Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt Post-Game Thoughts

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(Jonathan Dwyer had himself a night, as they say, in Nashville.)

As promised. I'll be back with a full post-game column soon.

We'll start with the positives.

• 56 points, 597 yards, 40:20 time of possession, 407 rushing yards. It does not get much more positive than that.
• Jonathan Dwyer was in what last year was late-season form again Saturday. If he's hitting his stride again, watch out.
  
• Anyone who says Josh Nesbitt still isn't a threat to pass is lying. He might not be blowing anyone away, but Georgia Tech is now just as capable of big plays through the air as on the ground. In fact, their two longest plays Saturday night came through the air.
  
• The defense adjusted in a big way. After a horrendous first half and an 81-yard drive to start the second, Vanderbilt never sniffed an offensive rhythm again. MacKenzi Adams was pressured, and strong team tackling forced two fumbles (a third came on special teams).
• The Jackets took advantage of all three fumbles (their only turnovers) with touchdowns. That's opportunistic, and it's something Tech has been good at all year.
  
• The backups got some meaningful field time, which is good if say, Josh Nesbitt went down, and Jaybo Shaw needed to step in.
  

Now the negatives, of which there were a few.

• Tech's defense can do its little Jekyll-and-Hyde routine against Vanderbilt or Mississippi State, but one of these days, it's going to hurt them. I said it at halftime: That kind of defensive performance (the first half) would be a deathblow against a BCS opponent. Just something to ponder.
  
• Jacket defenders are still quite poor at tackling in the open field. They compensate by swarming well, but either the former needs to improve or the latter needs to become more common. Or both, I guess.
  
• The half-time adjustments seem to work well, but why can't they come on the sideline? One of the benefits of having an offense that holds the ball for almost two-thirds of every game is that it gives the defense time not only to rest but to think things over and adjust. In-game adjustment needs to get better.
  
• I'll mention the fumble near the goal line, mostly because honestly, I can't find many real negatives in the way the offense played. They were what they've been for the last month-plus: a well-oiled machine.
  

I'll flush this out in more detail in my column, but while some might see the above lists as a bit homerrific, if you look at this game, it's a textbook upset-gone-bad.

We're accustomed to seeing those sorts of games bogged down in defense in the first half, as the better team's offense tries to find a rhythm, then pulls away in the second half. This night, it was just the opposite.

But at the end of the day, Tech clamped down, asserted itself, and left no doubt as to which team was clearly better than the other.

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