There really isn’t a good way to introduce this week’s installment. It was a heartbreaking and spirit breaking loss for Georgia Tech, and the blame primarily lies on the defense. The Roof was leaking at a record pace on Saturday, and Pitt only punted once the entire game. So what went wrong? Well......

The Good

Q1 8:27 2nd and 10: Speed Option. Clinton Lynch absolutely blows up his man with an excellent cut block. Searcy’s block was less impressive, but good enough for Marshall to get the first down.

The Bad

Q1 13:12 2nd and 6: Rod Rook-Chungong is single blocked by a TE......and generates absolutely no pass rush. 16 yard completion for a first down.

Q1 11:37 2nd and 10: Justin Thomas gives to Dedrick Mills on the option, but he had numbers to the play side. The pitch could have gone a long way. The DE is playing back a bit to jam the OT, but he was still taking BB all the way.

Q2 15:00 3rd and 2: Keshun Freeman runs right by the RB leaking out on a wheel route. I’m not really sure what he thought was going to happen, but Pitt converts and eventually scores. The lack of discipline shown by this defense is infuriating, especially considering the vanilla style we play.

Q2 13:00 2nd and 8: PJ Davis gets juked hard.......Pitt scored a couple plays later.

Q2 1:39 1st and 10: Simmons does a great job getting pressure on an inside rush move, then Lance Austin drops a pick-6. This could have changed the tide in the game quickly. Instead Tech was forced to settle for 3 points to close out the half.

Q3 0:12 3rd and 7: Oh boy this play. There’s so much wrong with this play. First of all, Roof lines up Lawrence Austin in man coverage on a large TE. That’s a mismatch. Secondly, he drops the team’s best pass rusher into a shallow zone to......watch I guess? Neither he nor Chase Alford accomplish much of anything. If you’re going to drop players into a shallow zone, either have them drop further if nothing is there or position them in known throwing lanes. But that’s too difficult I guess. If they were both spies for the QB and RB, then that’s such a conservative play call it hurts. It’s not like they had Mike Vick at QB. Then there’s the refs. As much as I ragged on the Austin matchup, the TE shoves him 3 yards downfield. That’s blatant OPI, but it isn’t called. It could also be argued that Keshun Freeman was held on this play.

Little Big Player of the Game - Nobody

Clinton Lynch and Antonio Simmons were spectacular again, but I’m too disgusted with this game to give out this award this week.

Other Notes

• There is no reason for Antonio Simmons to still be 2nd String. He’s been running down plays from the backside in a way I haven’t seen since Attaochu. He’s the best pass rusher. Start him.
• We need Step Durham back in a bad way
• While Al Groh’s system was too complex, bringing in Ted Roof was a reactionary measure that has been a nightmare. Roof’s vanilla style is supposed to allow players to play loose and use their natural ability. This works great at places like Ohio State, but Georgia Tech needs something else. Not Groh, but also not Roof. Something in the middle. I haven’t really given much thought to Roof replacement candidates yet, but I that’s going to change in the coming weeks.
• I could go further into how Roof is misusing the specific personnel he has at DB, but I won’t
• Breakdowns along the OL are still happening, and it’s beyond frustrating. The backs have impressed me with how they’re making the most of it, however.
• Peterman was on fire, and is the exact kind of QB that will carve Roof up like a Thanksgiving turkey. Deadly accurate with good velocity on short routes.