ATLANTA, GA – In a matter of seconds, Saturday’s ACC Coastal division showdown between Georgia Tech (3-2, 1-2) and Miami (4-0, 1-0) was decidedly one-sided.

The Yellow Jackets started their 4^th drive of the game from their own 25, down 14-7, after trading touchdowns with Miami on each team’s previous possession.  It was Tech’s turn to respond. Two plays later, touchdown.

Except it was the Hurricanes who scored. A strip sack by defensive lineman Trent Harris led to a scoop and score by linebacker Shaquille Quarterman, and Miami’s defense quickly flexed the Hurricanes’ lead to 21-7.

Unfortunately, a feeling of déjà vu set in two Tech offensive plays later.  Another backfield hit on quarterback Justin Thomas, this time on a routine option pitch, led immediately to another Hurricanes’ defensive touchdown.

In less than 1 minute, both momentum and the scoreboard were firmly in Miami’s favor.  Ultimately the Jackets fell 35-21, the two touchdown difference pronounced by Tech’s disastrous minute in the 2^nd quarter.

Said head coach Paul Johnson, “There are very few teams good enough to turn the ball over twice for touchdowns and come back and win the game.”  His point, while not necessarily prophetic, is that Georgia Tech is not one of those teams.

Despite the 28-7 deficit in the 2^nd quarter, the Jackets closed the lead to 28-21 with 5 minutes to go in the 3^rd quarter. Running back Dedrick Mills continued a strong freshman campaign with a trio of touchdowns Saturday afternoon, one of which came leaking out of the backfield for his first career touchdown catch.  He finished the day 1 yard shy of his first career 100-yard rushing game.

Mills final touchdown proved to be Tech’s last, though the Jackets had their chances with two 4^th quarter drives ending in Miami territory.

On the heels of back-to-back losses to ACC foes early in the season, it becomes commonplace to speculate about how the 2016 version of the Jackets will respond.  Optimistically, it could look like 2014.  Pessimistically, it could look like 2015.  Thankfully, it is not senior captain Pat Gamble’s wont to think about anything other than the next game.

“[Today’s game] is over now,” said Gamble.  “It’s in the past and we move on to the next game. We got a lot more games to play and [we] all know how the Coastal could work out.  So we just got to keep playing and get better every week.  We can’t take a week off or take a day off.”

Up next is a return visit to Pittsburgh, where two years ago the Jackets were the beneficiaries of another bizarre sequence of turnovers.  The Panthers fumbled six times during their Homecoming game, and Tech took advantage and cruised to a 56-28 victory.

And wouldn’t you know – next Saturday is Homecoming 2016 for the Panthers.

ATLANTA, GA – Thursday night’s match-up between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and #5 Clemson Tigers will not likely be archived in ESPN’s ‘Instant Classic’ line-up.  In fact, for the Jackets, the night might be one they just as soon erase immediately.

From the first series of the game onward, the Tigers proved worthy of their #5 ranking nationally, while the Jackets proved there is still a long road to hoe before reentering the nation’s conscience as a viable threat to knock off one of the big boys.

Clemson moved with ease on the opening series, capping the drive with a 4-yard corner fade from Deshaun Watson to Mike Williams.  The touchdown strike gave the Tigers both the lead and early momentum less than 4 minutes into the game.  The 7 points proved almost enough to win the game and the momentum carried forward for almost the entirety of the game’s 60 minutes.

The dichotomy of Georgia Tech offensive fortunes could hardly have been more pronounced.  From the Jackets’ opening drive, one that yielded -6 net yards, Tech’s offense struggled to perform with any semblance of cohesion. Their second drive yielded similar fortunes with -7 net yards.

On the whole in the first half the Jackets mustered 22 total yards, 14 of which came on the final play of the first half with the Tigers in a prevent defense.  Compare those 22 total yards to Clemson’s 23 total points and 347 total yards, and it is tough to imagine a more disheartening performance on a national stage.

Head coach Paul Johnson chose a few near synonymous adjectives to describe the Jackets’ offensive performance.  “Very disappointed with our performance.  It comes back to me and I’ll take credit for some of it,” he said.  “Offensively the first half was embarrassing.  That’s ridiculous.  They’ve got a good defensive football team.  They’ve got some good players.  But it didn’t seem like we could get in their way.”

