ready for a bigger role right away, and after his strong first game, the Volunteers are expected to lean on him more heavily as the matchup gets tougher and Georgia Tech tries to turn a painful debut into something sturdier. [Read more 🡒]