Georgia Tech Football: Grading the Offense in Win Against Duke

How did Georgia Tech's offense do in their game vs Duke on Saturday?

Georgia Tech earned another win on Saturday night over Duke in overtime and while there is still plenty to work on for both sides of the ball, it is better to point these things out after a win. 

The offense had moments in this game where they played well, but their inability to score touchdowns in the red zone is something that has to get fixed. The running game took a minor step back, the passing attack looked much better than it did last week vs Pitt, and the offensive line was able to survive some injuries and players being out. 

So how did each unit grade out for the game yesterday?

Quarterback: B+

Jeff Sims had a much better performance against Duke this week.  / Georgia Tech Athletics

This was a better all-around game from Sims than he had against Pittsburgh. He did not make bad or turnover-worthy decisions that would have put the team in a bad position and he was effective on both the ground and through the air. 

Sims was 23-34 for 227 yards and two touchdowns. His best throw of the day would be the touchdown to Leo Blackburn in the first half. I would like to see his average yards per attempt go up from 6.4 though. 

Where I think Sims was most effective against Duke was on the ground. He finished with 95 yards on 17 carries and was a constant threat when he was outside of the pocket. The designed run calls worked well enough and Sims put together a solid outing as the leader of the offense. 

Running Backs: C

Georgia Tech's running backs had an uneventful day vs Duke  / Georgia Tech Athletics

After having an incredible game vs Pitt last week, Hassan Hall did not have a repeat performance. There were no explosive plays from Hall or Dontae Smith and neither of them did much in the passing game, despite Hall having five targets and four catches. 

Hall finished the game with 17 carries for 70 yards and four catches for six yards. Smith had two carries for 17 yards. Dylan McDuffie did not see a carry in this game. 

This group will need to have better performances in the coming weeks and I am confident they will bounce back. 

Wide Receivers and Tight Ends: B

The Georgia Tech wide receivers had their best game of the year against Duke / Georgia Tech Athletics

This was a good game for the Georgia Tech receivers, especially considering that veteran Malachi Carter did not play. This group has not always been the most consistent throughout the year, but they showed up today. 

Nate McCollum caught eight passes for over 100 yards, but he may have not even been the highlight of this group. Leo Blackburn finally saw his first collegiate action and he finished the day with three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. The highlight was of course his tremendous 37-yard touchdown catch. 

Ryan King had flashes and caught three passes for 29 yards. James Blackstrain got the start in place of Carter but did not record a catch. E.J. Jenkins only caught two passes. Dylan Leonard had two catches for 29 yards. The tight end group is still needing to be more consistent and make more plays. 

Offensive Line: B-

This group is going to get a slight pass due to the injuries to guys like Jordan Williams and the absence of their other starter, right guard Joe Fusile. The line only allowed one sack, which was an improvement from last week, but the run blocking was still not great and they did allow five tackles for oss. It is tough to put together a competent unit when there are multiple guys missing and hopefully, those guys can come back and be ready for the stretch run of the season. 

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