Yellow Jackets can’t take advantage of three forced fumbles in loss to Georgia

One of Georgia Tech’s goals this season was the create a culture that would create havoc, cause turnovers and keep the opposition on their heels. The Yellow Jackets got at least part of that equation right against Georgia on Saturday afternoon.

Georgia Tech caused three fumbles against a Georgia team that had only four fumbles in its previous 11 games. Plus, the Yellow Jackets recovered an onside kick.

That was the good news.

The bad? It only resulted in seven points and served only as a minor speed bump in Georgia’s 52-7 victory at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

“The way you want to win games, you’ve got to win the turnover margin,” Georgia Tech linebacker David Curry said “We knew that, coming into this game, that as a defense, we were going to have to get the ball and we were going to have to cause turnovers and, to their credit, they’re usually a team that’s very good about keeping the ball away from the defense.”

But once Georgia Tech got the turnover, it couldn’t convert.

The exception came on the first turnover. Georgia Tech’s Nathan Cottrell hit Georgia punt returner Dominick Blaylock and knocked the ball loose. Tyler Cooksey wound up coming up with the ball at the Georgia 17. The Yellow Jackets, who until then had gone three-and-out on their first six possessions, were able to score when James Graham tossed a 4-yard pass to Tyler Davis.

Georgia Tech followed that with an onside kick, which was knocked out of the hands of upback Prather Hudson and recovered by Jaylon King. This time the Yellow Jackets went three-and out and had to punt.

But Georgia Tech again forced a fumble. This time the sure-handed D’Andre Swift had the ball knocked out by Quez Jackson and Justice Dingle recovered for Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets drove that time to the 10, where Brenton King missed a 27-yard field goal.

“We had some good momentum going into halftime,” coach Geoff Collins said. “I thought we had a chance to get a little chip shot to make it a one-score game. Obviously that didn’t happen and we’ve got to find ways to rally and find ways get some stops and more the ball.”

Swift fumbled again in the third quarter. Curry popped the ball free, a hit that left Swift curled on the turf, and Tre Swilling recovered. But Tech couldn’t benefit from the turnover and had to punt it away again.

“We created a lot of turnovers today and that’s something the coaches harp on every single day is we want to lead the country in takeaways,” Curry said “As a defense I think we’ve taken the right step and we’ve had some really big moments at some points, but I think consistency is where we’re going to move forward on it, consistently every single game, getting multiple turnovers and that will be the difference.”