Tech didn’t put up much of a fight in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. It was almost like they didn’t even try. Instead they continually made poor decisions, particularly by the coaching staff, secure with their recent raises. Let me count the ways...
Navy Jerseys – It’s not just Tech…outfitters like Nike and Russell want to trot out as many uniform variations as possible, throwing tradition to the wind. ESPN noted the last time Tech wore navy was in an ACC championship game…not mentioning they lost that game. The good thing…it will be a long time before they wear them again. The navy didn’t look bad, by why make a change after such a successful year in gold and white?
Passing? – LSU was one of the nation’s worst at defending the run. So what does Tech do? Come out passing!. After completing his first pass, Nesbitt started misfiring - continuously throwing behind receivers, and badly missing deep receivers more often than not. Nesbitt is not a passer. It did not appear Tech worked on the passing game, as they boasted. Needing multiple scores to come back, Nesbitt failed to get plays off quickly.
By passing incomplete on first and second down, Tech continually left themselves in first half third-and-long situations. Conversely, the option works best when run over and over. That’s what wore UGA down. Sure enough, Dwyer broke off a long run late in the game.
Reading the option – Nesbitt again proved to be a poor decision maker running the option, continually handing off to Dwyer when the middle was stuffed. It’s the OPTION!
Opening Kickoff Goes Out of Bounds – Tech shouldn’t have tried to be so fancy, particularly after out-of-bounds kickoffs contributed so mightily in the win over UGA. Hopefully next year Tech can upgrade the kicking game, which could show improvement in all areas.
Michael Johnson – again the “All American” played without a brain…jumping offsides and roughing the passer. His lone good play was made only because he was left unblocked.
Fake punt on the 20-yard line – snapping the ball to a defensive lineman! And trying this down several touchdowns. A very poor decision.
Chop block penalty – will this blocking scheme ever be successful? Johnson plans on “teaching” ACC refs at their off-season conference, but he’s going to run into non-conference refs several times a year…particularly on big bowl games.
Other mistakes were sins of commission, which weren’t as bad, except when coupled with the poor coaching decisions and mental errors. Muffing a punt happens. Failing to recover the onsides kick was poor…that’s why players line up ten yards away from the ball.
All these miscues allowed the game to get out of hand. Many times during the game there appeared to be no urgency on the Tech sidelines, as if it was Tech’s right to eventually win the game. Instead the score got worse and worse. While second-half touchdowns were needed, it may have been wiser to kick a few field goals instead of so often going for it on fourth and long, with Tech’s passing game in the shape it was in.
LSU faked a punt with nine minutes left. Fun, but needed? Les Miles gave a flimsy excuse. Coach Johnson did have a good response when quizzed about LSU’s fake: things like that have a way of coming back at them. LSU also went for it on fourth and goal. The continual bombs thrown by LSU were more a function of their inexperienced QB, but you can’t blame them when the receiver is wide open.
In future years the ball may not bounce Tech’s way quite so often. While the Jackets had chances to beat the Hokies and UVA, everything went right against Boston College, FSU, and UGA. Next year things will be much tougher: Miami, FSU, and UNC will continue to improve, and BC and Virginia Tech aren’t going away.
Tech had a great year, but there’s never an excuse to feel superior. Every team is only as good as its last game.
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