Canes lose. I lose my wager on Canes at pick-em. Still, it's absolutely breathtaking to watch an option offense perform like that. It reminds me why I've wagered and won so many bets on them over the decades, including this year. Just tragic the simpleton mindset took over college football and the offense was all but phased out. Give a top program that offense and they would still churn out one devastating victory after another, while cleansing the defense along the way. There is tremendous value in high number of rushing attempts.
Nobody will appreciate an analysis, instead of screaming for Golden's head, but I'll provide one anyway. I love watching the specifics when an option offense is out there. I didn't pay as much attention when we had the ball.
Unfortunately for the Canes, Paul Johnson is not stuck with pathetic quarterbacks like Tevin Washington or Vad Lee anymore. Georgia Tech couldn't get to the perimeter with those guys and had to resort to the rocket toss all game long. Now they use it very sparingly, like tonight on the 3rd down goal line play. Justin Thomas is hardly a vintage '70s wishbone quarterback but he fits their needs far beyond anyone Johnson has had, including the inherited Nesbitt.
Hertelou had no idea what he was doing out there. Likewise Jenkins. Anybody who thinks our defensive tackle personnel is fine is a rank idiot. I've watched defensive tackles contest option offenses for more than 40 years. In the Canes heyday we had Jerome Brown beat the guard to the backfield play after play in '86. One year later with Brown gone I was worried Jimmie Jones wasn't up to the task in that Orange Bowl for the national title. He did great. His quickness was too much for Oklahoma's interior blockers, even if Jones wasn't nearly as sturdy as Brown. And luckily Oklahoma had Charles Thompson at quarterback filling in for injured Jamelle Holieway. Then late '80s/early '90s came the string of awesome defensive tackles like Kennedy, Maryland and Sapp.
Hertelou was ridiculously slow off the mark. Easily neutralized. When he did move somewhere, it was worthless. Jenkins wasn't much better. Early in the game Miami was splitting the tackles wide, allowing the center to get to Perryman easily and the B back to dictate the game. Finally after Kaaya's first interception we not only switched personnel but tightened the splits. Kamalu and Pierre was easily our best defensive tackle combo. Not great, mind you. None of those guys are Canes caliber. But they were athletic enough to disrupt some plays and at least contain the B back to a few yards instead of 7+. Pierre was awful at Nebraska. They stood him up and shoved him around. Here he wasn't as outmatched. Once Chad Thomas entered the game and aggressively altered some plays on the edge, I thought with the Kamalu-Pierre-Thomas combo along with Chickillo we might be able to hold Georgia Tech to a field goal on a pivotal possession and narrowly steal the game.
Hertelou didn't play a snap from mid second quarter until the 3rd down goal line play in the mid 3rd quarter. Apparently Pierre ran out of gas because Hertelou replaced him on the next possession. At that point I knew we were doomed. Obviously it didn't help that both Kamalu and Thomas got nicked. Once our interior was again incredibly vulnerable Georgia Tech had easy pickings doing whatever they wanted. Chickillo resorted to guessing, normally wrong. Deon Bush impersonated Deon Bush and got shoved around when he wasn't otherwise flatfooted. Tracy Howard apparently thinks there's a prize attached to backpedalling into the tunnel on 4th and short.
Obviously the coaching deserves plenty of blame but really it looks very similar to the South Florida high school defenses I watch when the talent level is not avalanched in their favor. It's soft and get out of the way. Why bother to stop anybody when we'll score every time we have the ball?
Last Sunday night when I had my friends bet Canes at pick-em I was very confident, after attending the Duke game a night earlier. Once I watched the tape carefully later in the week, I was stunned at how different it looked. Miami still had the same vulnerable splits, as I posted here. Our defensive linemen were rocking back, like they needed toilet paper. It was mostly the weakness of the opponent that created that outcome. I wish every team we played would ignore the running game and throw mindless line drives into the dirt alternated with comical low percentage lobs down the sideline.
Georgia Tech added some wrinkles during the bye week or in preparation for Miami during the offseason. I bet them all the time so I know their tendencies. Tonight they were sending the A-back off the wing in phony motion back toward the formation. He would only move a step or two but it was effective several times. Canes linebackers and defensive backs would either freeze or move in the direction of the phony steps. That was just enough to open up the perimeter on the opposite side, the side where the A-back was originally lined up.
Offensively I'll spotlight only two plays: The 3rd down screen to Coley in the red zone obviously was a monumentally ignorant call, and at a time we could least afford it. I've mentioned that when I worked in a stats office in Las Vegas the entire crew used to burst into laughter when a team called a 3rd down screen pass. The percentage of success is laughably low, especially against a competent team. I hope Canes fans and Dolphins fans lose the infatuation with screen passes. As I posted last week, a game preview should not include any mention of screen passes if the offensive coordinator knows what he is doing.
Also, the 4th quarter deep ball to Dorsett was a waste after we got the fortunate break when Duke's fumble was reversed by replay. Georgia Tech has a terrible defense but one that is strangely opportunistic with turnovers. That played out tonight. It was second down after the fumble call was reversed. We couldn't afford to blow a play with a low percentage deep lob when all you need are basic underneath and midrange stuff to burn Georgia Tech. They will be exposed repeatedly later this season.
We dominated this team from 2009 to 2011 but were fortunate the past two years. I hated to lose the game and the cash but it's probably rightful given the way the past three meetings have played out. Besides, Georgia Tech's white uniforms were so classy compared to the gaudy garbage we were wearing. One family member burst out into laughter tonight as soon as she saw what we were wearing.
