As is so often the case in college football and in life, statistics – numbers – can and do lie.

Georgia Tech’s struggles continue.  Something with the offense is just off.  Yes, the Yellow Jackets rolled to a relatively easy win over a Middle Tennessee State team that should be better than its record now that star quarterback Dwight Dasher is back from his suspension. Yet, it remains difficult to think that the Georgia Tech team of the last few years – the team that was a force in the ACC – would have gone into halftime with only a 14-7 lead. The 2009 Jackets wouldn’t have sunk that far. Considering the fact that Tech won the turnover battle 6-2 in this game, the margin of victory should have been much more than 28 points.

The Tech defense has been subpar as well this season, though the numbers don’t betray that claim in this game. The Yellow Jackets gave up just over 300 yards, in part due to the six turnovers the defense created.  The turnovers started early, as Jerrard Tarrant, Georgia Tech’s excellent cornerback, picked off Dasher after a relatively successful MTSU drive that had gained 38 yards and advanced the ball into Georgia Tech territory. 

The 30-yard interception return gave the Yellow Jackets great field position, and Tech quickly made the Blue Raiders pay.  After a first down and a MTSU offside put the ball at the Blue Raiders’ 20-yard line, Orwin Smith, one of the Yellow Jackets’ many capable running backs, scored on a 20-yard touchdown rush, and Tech led less than five minutes into the game.

For Tech’s next possession, quarterback Josh Nesbitt led the Yellow Jackets again into MTSU territory, but running back Anthony Allen fumbled the ball at the MTSU 44-yard line.  The Blue Raiders drove into the Jackets’ red zone, but Dasher threw his second interception on his third drive, this time to Julian Burnett. 

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Nesbitt uncorked a 36-yard run to quickly put Tech in MTSU territory, but when faced with fourth and three at the MTSU 38, Tech coach Paul Johnson surprised no one by going for it. However, Nesbitt was stopped short of the first down marker. Tech got the ball back after Tarrant again intercepted Dasher, but the drive went nowhere and Scott Blair missed a 41 yard field goal. This was part of the stop-and-start, hiccup-laden first half that prevented Tech from feeling better about its performance on Saturday in Atlanta.

On its next possession, Georgia Tech finally scored its second touchdown on a one-yard Nesbitt plunge.  The bulk of the yardage on the drive was picked up on the first play, when Nesbitt hit Smith for a 41-yard catch and run.

Middle Tennessee State responded with an (at the time) important 80-yard drive. Dasher scored on a 6-yard touchdown run for the final score of the half and a 14-7 Georgia Tech lead instead of a 14-0 cushion.

Tech started the second half slowly, and Paul Johnson decided to punt on fourth and six from the MTSU 44, which is unusual.  Johnson rarely punts from the opponent’s side of the field, especially with a manageable distance to the first down marker.  The punt did flip the field, though, and Tech started its next possession following a Blue Raider punt at the MTSU 45-yard line.  On the third play of the Jackets’ drive, Anthony Allen scored on a 32-yard touchdown run to give the home team some much-needed breathing room. 

On the next MTSU possession, Dasher turned the ball over again, this time by fumbling the ball on a sack.  Georgia Tech took advantage of the short field as Nesbitt hit Stephen Hill for a 26-yard touchdown pass to put Georgia Tech up 28-7.

Tech again had a short field on the next possession after Middle Tennessee’s Phillip Tanner fumbled.  Nesbitt kept the ball on the ground with the triple option, and on the sixth play, Anthony Allen delivered a five-yard scoring run.  It was 35-7 Tech at this point, and it was all over but the shouting with still the fourth quarter left to play.

Tech did everything it was supposed to do, but again, something is off.  The offense just isn’t as productive as it has been in past years, and the defense isn’t dominant, even against below average opponents.  Nesbitt has a decent stable of running backs, and Anthony Allen can be explosive, but Nesbitt doesn’t seem to trust Allen or the other running backs like he did Jonathan Dwyer last season. Nesbitt led the team with 106 rushing yards (to go with his 86 yards through the air).  Allen added 75 yards.  No other back had more than four carries for Tech – that’s not imposing stuff against a Sun Belt Conference defense..

Dasher was 20-35 for 173 yards, but his four interceptions and his fumble marred an otherwise productive game.