We're Back in the Win Column, But Does That Give Us Reason for Confidence?

The biggest discussion we've all had since the end of the BC game is how much the win can be attributed to BC's athletic shortcomings as opposed to Tech's offensive and defensive success. I'll start this article by pointing out that the first area for concern is that our fans are clearly still very shaky on the team by showing such concern following a win. Keeping that in mind, what did we learn about the team this weekend?

The defense is more effective now than it was a month ago.

Maybe it's a bit of a premature statement, but honestly, it looked like folks were making plays that they weren't before (mostly in the front 7), and the types of things they were better at were the things that they were likely to be thinking too much about before. Also, we're getting some different personnel on the field that Groh wasn't too high on, but Kelly and Co. are. Not that it's showing potential to be a top-10 group, but watch for this unit to look better as we move on in the season.

Special Teams is a problem again.

Pretty self-explanatory here, we had some major issues in the kicking game. David Scully had a hip injury that CPJ didn't know about until he came hobbling off of the field after a kickoff, and Justin Moore had his issues as well (though those might be due to David Sims holding for him). Also, our return game wasn't quite what it has been to date this season. If there's a bright spot here right now, it's freshman punter Ryan Rodwell, who's done well ever since Sean Poole went down with an injury.

Vad Lee has some big plays in him.

On consecutive snaps in the 2nd Quarter, Lee scored on a 24-yard touchdown run and threw a 45 yard touchdown strike to Anthony Autry. The former saw Lee take a well-executed QB draw play and shake a few defenders to come away with the score, while the latter saw a beautifully thrown ball give Tech fans a refreshing sight after years of watching Josh Nesbitt and Tevin Washington throw. It's good knowing we're in good hands once Tevin's gone.

Our A-Backs have some big plays in them, too.

B.J. Bostic had a huge reception on Tech's first possession on a poorly thrown pass by Tevin, and Tony Zenon was dead to rights on a reception later in the game before turning it into a huge run down the sideline. People can say what they want about our recruiting and the amount of talent they think we have on our team, but I'll tell you right now, we do have some playmakers. Remember, guys like Bostic and Zenon had to replace Roddy Jones and Embry Peeples this year, and considering the job they've done, I like the potential of our offense in the coming years.

That said, folks, do you have confidence in this team? Should we be favored by 2.5 over BYU? What did you learn from our game this week?