Turnovers Cost Georgia Tech Football Vs Duke
In the preview I wrote for this game, I outlined Georgia Tech Football, their fumbling problem, and how winning the turnover battle by keeping the ball off the ground was critical. Man was I right.
I wish my article hadn’t aged as well but Tech had their second highest fumbling outing this year. While fumbling that much is awful, the worst thing about the fumbles were the circumstances. Georgia Tech Football had some problems on offense during the first 40 minutes, but fell apart with five minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
TaQuon Marshall and the Jackets were driving as they got to their own 49. Howard then carried the ball and fumbled. Unfortunate, but not the worst thing in the world as the defense has played well this game.
Unfortunately, the defense continued their soft zone and Daniel Jones exploited it, as it only took Duke four plays to score. The score was 14-7 now and although not ideal, you still could take the game into the fourth quarter by having a long drive that chews up the clock and gets you seven points.
The quarter started off well with Tech getting the ball at the 35 because the kickoff was out-of-bounds, but on the first play from scrimmage, Marshall fumbled. Then it only took five plays for Duke to score to make it 21-7. While the game wasn’t out of reach, a touchdown would be needed on this next drive to stay in it.
On the ensuing kickoff, Juanyeh Thomas returns the ball and instead of going down tries to run backwards and make a play. For an experienced player, not to take a fair catch and run backwards is a bad play but for a freshman like Thomas, I won’t hold it against him too much. That made it an easy score for Duke who made it 28-7 and put the game out of reach.
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This loss is devastating, but again I don’t think this loss lies fully on anyone, especially Paul Johnson. Tech gets a bye week this week and it couldn’t come at a better time. Their players need to regroup, and the coaching staff, especially the offense, need to get it together.
Georgia Tech will travel to Virginia Tech for their usual Thursday Night game on the 25th. As a reminder, Georgia Tech is 0-7 in their last seven matchups against Virginia Tech on a weeknight. It doesn’t look pretty for Georgia Tech right now but my way-too-optimistic preview will be out a couple of days before, detailing the matchup!