The first full weekend of college football reminded us that preseason projections don’t always hold up in the heat of play.
For example, take Georgia Tech, Tennessee’s Sept. 12 opponent in Atlanta. Before watching the Yellow Jackets stumble to a 14-13 season-opening loss against Colorado, I had a vivid image of what their team might look like.
In 48 games of coaching at his alma mater, Georgia Tech coach Brent Key has established a reputation for producing physical, hardnosed teams, which sometimes prevail on toughness more so than talent.
Here’s what I expected to see when I tuned in Georgia Tech vs. Colorado: The Yellow Jackets would control the line of scrimmage with a potent running game and an improved defensive front. One more thing: If the game came
down to a last-second field goal by Aidan Birr, Georgia Tech would be rejoicing in the outcome.
Here’s what happened: Birr, who made 25 of 29 field-goal tries last season, missed a first-quarter attempt from close range, and his last-second field goal was blocked by former UT player Boo Carter. Also, Colorado outrushed the Yellow Jackets 183-51.
How’s that for a reversal of preseason expectations? It left me doubting whether Georgia Tech could even threaten Tennessee, much less upset it.
In preseason, I thought Georgia Tech would present UT’s second-toughest road challenge (behind a November matchup against Texas A&M at Kyle Field). After watching the Yellow Jackets lose a mistake-filled game against Colorado, I’m convinced South Carolina at Williams-Brice Stadium will pose more problems for Tennessee.
Georgia Tech lost to a Colorado program that was coming off a 3-9 season, had changed both coordinators, and adopted a more physical approach to football. In fact, the Buffs looked more like Key’s previous Georgia Tech teams than the Yellow Jackets did.
Never mind that Georgia Tech has two proven running backs in Michigan transfer Justice Haynes and Malachi Hosley. It rarely could dent Colorado’s defensive line. And it struggled to protect new quarterback Alberto Mendoza.
On one especially dreadful offensive series, the Yellow Jackets suffered back-to-back, false-start penalties before giving up a sack. Left tackle Ethan Mackenny, allegedly Georgia Tech’s best offensive linemen, was overmatched against Lamont Lester, a transfer from Monmouth of all places. Lester had three sacks in his Buffs debut.
The Yellow Jackets’ defensive front also faltered. Colorado ran the ball 14 times in 17 plays in a scoring drive. It frequently got the best of Georgia Tech’s defensive front, which was expected to be much improved over last season.
If the Buffs could accomplish that with a rebuilt line and a revised offensive philosophy, UT’s possibilities seem promising.
Although the Vols didn’t establish their superiority right away in a 56-9 victory against Furman, they wound up with 329 yards rushing. That’s not surprising for a team with a veteran offensive line – which includes a couple of All-SEC candidates in David Sanders and Wendell Moe – and a 1,000-yard rusher in DeSean Bishop.
Granted, road games can be tricky. But if Georgia Tech experiences the same issues in Week 2 as it did in Week 1, the Vols might have to wait until Sept. 26 against Texas for their first serious test.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Tennessee football, Josh Heupel might not get serious test until Texas | Adams