Tech won the second half on the scoreboard 7-3.  In light of their first half performance, the final score yielded a relatively respectable final score of 26-7 in the Tigers favor, though the Tigers hardly ceded the alpha-role throughout.

Still, Johnson drew some positives.  “I thought the second half was a little better.  We were able to hold the ball a little more.  We never could get anything really going on offense.  The defense played much better in the second half and we got them off the field.  So I saw some things that were encouraging by the defense, and the offense to say I’m disappointed would be an understatement.  I’m just really frustrated with that right now.”

The Jackets follow a shortened Clemson game week with a two-day extended rest break leading up to their first divisional contest next weekend versus Miami.  Despite the Jackets’ extra time, the Hurricanes have even more as they come off a bye week.

Tech still controls its own ACC destiny, and next Saturday at 12pm at Bobby Dodd Stadium could go a long way in determining what the future holds.

ATLANTA, GA - The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-0, 1-0) showed the strongest sign yet that they have not taken the fresh start of the 2016 season for granted by decisively dismantling Vanderbilt with a 38-7 victory at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday.

The game against the Commodores (1-2, 0-1) started characteristically under center in a balanced formation with A-back Qua Searcy (#1) in pre-snap motion toward the nearside for what looked like an often anticipated toss sweep play. This misdirection put both Vanderbilt safeties completely out of position for the true nature of the play. After a quick play-action by Justin Thomas (#5), the quarterback's five-step drop was timed perfectly with Marcus Marshall's (#34) wheel route from the B-back position; leaving the leading rusher from the 2015 season matched up with a linebacker that was clearly disadvantaged in both position and speed. After two key blocks by wide receiver Brad Stewart (#83) and A-back J.J. Green (#28) near midfield, Marshall ran into the end-zone untouched in just twelve seconds after the first snap by Tech's offense with a 81-yard touchdown reception.

After revealing that something in Vanderbilt's tape led to the first playcall, Head Coach Paul Johnson simply elaborated to curious reporters, "I knew they would have to have a linebacker on him on the wheel route and he's pretty fast."

While Tech scored both touchdowns and gained 145 total yards in their first two drives, it was interrupted by Vanderbilt's own methodical 11-play 75-yard touchdown drive ending with a 10-yard pass from Vanderbilt's QB Kyle Shurmur that preserved some uncertainty about the defense in a generally encouraged fanbase.

Head Coach Paul Johnson seemed to share the sentiment, "sometimes it's hard to watch but the end result is pretty good. A lot of bend and... [pause] really frustrated at that first drive. I was really frustrated." Still, Johnson praised the defense which, in retrospect, limited Shurmur to that lone scoring drive. "But, just like the prior two games, we've done a nice job keeping them out of the end-zone and that's what really counts."

The quick start by the offense was stalled in the second quarter with a myriad of penalties, including two for illegal blocks that limited the Jackets to a single field goal and just a 10-point lead going into the locker rooms at halftime.

What sparked Tech's eventual domination and win was a 4th-and-1 stop by Freshman defensive tackle Brandon Adams (#90) on Tech's own 28 during Vanderbilt's return drive from halftime. "We went for it on fourth down and didn't get it. From a momentum standpoint, there was still a lot of time left in the game but that was a shift in momentum in this ballgame. We couldn't get them off the field, and they go down and score," said Vanderbilt's coach Derek Mason.

Two touchdown drives punctuated by power runs from Freshman B-back Dedrick Mills (#26) as well as a welcome 9-yard sack by Brentavious Glanton (#97) helped Tech build a 31-7 lead on the Commodores in the 3rd quarter. This was enough to give some of the starters a break as the Jackets begin to mentally and physically prepare for a short week before a pivotal conference game against Clemson.

From the sound of it, even though Tech is 3-0 to start the season, the team is hungry for more and know they can play better. "I was talking to the guys last night saying I need 100 yards. I hadn't had 100 in about 14 games and I see right here that I was seven yards short so I'm still upset about that," Justin Thomas said disappointedly. "We've just got to keep getting better each week and not have any setbacks."

Tech fans will definitely have a better idea of what kind of progress the team has made as the competition heats up in the next few weeks. The slate starts with a Thursday night primetime showdown against conference rival and fifth ranked Clemson Tigers on the Flats at 7:30 PM ET.