The season is already halfway over for Georgia Tech, and the Yellow Jackets are not having the kind of season they had hoped for at the beginning of the year.
After going 9-4, their best record since winning nine games in 2016, Georgia Tech was picked to finish 5th in the ACC preseason poll, there was confidence the defense was finally fixed, and there was a lot of buzz around the transfer additions for this team.
But fast forward through six games and not much has gone right for the Yellow Jackets. With that being said, here are three things I think about the team midway through the season and three things I know.
I think Georgia Tech is going to miss a bowl for the first time under Brent Key
When Georgia Tech lost to Colorado and Stanford, two games they were favored to win, it made the math difficult to get them to six wins.
With the team at 2-4, the outlook has not improved. If they had found a way to beat Virginia Tech, there was a realistic path
If they can beat Boston College, that gets them halfway there. Pitt is missing their starting quarterback, but Georgia Tech has not played well on the road and that is far from a guaranteed. Louisville, Clemson, Wake Forest, and Georgia will be big favorites over the Yellow Jackets.
Even if you did not consider Georgia Tech a playoff contender, a bowl game should still be an expectation, especially in a weak ACC.
I know the defense remains a major problem
When Brent Key hired Jason Semore to take over the defense, it was partially due to the style of defense that Semore brought. His defenses at Southern Miss and Marshall forced turnovers, sacked the quarterback, and created havoc.
Georgia Tech has not been able to do any of those things. The Yellow Jackets are tied for dead last in the country in turnovers forced, 110th in rushing defense, 85th in sacks (after they racked up five last week against Virginia Tech), and 71st in passing defense. They do rank 20th in tackles for loss, but not much has gone right for Georgia Tech.
Aside from Tawfiq Thomas, the defense line has been disappointing, the linebackers can't find any consistency, and the secondary gives up too many big plays. Brent Key is on his fourth defensive coordinator in four years and it still remains a big problem.
I think there are pieces to a talented offense there
I believe that Georgia Tech made a pretty big downgrade when it comes to offensive coordinator, but the offense has been better in the past few weeks and shown signs of life.
The biggest problem remains the offensive line, which is 80th in sacks allowed. There have been injuries and bad play contributing to the group up front, but in spite of all of that, Alberto Mendoza has managed to have a solid season, Georgia Tech is three deep at running back with Justice Haynes, Malachi Hosley, and Trelain Maddox, and the receiving trio of Jordan Allen, Dalen Penson, and Kevin Roche Jr can make plays.
If the pieces can come together over the next few games, that is Georgia Tech's best path to trying to reach a bowl game.
I know the offensive line continues to be an issue
It feels like beating a dead horse at this point, but there is not a lot of good to say about how Georgia Tech's offensive line is playing so far this season.
You can blame injuries to a certain degree. but the Yellow Jackets have still performed below expectations. Here are the PFF grades for Georgia Tech's offensive linemen this season:
- Kevin Peay Jr- 69.7 (8th overall on offense)
- Malachi Carney- 66.3 (10th overall on offense)
- Jordan Floyd- 56.2 (16th)
- Joseph Ionata- 54.7 (19th)
- Jameson Riggs- 52.4 (21st)
- Will Reed- 47.0 (23rd)
- Markell Samuel- 41.0 (25th)
- Ethan Mackenny- 29.0 (26th)
Peay Jr and Carney have been the top performers so far this season, but the dropoff from there is steep. This unit has been a big cause of Georgia Tech's problems and it is hard to see things getting better with six games to go.
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