Georgia Tech wraps up season with familiar feeling

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Tech team that showed up for the season finale against Georgia looked eerily similar to the one that has been out there most of the year.

And that's not good.

"That game was a microcosm of the season," Yelow Jackets head coach Paul Johnson said.

The 13-7 loss to Georgia enabled the Yellow Jackets to drop the curtain on a forgettable 3-9 campaign, its worst since the 1994 squad went 1-10.

Typical of the season was the way Georgia Tech was unable to run the ball with authority (194 yards, the fifth time it has been held to fewer than 200 yards). The Yellow Jackets turned the ball over three times and converted just 2-of-13 third-down opportunities. The defense, which played well at times, gave up some big plays and allowed 402 yards.

"Third downs were atrocious, like they have been all year," Johnson said. "Pass protection was bad, like it has been all year."

Despite the problems, Johnson said the issues can be fixed. He already has started to mentally evaluate his next step and will soon put his changes in motion. From the frustration showing on Johnson's face, no solution is off the table.

"It's disappointing, but it's all stuff I think we can fix," he said. "And I'm hell-bent to get it fixed. I'm not going to go through this again."

Normally a 3-9 season would bring plenty of scorn from the alumni and fans, but Johnson's job security was never in doubt. The head coach, who had his contract extended through 2020 after last year's 11-win season, never had his status questioned by the program's decision-makers.

"It's never just one or two things," senior cornerback D.J. White said. "We had a lot of young guys in a lot of key positions this year just getting experience. Defensively, we were always trying to push to get better, but maybe we didn't get to where we wanted to, either. As a matter of fact, I know we didn't. The ball sometimes doesn't bounce your way, but the one thing I can say is that everybody kept playing hard."

The season began to go the wrong way early when the Yellow Jackets began suffering a series of injuries that never seemed to let up. Backup quarterback Tim Byerly, A-back Qua Searcy and defensive lineman Adam Gotsis were among those lost for the season, forcing many freshmen into action. Georgia Tech wound up playing 23 freshmen this season, and the offense typically had six on the field together by the end of the season.

"A lot of it is youth," Johnson said. "A lot of it is guys who will probably not be playing next year when we get everybody back. And we've got to coach better. It's all the above. We've got to pay more attention to detail, and we've got to do a better job coaching."

A bright spot was the emergence of A-backs Clinton Lynch and Lynn Griffin. Lynch, a redshirt freshman from Norcross, rushed for 78 yards against Georgia and wound up with 457 yards this season, which was third on the team. Griffin, who was moved from defensive back to A-back in midseason, rushed for 45 yards against the Bulldogs and finished with 113 yards on 14 carries.

"Clinton has played well all year, and Lynn Griffin has done some things," Johnson said. "I think both of them have a bright future."

This story was originally published November 28, 2015 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech wraps up season with familiar feeling ."