In dire need of a win, Georgia Tech earned one Saturday over Kennesaw State at Bobby Dodd Stadium by a 45-17 score. All phases contributed to the resounding win over the Owls in the Yellow Jackets’ first game against a metro Atlanta opponent since 1928.
At the end of a week in which the Tech fan base roiled over the loss to Northern Illinois, the Jackets provided the best answer possible — a convincing win.
“I’m so proud to be the head coach here, and the vision, the belief, all of those things, I think you saw it on display (Saturday),” coach Geoff Collins said.
Five takeaways from the game:
1. Strong defensive lapses late again
Employing a variety of different fronts, benefiting from strong play from the likes of linebackers Charlie Thomas (two interceptions), Ayinde Eley (tied for game high with 10 tackles) and Quez Jackson (also 10 tackles), defensive Andrew Thacker’s defense was disruptive, defeated cut blocks and largely limited big plays out of Kennesaw State’s offense. In the locker room after the game, Collins had the team give Thacker and the offensive scout team a round of applause for their role in the victory.
“I thought Andrew Thacker called a great game as the defensive coordinator in this program,” Collins said.
Defensive end Jordan Domineck’s forced fumble, recovery and 70-yard return for a touchdown was a staggering example of preparation and superior athletic ability being brought to bear against the Owls.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
“We got overmatched in some areas,” KSU coach Brian Bohannon said. “I think it was pretty obvious.”
Through nine possessions and three quarters, the Jackets had given up three points and allowed 158 yards on 45 plays. But, the Owls hit on their two longest plays of the game — a 54-yard touchdown run off a pitch to slotback Iaan Cousin and a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Xavier Shepherd to slotback Adeolu Adeleke — on consecutive possessions. The second was initiated by a successful onside kick that enabled the Owls to retain possession. KSU gained 114 yards in the fourth quarter on 18 plays.
While in entirely different scenarios, the late scores were reminiscent to Collins of the game-winning touchdown drive surrendered to Northern Illinois a week ago.
While expressing his pride in the defense, Collins added that “what we told them in the locker room is, still have to finish the game the right way.”
2. Good and bad in passing game
Statistically speaking, the passing performance by quarterback Jordan Yates was superior to any effort by a Tech quarterback in the Collins tenure, all the more remarkable given that it was his debut as a starter. Yates was accurate, threw from the pocket and on the run, hit targets in stride and made smart decisions. He completed 17 of 23 passes for 254 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 224.1. Since the start of the 2019 season, ACC quarterbacks have thrown 20 or more passes and exceeded that rating only seven times, according to sports-reference.com.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Further, Yates spread the ball around, finding nine targets for completions, finding a particular connection with slot receiver Kyric McGowan (six catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns).
“Coach ‘P’ (offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude) called a great game,” Yates said. “I had plenty of time from the line up front. Guys like (McGowan) were getting open all day and the running backs did their thing, too, so it was a real team effort, for sure.”
It should be noted that Kennesaw State was physically overmatched. And, despite that, the Owls still sacked Yates three times and pressured him others. Particularly, right tackles Jordan Williams and Nick Pendley had some trouble with pass rushes on the edge. Saturday at Clemson, the Tigers’ defensive line coupled with the noise generated in Death Valley will be an entirely different challenge.
3. Considering Kennesaw State
In their first-ever game against a power-conference team, the Owls had perhaps the biggest audience they’ve had since they began play in 2015.
“I told them before we left the building this morning, ‘What are people going to say about Kennesaw State football after the game? Right?’ ” Bohannon said. “ ‘Win, lose, draw, but what are they going to say about how we compete? What are they going to say about how we play? What are they going to say about our fight?’ ”
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
As might be expected, with physically inferior players and a roster thinned by injury, the Owls came up short. But their brief rally in the fourth quarter, their occasional successes moving the ball and their refusal to back down spoke well of them. Kennesaw State players were likely lamenting their own contributions to the defeat in the form of four critical penalties, three turnovers and several mental errors. And, as Tech players and coaches rued last week in the loss to Northern Illinois, inches counted. On Domineck’s game-changing play, had Shepherd been able to successfully deal the ball to Cousin, it was a big play about to happen in a game that was only 7-0 at the time in Tech’s favor.
Bohannon, who left a job on Tech coach Paul Johnson’s staff to start the KSU program, wasn’t happy about the mistakes, caused to some degree by the fact that the injuries have prevented his team from even having normal practices. But he accepted the effort.
“I was proud of that, because it was tough sledding,” he said.
4. What happens next at quarterback
With Yates’ efficient play (albeit against an FCS team), the question now arises about how Collins and Patenaude will handle Sims’ return, whenever that is. Asked about that matter after the game, Collins answered by avoiding the question.
Sims has 11 starts to his credit, obvious talent and Patenaude has extolled his play in the preseason. Patenaude chalked up Sims’ rocky performance against Northern Illinois to him being tight and contrasted it with what he said was “elite” passing in practice.
But, on a team guided by the ethos that “competition is king,” Yates’ performance against Northern Illinois and Kennesaw State (a combined 29-for-41 for 389 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions) and strong work in practice would obviously also merit continued playing time, if not retention of the starting spot.
Both Sims and Yates have shown team-first attitudes, and Patenaude has raved about the unity among the quarterbacks. But, whether this coming week or later, he and Collins will have to make the weighty decision of how to parcel out playing time between the two.
5. What to make of the Jackets
After two games, there are reasons for Tech fans to be encouraged by what they’ve seen. The offense has a number of dynamic playmakers, starting with running back Jahmyr Gibbs and McGowan. The offensive line can be more consistent, but looks improved, particularly in pass protection.
Penalties are down from last year. Thomas is a player to watch at linebacker.
On the other hand, the Jackets’ two opponents thus far have been Northern Illinois, which on Saturday lost 50-43 at home to Wyoming, and Kennesaw State, which has been a top-25 FCS team but is not playing to its standards.
Tech looks like a more capable team than it has been in Collins’ first two seasons, but how much more? In the next three weeks, at No. 6 Clemson, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against North Carolina and at home against Pittsburgh, the Jackets should learn plenty.
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