Georgia Tech Drops Season Opener to Louisville 39-34

I started watching tonight’s game right before Tech’s first touchdown drive in the second quarter. That whole quarter was a lot of fun, and I really thought Tech was playing well and had turned a corner. And if the rest of the game was like that quarter, I would have been right. Unfortunately, though, football is four quarters long, and Tech did not play four quarters of good football tonight, ultimately losing to Louisville with the backdoor cover 39-34.

Focusing for a second on the highs of the game, let’s talk about that second quarter. Everything on the offense just seemed to click. The offensive line was getting blocks to open up holes for the running backs. Because the running game was a threat, Haynes King was able to make some great throws. Louisville’s defense couldn’t do anything.

In every other quarter, though, it felt like the opposite. Tech came out in the second half, and it seemed like any run they tried was either stuffed at the line or ended because the running back ran into an offensive lineman. King was unable to make every play. And don’t even get me started on the defense. I joked about the corners needing to run some tackling drills this week on Twitter, but honestly, the whole defense needs them. Tackling was absolutely atrocious the entire night.

Injuries also played a key role in tonight’s loss. At times, Tech lost LaMiles Brooks, Jordan Williams, Sylvain Yondjouen, and Clayton Powell-Lee, arguably four of the best players on Tech’s roster. Each of those losses made a sizeable impact on Tech tonight.

All along, we said that tonight would provide us with a good opportunity to show us what Tech can do this season, and well, it doesn’t seem the most promising at this point. I knew that Tech wasn’t going to be flawless tonight, but to see such regression in tackling skills on defense is worrisome. Defense was actually something Tech wasn’t bad at last season, especially in the secondary. And they were just bad.

At this point, I’m just rambling, so I’m gonna call it a night. We are going to try to hop on a Twitter space tomorrow afternoon to dissect the game a little bit more, and then we’ll have a bit more analysis throughout the week, but for now, get some rest and get ready to enjoy the rest of what college football has to offer tomorrow.

Go Jackets!