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A week after scoring 63 points on Bowling Green, Georgia Tech scored 66-31 in Louisville on Friday night. It was the fourth time in CCA history that a conference team scored 60 points or more in consecutive games, including the 2015 Tech Team.
"I think we can be even better, actually," said Searcy's back half. "There are many things that we can correct.
Five observations of Tech's victory.
Precision game
It has been a long time since Georgia Tech has played so offensive for such a long time. The offensive line went up front and put the defenders on the ground pulling. The B-backs ran to the center to break the wounds.
Quarterback TaQuon Marshall received the ball intelligently in the option and cut himself sharply to run in the back of the field. The defenders blocked the ground and got the advantage over the throws of the options. The ball was missed only once and only one penalty was inflicted, namely after a touchdown.
"I think one of the improvements we've made is to be on the same footing as an offense," said left guard Parker Braun. "So, not separated by groups of positions, I think we all think like one person, we're 11. It's really a big help."
The third game player of Tech of the game is an example. On the Tech course, which has nine games and 76 yards, Louisville showed the Jackets at least three different defensive fronts, but the Jackets had answers for each.
Braun and right guard Connor Hansen were shooting. Marshall used his explosiveness to distance the defenders. Back Qua Searcy took advantage of blocking the manuals to counter a counter option to ruin the Cardinals for a 25-yard gain. Tech did not finish third of the game before the ninth, when halfback Jordan Mason lost between Braun and Jahaziel Lee's center for a two-yard touchdown and a 21-0 lead. three seconds left in the first quarter.
"We were changing the locking systems by the fronts," said coach Paul Johnson. "When we had to launch, we did it. When they put everyone inside, we threw it out. And when the quarterback does that, it is difficult to play (against) if you do not make mistakes. "
Steve Hummer: All Tech makes his score, and gallop past Louisville
Great day for Marshall
Marshall was very effective in checking the line to change the game and making decisions in the option.
"Our quarterback was playing well and he was doing a good job allowing us to play the right games against the good fronts, and the kids played hard and executed," Johnson said.
Finding the right call for the many fronts that Louisville has demonstrated is an essential part of Tech's offensive success. Tech only played two games against 67 attempts.
"We did a good job at training this week and we knew that in the game they were going to throw a little bit of wrinkles in defense, so it's one of the things on which we worked all week, "said Marshall. "As long as we're all on the same page, everything would be fine, so I think that's part of it. "P. B." (Braun) does a good job giving me the calls and things. The tacklers do a good job of making everything vocal. So I think that's one of the main reasons we're always on the same page. "
Marshall has been at the top of his game in the last two games, first Bowling Green and now Louisville. Not so long ago, fans were calling for a backup, Tobias Oliver, and were offering enough criticism for Marshall to feel the need to remove his social media apps from his phone to separate them.
"I feel (physically) good," said Marshall, who injured his lower body in the third quarter and left the match but could have come back. "I know, when entering the game, I told the coach (Johnson), I said, this is probably the best I've felt since the first week. in fact very good.
What Paul Johnson said after the Louisville match
Take-away game
Tech's defense had an uneven performance. The Jackets fired, with a fourth stop, a turnover and three losses in the first three properties of Louisville, helping to consolidate a 21-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
However, defensive coordinator Nate Woody's unit lost 17 points in the last three half-trials to allow Louisville to return to 31-17 at half-time. It was enough, perhaps, to give Tech fans a sense of fear, as the teams did not fail to make their comeback in the second half on the Jackets. In this stretch, quarterback Jawon Pass of Louisville earned 10-for-15 for 148 yards and a touchdown.
But the Jackets have developed two games that change momentum, the first in the first round. Defensive Anree Saint-Amour continued the game after an unsuccessful pass, forcing a fumble of halfback Trey Smith recovered by linebacker Charlie Thomas, who was also chasing the match after being rushed. .
The turn-over allowed Tech to find the ball on the Louisville 36-meter line, setting Tech's second touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
In the third quarter, the Jackets were trying to reverse Louisville's momentum with its 17 points in the second quarter. After Tech made a touchdown on the starting possession, Saint-Amour hit the match again, releasing the ball from running back Javian Hawkins, who threw it to the ground in the third game of the following series. . Thomas, a first-year freshman who made his first start, recovered again to give the Jackets the ball on the Louisville 34.
One night when the offense was incendiary, two takeaways were ample and a glimpse of what Woody had been hired for in the state of Appalachia. Tech added a third with an interception of six by Juanyeh Thomas in the fourth quarter while the match was out of reach.
"That's what we hope for and what we do," said Saint-Amour, who collected six tackles, one sack, two forced fumbles and a quarter rushing for a new top performance. "That's what we retained as a defense."
How it happened: the story of the game from Tech's rout in Louisville
End of the woes of the road
The players were rather happy to end their series of six defeats on the road.
"Dude, that's good," said Saint-Amour. "It's good to finally win on the road."
Tech lost last season against Miami, Clemson, Virginia and Duke last season, then South Florida and Pittsburgh this season. Everyone had their own bitter taste. Four of the six – with the exception of Clemson and Duke – were results that, according to the players, could have been a technical victory.
"Honestly, what fascinates me the most is that we put an end to this series of defeats on the road," Searcy said. "I'm happy for the guys, happy for the team. It feels good. We just have to use it from now on. "
While the game was a rout, it became like that when Tech did not let go and created big games. Not keeping after the opponents was the end of the jackets throughout the series of defeats.
Tech's last win on the road took place in Georgia in November 2016.
"It was my second year," said Marshall, now senior. "The trip was long, just the little things that killed us on the road. And I think winning this victory shows everyone, including ourselves, that it can be done. "
N ° 1 kicker
It seems that Tech has found a kicker in Wesley Wells. The first-year player was called only once, but started a 40-yard test in the pipes in the second quarter. It was the first try of his career, and he also scored nine points. Prior to the Bowling Green match, Wells had won the three-way competition in a three-way competition, then won with a 9-on-9 performance in point-by-point testing of that game.
"He's my kind of kicker," said Johnson of Wells. "He's just clumsy and does not care. I do not think it bothers him. He is not too excited. He just goes a bit for his business and kicks. "
At this point, Tech had one out of four field trials, although two of the trials were at 50 and 52 yards.
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