The run defense and defensive tackles have been bogus all season. I posted that several times. We basically haven't faced an aggressive running team. Georgia Tech still had that component. If we had played them earlier in the season it would have been fine because they wouldn't have reverted. However, in recent weeks with the criticism piling on Georgia Tech has slowly started to incorporate more of their looks from the Paul Johnson era. I noted that during the Duke game.
Miami allowed this to happen. Georgia Tech opened that game without commitment to power running game. But once it started to work and the Canes obviously wanted no part of it while flopping all over the place, you could sense in the stands the renewed confidence and energy from the entire Georgia Tech offense, sideline, and fan base. A very key play was third quarter when they had 3rd and long from their own 5 yard line. They were merely trying to gain a few yards via a straight ahead run so they couldn't be punting from the back end line. Once we somehow allowed that play to bust for a first down then the Georgia Tech energy and confidence soared.
It didn't help that we played Virginia the week prior. As always, situational influence. Virginia has a tinkerbell running game. Pure finesse. The Canes defense thought they had stopped a running game. They stopped nothing on that Friday night.
One problem is Nesta out there. He is a freelancer and not nearly as stout or concerned against the run. Jon Ford is a mediocrity but at least he can offer resistance. A key play yesterday was first play of overtime when Ford got dinged and asked out of the game. Nesta replaced him. Immediately on the next play Nesta was controlled easily and then Quarterman made his one truly awful read of the game when we could least afford it. Somehow he slid toward the condensed area behind Nesta instead of recognizing that the hole was smack in front of him. Once Quarterman vacated then it allowed wide open spaces, and several missed tackles down to the 1 yard line.