⚡ CFB Dashboard

Georgia Tech enters their game against Mercer with a 0-2 record, and the trainers are being kept busy with injuries incurred in a physical game against Tennessee Saturday night. It was not a surprise when Coach Brent Key opened his press conference saying the goal for the team this Saturday is to go 1-0. "There's zero justification for a loss." Based on how the team has played in the first two games it is hard to have expectations for this Saturday. "We played so poorly as a football team in the first game." Key did note that the style of play part was better against Tennessee but that doesn't take away the fact that they lost the football game. The team is still searching for their identity.  What did Tech do better against Tennessee? We had much better emotional and competitive discipline" The team played hard and they didn't quit. That will always give you a chance to win. Key also saw improvement up front on both sides of the line of scrimmage. Naturally, Key doesn't see them being where they need to be.  Tennessee was a cat and mouse game with both teams making adjustments. "Midway through the second quarter and the beginning of the second half we made some good adjustments offense and defense." Offensively the Jackets made 54% of their third down conversions and on second and long they were 75% efficient. The offense went from 9 pre snap penalties in game one to none in game two. There were only 4 total penalties but those four came at critical times. Drive starters and first downs on offense were the two areas that Key sees the need to improve the most. He is looking for more production and execution on first down. Being able to score touchdowns in the red area is another area of focus.  The Jackets also had chances to put points on the board in the final minutes of the first two games and came away empty. "That was a huge turning point in the football game." The pick six was described by Key as a self-defeating error. The Jackets blew a chance to be down only one score at the half. Turnovers have become a bugaboo. The two interceptions put the Jackets down three turnovers on the season. This doesn't count special teams plays that included the blocked punt and the chance to recover the Tennessee muffed punt return. "We got to take advantage of those opportunities." Defending and creating explosive plays is another area of concern. Allowing explosive run plays spelled defeat in the Tennessee game. The offense failed to push the ball downfield to create space. The offense needs to create more explosives. "Our goal is one out of eight plays which is 12 1/2%." Saturday the offense finished at 8%. "It's not close to what our goal is for the week."  Turning back to the defense Key noted getting off the field on third down was an issue. "We had six runs on third down that led to first downs." That was made worse by a holding penalty and a face mask penalty. "We have to do a better job with our hands." With all this being said, Key saw better play on the defensive line especially from Tawfiq Thomas. "He played a hell of a game."      The bottom line the team needs to do a better job with the critical mistakes, situational play and being able to stop the run. The inability to stop the run led to 6 explosives. "Three of the six came down to one person making the play. Not being able to get off the block and the running backs ability led to the explosive plays.      "That was pretty black and white where the game was," Key said. These were all things that Key communicated to the team on Monday.