-Yeah Mississippi State isn't great. But GT dominated an SEC team that was at least serviceable on defense. The Jackets rolled up over 400 yards on the ground and played subs most of the 4th quarter.
-Oh and for those that didn't follow the game...they mashed Mississippi State without Josh Nesbitt, who left with a pulled hamstring on the 1st possession of the game. Enter true freshman Jaybo Shaw, who runs this system like a veteran. He should though since he ran the same offense for his father at Flowery Branch HS. Shaw is more than a capable backup as his command of the offense was on full display today. Sure he's still a true freshman and will make mistakes but it shows you how even a young player can contribute in this offense.
-I've watched every GT game this year and they get better every game. This is a staple of a Paul Johnson coached team. They will always be better at the end of the year than the beginning. Period.
-So much for the "will this offense work against teams from a BCS conference?" It was a stupid question for the media and anyone else to ever ask. After beating BC, rushing for nearly 300 on VT last week and going for 400 today, its pretty clear that it works against anybody. And lest we forget, we're just 4 games into the PJ era and he's got perhaps the youngest offensive team in the country. Paul Johnson's offense works against any team and he proved that at Navy playing against BCS teams that always had a size, speed and talent advantage. Ask Auburn, who scored a measley FG against Mississippi State last week, whose offense they'd rather have right now.
-Despite months and months of preparation (dating to last spring) and having a head coach who knows option football inside and out, Mississippi State was shredded and powerless to stop anything GT did today. As this article in the Clarion Ledger points out:
To that end, Croom prepped his team specifically for this opponent in preseason practice.
A period per day (usually, practices have about 15 periods, give or take) was dedicated just to defending the option. Croom spoke with other coaches who have had to defend it.
Since the start of the season, he has watched video not only of Tech but also of first-year coach Paul Johnson's six-season tenure at Navy.
If Tech's triple option rips State to shreds today on what promises to be a picture-perfect fall Saturday afternoon, it won't be because the Bulldogs weren't prepared.
-Paul Johnson, in a matter of months, eclipsed 4 years of work done by Sylvester Croom. Think maybe Mississippi State would trade their coach in a heartbeat?
-GT has a bye week to rest and get healed up and it couldn't come at a better time. Starting C Dan Voss gutted out the game, despite injuring his shoulder early on. Nesbitt will need the rest to get his hamstring back to normal. With upcoming games against Duke and Gardner-Webb, I fully expect GT to be 5-1 heading into Death Valley at Clemson on October 18th.
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