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Three weeks into the Geoff Collins era at Georgia Tech and we’ve seen three different results. The journey to these results have a very similar feel to them and are indicative of a new coach finding his way through a new roster.
After getting thrown into the fire versus the Clemson Tigers for their first loss, the team came home to face the South Florida Bulls and held on for Collins’ first win. There you have it: a loss in a game nobody gave you a chance in and a win a bunch of people thought you could grab.
The game against The Citadel Bulldogs came with great anticipation for win number two. Tech would fall in overtime to bring their season record to 1-2 and there was plenty of blame to go around.
The team had few struggles on the day, some of which have popped up all season and some we haven’t seen yet. In his opening statement after the game, coach Collins pointed one out specifically:
“The thing I’m most disappointed in and I blame myself was the penalties. We played two games and only had four penalties and then there was times today some frustration set in some chipiness set in and we cost ourselves early in the game.”
The Jackets racked up eight penalties for 80 yards and a few of them they definitely want back. They gave up 320 yards on the ground, mostly due to the option and covering the pitch man.
Georgia Tech has now given up an average of 365.5 rushing yards in two losses and only 92 in their lone win. They’ve yet to allow a 300 yard passer on the season and that includes Heisman candidate Trevor Lawrence.
Coach Collins understands he needs to find some things for this team to build upon. A tough loss in a game you more than likely should’ve won feels terrible but you can learn from it, as Collins alluded to after the game:
“We’re building a program. The transition that we’ve gone through, which no doubt is monumental but every single day is a new experience to get better. This is just one of those times; a bump in the road that we’ve got to overcome. We’re going into a bye week and we will get those things rectified very quickly.”
The Yellow Jackets will dive into the rest of their ACC schedule on October 5th against North Carolina and they will need to establish an identity for this season. They will have to play better against the run in particular, seeing as how every team they face in conference averages 150 yards or better on the ground.
Tech Notes:
Quarterback Tobias Oliver had 27 yards passing and 93 yards rushing versus The Citadel. What’s more impressive is he returned two kicks for 96 yards, nearly breaking one for a touchdown.
The Yellow Jackets next game will be on Saturday September 28th versus Collins’ former team, the Temple Owls.
Collins had a record of 15-10 in two seasons at Temple with a 1-1 record in two Bowl games.
