As we head into our second bye week, what do we know and how can we regroup?
There goes another game where the defense played lights out and the offense couldn’t move the ball… said no Georgia Tech fan ever. With an injury still plaguing Haynes King and Jamal Haynes getting banged up in the second half, the offense had arguably the worst day of Brent Key’s head coaching career. The defense, however, looked incredible and had a day for the ages, even without Kyle Efford being there. We learned a lot about this team against Virginia Tech, and now we only have three games left of the season. As we head into a bye week where players can rest up and heal, here is what I think I know about this team.
Haynes and Haynes carry the offense and we can’t compete without them
To shoot it to you straight, Zach Pyron looked downright awful. There were so many plays where even announcers knew that if Haynes King was in, he would’ve made the throw or just escaped the pocket, whereas Pyron could not. I don’t know if it was mental, but Pyron looked decent initially, and then completely collapsed. He was 9/21 for 71 yards and one interception. His last five drives were
- 3 and out (-3 yards)
- 3 and out (1 yard)
- 3 and out (8 yards)
- 3 and out (1 yard)
- Interception
Zach Pyron has sat on the bench and been loyal to this program throughout the years, and I know we all appreciate him. However…
Freshman Aaron Philo showed he might be the future on the Flats.
Aaron Philo came in as a freshman, fresh off of beating Trevor Lawerence’s all-time passing yards record for the state of Georgia. He didn’t miss much of a beat on Saturday, being PFF’s third highest-graded freshman of the week with 78.3 points. After Pyron couldn’t produce anything, Philo showed great potential for a true freshman, going 11/26 for 184 yards and an average of 7.1 yards per play. He didn’t have a great performance, but he showed flashes of potential, which turned some heads.
The defense is solid and just put on one of the most impressive performances in years
I mean… where has this defense been all along? The Tech defense performed incredibly, even without leader Kyle Efford. Virginia Tech was held to 233 total yards, 11 first downs, a 13% third down conversion rate, and 103 rushing yards. What an amazing day by the defense. I would like to point out that Virginia Tech leads the ACC in rushing and has a very talented back in Tuten who was held to 80 yards on 17 carries. Dual-threat quarterback Kyron Drones was held to five yards on eight carries and had a horrendous QBR of 25.5. If we can start seeing this type of production from the defense and Tyler Santucci, we have hope for the future.
This bye week is needed for healing
This team feels like my fantasy football team if I had Christian McCaffery, Isiah Pachecho, and Chris Godwin. I know we can’t blame losses on injuries… but this week felt like a win we let slip away simply because of loss of depth. Let’s hope and pray that Haynes King will be ready, Jamal Haynes can get back to 100%, and Efford will be back to join this team to see if we can ruin Miami’s perfect season.
Miami is next on the schedule, and they are vulnerable
Speaking of Miami, they are next on the schedule for Homecoming at Bobby Dodd. It would be oh-so-sweet to ruin their undefeated season and humble the hurricanes. We’ll break this down more next week, but I can’t help but think that if we are healthy we have a shot.
We’re right there
I feel like in every game we have some good and some bad… but it never all meshes. It feels like we are on the cusp of figuring it out, and I believe we will. Key is finishing up his second year as head coach, and he is pulling together an amazing recruiting class and has some signature wins under his belt. If we can just learn to win consistently, this team could be headed for better days. Let’s enjoy this bye week with no stress, and get excited for homecoming weekend.
Go Jackets!