Sadness Accrues: Wrecked

Everything in Atlanta went pretty much how you would expect.  Which is the saddest thing about it, really.  We had very low expectations and we met them, losing 63-17 to Georgia Tech.

As Coach said in the post-game, Georgia Tech did exactly what we expected them to do and the Falcons were unable to find any kind of response.  Georgia Tech scored a touchdown on every possession until their final one, moving flawlessly through the BG defense, which has trouble stopping a typical running attack and had no shot against the Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech ran the ball 49 times for 372 yards, an average of 7.6 yards per rush.  For good measure, they completed 5 of 7 passes for 160 yards.  That all totals out to an astounding 9.5 yards per offensive play. 

Simple as this.  We expected not to be able to stop them and we were 100% right.  Coach said it was a combination of poor tackling and sometimes having two guys in the space (which is the key) but both of them covering the same man.

BG played o-lineman Tim Blair on the defensive side of the ball to try and get some size in the middle of the line to help block the dive part of the triple option.  Depending on how the film looks, that could continue.

The offense again showed some promise, but was nowhere near good enough to turn the game into a shootout, which was really the only chance and is the only chance right now.  That's going to become really important in the @Toledo, WMU and @OU stretch upcoming.  All three teams are showing big attacks but some liabilities on defense.  If the Falcons lose all three, they have no shot at finishing 6-6.

The key issue is and was the line.  Doege was only sacked twice and once on a bad snap that he mishandled.   However, they were playing with a limited playbook.  They were working the short passing game with short drops to try and get Doege time.  Also, it didn't seem like Tech brought a lot of pressure in the first half, but maybe I mis-saw that.

The running game was another matter.  Even if you add the sacks back in, BG had 2.4 yards per carry on the ground.  Neither Denley or Clair was able to get anything going at all.  Rico Frye and Hargrove did better, but in general BG had no success running the ball.  The team's long run was 14 yards.

BG's starting line appeared the same, with the exception of Derek Downs starting at LT.  Lorenzo Taborn was a DNP.

BG had three turnovers.  Doege threw a pick in the end zone, and then was picked and fumbled on plays where he was under siege.  Both of those last two ended up in the end zone.

When he was throwing, Doege had a good day.  He completed 61% of his passes for 11 yards per completion, which is a pretty good place to be. 

He found Scotty Miller 10 times for 117, which is what needs to happen.  Wayne-Prather also had 7 catches for 70--he had only 2 coming in.  He spread the rest of the catches around pretty effectively.

Doege is a guy who can succeed in the MAC.  Right now, he's getting no support from the run game and no time to throw and he's still getting some production.

In the post-game, John Gibson said that he thought BG would abandon the run in the future and attempt to live by the pass.  It would be hard to argue with that idea, that's for sure.  Coach has intimated the same thing as well. 

Here's the thing with that.  It points to an ongoing issue for Coach Jinks that has not seemed to get better, and that's his ability to evaluate his players.

After Year One, he conceded that he didn't evaluate players effectively and set the team up for dramatic failure in the early games.  Thing is, same thing is happening now.  Coming in to the year, we expected to have a good line and a strong running game, which was going to be our identity.  Now, four games in, he's talking about being a passing team...and that we aren't getting the line play we need right now, or close.

Gibson mentioned that Doege isn't a game manager.  I think that was a really good point.  He seems to get into a rhythm and can be very effective but might be less effective when the run is setting up the pass.

Making things more difficult, Deric Phoutavong left the game with what looked like a serious injury and Quinton Morris took what looked to be a shot in the head but the TV reporter said it was a rib injury.  Lastly, Andrew Clair was having leg issues and didn't play much of the game.

Coach was asked about Phoutavong and said "we'll see."

Anyway, conference play begins in earnest with the rivalry game on Saturday.  It has hardly been a rivalry over the past few years, with the Rockets on a long winning streak.  I'll say this....for job security, this would be a great week for BG to exceed expectations and pull off what would be one of the bigger upsets in the series history. 

The next three are really tough and, as noted, against teams that are moving the ball.  However, they can also be scored against.  Conference play is ruthless.  Teams will put pressure on our line and on Doege.  We need to at least force them to blitz so that there's some open field for the short patterns.  The Falcons simply must find a way to protect Doege to have even a shot in the next three weeks.  If they do, we can move the ball and I think even open up some running lanes.  If not, it will be tough to score enough to win.