What adjustments must Georgia Tech's defense make following loss to Louisville?
Georgia Tech made some critical stops in the red zone in the first half of the game vs. Louisville to keep the game within reach until the offense started clicking in the second quarter. After the offense started struggling, the defense started giving up big plays and the Cardinals mounted a comeback.
Louisville ran for 227 yards on the ground, averaging nearly seven yards per carry. Cardinals quarterback Jack Plummer was 18-31 for three touchdowns and was not sacked once.
Going forward, what are some adjustments that Georgia Tech needs to make on defense?
1. Tackling must improve
Georgia Tech's tackling must improve in the coming weeks
The tackling for the Georgia Tech defense was among some of the worst that you are going to see this season and the grades on PFF (Pro Football Focus) reflected that.
Georgia Tech had seven players finish with a tackling grade of below 50.0 and had seven players have at least a 20% missed tackle rate, which is very poor. It was clearly part of the game plan in the second half for the Cardinals to get the ball to their players in space and on the edge and force Georgia Tech to try and make tackles in space and it worked. Louisville did not take a ton of deep shots and on a lot of plays, just dumped it off to the edge and let their players force defenders to miss them.
Louisville ran for nearly seven yards per carry and poor tackling was a big reason for that. Teams usually make the biggest improvements from week one to week two and while the game might be against South Carolina State, the Yellow Jackets have to show better fundamentals and tackle better. There are plenty of teams left on the schedule that have as good or even better playmakers than Louisville does and they are likely to try the same kind of game plan as the Cardinals. If the tackling does not improve, you could see more results like last Friday night.
2. GT must find different ways to create pressure
One of the biggest worries that I had going into this game was the fact that Georgia Tech's pass rush was unproven and when playing a passing attack like Louisville's, you have to find ways to affect the quarterback and knock him off of his spot. The Yellow Jackets failed to do so and it cost them in the second half.
Georgia Tech did not record a sack in the entire game and rarely was Plummer ever under duress. There were times when Georgia Tech brought pressure with a defensive back and it worked, but they still failed to get the quarterback on the ground.
The Yellow Jackets have plenty of guys that have played in games but seem to be short on difference-makers when it comes to rushing the passer. Those guys can definitely improve as the season goes on, but defensive coordinator Andrew Thacker might need to find creative ways to get pressure on the quarterback. Plummer is a good quarterback, but Tech will face better ones throughout the year and if they can't create more pressure, you might see more results like the one last Friday.
3. The defensive line needs to make more of an impact
One of the strengths of the defense this season was supposed to be the defensive line and the potential depth they might have. It is just one game and Georgia Tech was playing a really good offensive line, but the defensive line for the Yellow Jackets made minimal impact in game one.
In terms of tackles, Kyle Kennard led the way with five tackles, but no other defensive lineman had more than three. There was not a sack recorded in the game and few pressures were put on the quarterback. There were no tackles for loss and the defensive line as a whole could not make an impact on the game.
Louisville has one of the better offensive lines in the conference and that played a big role on Friday night, but Georgia Tech has to play better up front.
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