Not exactly a game that had me on the edge of my seat most of the night. Georgia Tech handed us the game in the first half and we were competent enough to let them do it.
OK, we certainly forced the issue by playing well offensively for half the game. Jordan Jefferson had a lights-out first half, going 11 for 12 for over 100 yards on the half. The coaches made it easy on him by keeping him out of 3rd and long and calling a fair bit of safe throws.
The story though was the defense. They were outstanding. It didn't matter who we had in the game. Everyone played well. After a couple of productive drives for Georgia Tech that did not result in a lot of points, the defense just clamped down and didn't allow Georgia Tech to do anything at all. It was a great way for a much maligned defense and a much maligned defensive coaching staff to end the season.
And then of course Georgia Tech muffed a punt inside their own 20 and ran a very ill-advised fake punt from deep in their own territory. Those two plays virtually handed us the game.
Jefferson was outstanding in the first half, but came back to earth in the second. He wasn't bad, but he reminded me that he was a true freshman making only his 2nd career start. The offense sputtered for most of the second half, scoring a total of 3 points. Even when we had 1st and goal from the 1 yard line, we did not score.
It's too bad that beautiful bomb to Lafell got called back.
Jefferson has a really promising future for this team. Everyone is talking about Russell Shepard, but I believe we're going to see a Jefferson-Shepard 1-2 punch next year.
One thing that disappointed me was our unwillingness to put in subs on offense. We substituted liberally on defense, but I'm pretty sure that Ciron Black and Joseph Barksdale played every offensive snap, and Herman Johnson didn't come out until the very end.
I would like to comment on how awful the broadcast was. First, the announcers were buffoons. They were the worst type of football announcers. They were the football announcers who do not respect the fans. They spent the entire broadcast making fun of each other, wearing silly hats, pulling silly gags, and generally being obnoxious and trying to make the broadcast into a comedy. It seemed like most of the time, they weren't even talking about the game.
Second, you could not hear anything going on on the field. All you could hear were the announcers and the band. You couldn't hear cadence. You couldn't hear hits. You couldn't hear referees' whistles. You could barely hear any crowd noise. It was like watching a football game on television in someone else's living room when they have the game on mute while they cut up with each other.
I would just as soon never have this particular crew work an LSU game ever again.