Good morning, y’all. Ok, let me overstate the obvious, I’m in a much, much better place this year than I was a year ago. Cooler heads have prevailed, here at TackyToo and on the gridiron of our famous hate fest, the Georgia – Georgia Tech game. For my part, I’d like to say that the daily release of emotions that is represented by this blog has helped, along with the abstinence from mood altering intoxicants.
For Coach Richt’s part, I’d like to say that the threat of being publicly humiliated seems to bring out whatever coaching skills he has. This year’s return to the hot seat resulted in a 13-7 victory over the Gnats. Now I will say that any victory, even a truly ugly victory, is better than a poke in the eye with a carrot. It just seems that this year our victories have been so ugly that you felt the need to cover your eyes during parts of the game, lest you ultimately be stabbed by a carrot. The threat of loss is always on the surface, right up to the moment that you think that we are assured of pitching a shutout against the Gnats on their home turf. Six minutes from doing something that hadn’t been done in Bobby Dodd Stadium in forty something years and our lack of discipline jumps up and costs us fifteen yards and ultimately seven points.
As a fan it is maddening. Yes, these are 18 to 25 year olds and they are going to do dumb stuff. Given the option, I’d rather have the kid make the mistake than the coach, but still, could we just get through one game without shooting ourselves in the foot, or worse? Sadly Ganus’ miscue marred an otherwise stellar performance by our defense, so we’ll start there.
Defense:
The defense held Tech to 194 rushing yards, with just 82 yards through the air. I think Tech has been averaging over 400 yards a game, so I’d say we sussed them out pretty well. Overall the defense was lights out except on a couple of plays where we lost contain. Watching the Freshmen play is filling me with hope for the future. In fact, the future looks bright if Pruitt stays, God help us if he goes. Lorenzo Carter is a beast and is his own worst enemy at times. He does overplay his position at times, but he is a force to be reckoned with when he stays home. Jordan Jenkins is also a beast, it’s a shame he wasn’t healthy all season. He will certainly get a big payday next year. Malkom Parrish and Dominic Sanders added interceptions to further frustrate the Gnats. Thanks to the defense for the win.
Special teams:
Well, for the second straight week, our mixed bag of nuts played well and didn’t create any egregious errors. Reggie Davis looked like he’d been told to “do not touch the ball”, and he didn’t until Tech’s poor onside kickoff attempt at the end of the game. Marshall Morgan was 2 of 3 in the field goal department, either of which was the game winner, and Morgan made his extra point try. Brice Ramsey shared kicking duties again with Collin Barber. The kicking duo punted 5 times for a 36.8 yard average. A competent effort on special teams. It will be interesting to see if special teams can graduate from “don’t screw up”, to “make something good happen”.
Offense:
Greyson Lambert went the whole way as quarterback. Lambert was 18 of 25 for 224 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. Watching Greyson try to avoid Tech’s rush was painful. He absolutely has no lateral movement, sad to see in someone whose size lends itself to the pros.
Sony Michel is king of the universe. He played like a whirling dervish against a defense that is used to seeing runners. He finished the day with 149 yards rushing on 24 attempts and the opening touchdown. Sony’s touchdown should have been enough except for the defense kerfuffle.
Terry Godwin contributed 78 yards receiving, on 8 receptions. Not bad for a freshman.
Malcolm Mitchell had 3 receptions that netted 41 yards, with one of his catches a thing of beauty. Apparently Lambert feels ok just throwing the ball into coverage and letting Malcolm win the jump ball. Malcolm does not disappoint.
Time of possession was tilted in our favor, 31.25 minutes to 28.75. Tech recorded the most first downs 17-16, but we recovered the most turnovers 3-0.
Beating Tech can be the only thing that matters sometimes, and it will certainly go a long way towards being comfortable with, “wait until next year”.