Georgia Tech Football: The good, the bad, and the ugly vs. Louisville

What are the takeaways from tonight's game vs. Louisville?

Georgia Tech was riding high and leading Louisville by a score of 28-13 in the second quarter. The offense was clicking, the defense got stops when needed, and Haynes King was playing well in his debut as the Yellow Jackets quarterback. 

Then the second half happened and everything seemed to fall apart for Georgia Tech. The offense came to a screeching halt and the defense looked worn down and was missing tackles. The Yellow Jackets fought hard to battle back in the second half but came up short in the first game of the Brent Key era. 

So what are the good, the bad, and the ugly to take away from this game tonight for Georgia Tech?

The Good

Haynes King was sharp in his Georgia Tech debut / Nathaniel Caudell

• King had a good debut in his first game as the starter. He finished 19-32 for 313 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding 63 yards on the ground. 
• Trey Cooley scored two first-half touchdowns against his former team
• Jamal Haynes is converting to running back after being a wide receiver and he showed explosiveness and burst in the first half. He finished with 11 carries for 51 yards. 
• Malik Rutherford hauled in five catches on seven targets for 85 yards, including a 55-yarder in the first half
• Clayton Powell-Lee had a great interception in the first half
• True freshman Eric Singleton Jr. had a touchdown catch on the final drive for Georgia Tech. 
• The second quarter was the best single quarter Georgia Tech has played in a long time. They scored on four straight drives and looked explosive on that side of the ball. Rutherford, Chase Lane, Haynes, and Cooley all made explosive plays for a team that was abysmal at creating them a year ago. 
• The defense held Louisville to going 1-11 on third down
• Only two penalties were committed
• This team battled back after a rough 1st quarter and 3rd quarter. 
• The defense forced Louisville to kick four field goals in six red zone attempts. 

The Bad

• The third-quarter play calling got too conservative. Georgia Tech was rolling in the second quarter and could not build off of that momentum at halftime. 
• The running game stalled in the second half. After getting what they wanted in the first half, the holes were no longer there for the ground game. 
• Two turnovers. King had a pass tipped on the very first drive and then later in the game, he was sacked and fumbled. Louisville scored on the next drive. 
• Injuries. Georgia Tech left the game with multiple guys banged up and Key provided no updates on them afterward. 
• The secondary had some busts that led to big plays from the Louisville offense

The Ugly

• A loss is always ugly, even if there are a few bright spots
• The tackling was horrific from the defense, especially in the second quarter. The defense looked gassed and gave up chunk plays in the second half. 
• The coaching in the second half. It was just Key's first game, but he was outcoached in the second half by Jeff Brohm tonight. The second-half adjustments were not there and some of the decision-making was puzzling. Georgia Tech might be very successful under Key, but it was not a great second-half performance. 
• The pass was terrible. Georgia Tech finished the game without getting a sack and hardly affected the quarterback 
• The explosive plays stopped in the second half
• Louisville averaged nearly seven yards per carry. 
• The long run after the Haynes King fumble. Georgia Tech's defense had to make a stand there and they could not and allowed a 74-yard touchdown.
• The linebacker play was subpar. 
• The defense as a whole has a lot to work on heading into next Saturday's game. 

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