Slept On It : Georgia Tech

Emotionally Drained.

Battered.

Bruised.

Exhausted.

That was how I felt in my living room after watching Georgia Tech kicker Harrison Butker split the uprights to drop the Hokies to 2-2 on the season. I can only imagine how the guys who actually played felt. Each season the Techmo Bowl has been vital to both Techs' hopes of winning the Coastal Division.

An air of uneasiness always surrounds these games. It doesn't matter how confident or dominant our defense has been leading up to the game — the importance of proper execution and discipline ultimately trumps athleticism and talent.

As fans, beating the Bees can be one of the most gratifying victories of the season. But good lord is it a harrowing experience. Knowing you need to stop them four consecutive plays instead of three is taxing. No lead feels safe. You find yourself checking the clock, hoping you're closer to the final whistle. Competitively, this year's tilt was no different; yet, everything felt different.

The "death by a thousand cuts" approach of Paul Johnson's triple option offense usually results in everyone — fans, coaches and players — being on edge from start to finish. But for some reason, I didn't have that feeling until the fourth quarter of this year's game. To me it felt like the Hokies were going through the motions for three quarters, only to be awakened by Michael Brewer's overthrown screen pass to Bucky Hodges that resulted in a game-tying 41-yard pick-six by GT linebacker Paul Davis. A day later, I'm having trouble comprehending how that intermittently lackadaisical performance was possible.

It was an up-and-down performance that was difficult to watch. As the fourth quarter began with the good guys up 16-10, I found myself hoping the Hokies could escape with the victory. How backwards is that? Playing at home and up by six points with 15 minutes to play, each squandered opportunity to put the game away made me more and more uneasy. I consider myself an optimist, but I began to get the feeling something gut-wrenching was about to happen.

On their first drive of the fourth quarter, the Hokies took over at their own 32. After a 15-yard completion to Willie Byrn, Brewer hit freshman standout Isaiah Ford over the middle for a first down, only to see Ford lose three while dodging defenders in search of a bigger play. I turned to my wife and said, "Hopefully that doesn't come back to bite us." A chop block and a false start turned 2nd-and-1 into 2nd-and-21, and on the ensuing play, Brewer overthrew a screen over the middle and Paul Davis took it the other way for six.

Two weeks after one of the biggest wins in program history, Frank Beamer's bunch has lost its swagger and the last 11 minutes and 30 seconds of Saturday's game terrified me.

Michael Brewer or Johnny Moxon?

Joe said it best post-game: "Brewer seems to be a mix of game manager and gunslinger." Through four games, we've seen both Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde under center. Quarterback Michael Brewer has displayed a penchant for making gutsy conversions under duress while finding a way to make careless throws at inopportune times. Saturday saw three such interceptions that resulted in 17 of the Bees' 27 points scored.

Following the victory over Ohio State, we were collectively praising Brewer for his poise and moxie; two weeks later, the former is fleeting and the latter is debilitating. Brewer's ability to limit turnovers and operate Scot Loeffler's complex offense were considered two of his greatest attributes coming into the season. Yet here we are, four games into 2014 and I'm no longer confident which quarterback I'm going to see next Saturday against Western Michigan.

With each passing game, I'm beginning to feel more and more like the Hokies are quarterbacked by Johnny Moxon. Brewer is a smart kid, has a bit of flair about him and seems fully confident in his ability to fit the ball in tight windows. The only problem is he has missed those windows altogether and those misses have cost the Hokies dearly in back-to-back weeks. I'm at the point where I want to see Coach Beamer channel his inner Bud Kilmer and tell Brewer, "Stick to the basics! Stick to the Basics! Stick to the Basics! Dammit if you aren't the dumbest smart kid I know." The way I see it, the Mox theory is proven by one of two occurrences: (1) Brewer runs the "Oopty Oop" in practice, or (2) Brewer knocks Cav Man off his horse while killing the clock on November 28th

The offense is unquestionably more talented than in years past, but its success begins and ends with Brewer's ability to effectively manage the game from start to finish. At Ohio State, we saw that in spades, but the last 8 quarters have been a roller coaster ride. It's unfair of us to seek perfection from our quarterback 100% of the time, but that hasn't been what this offense has required from the get-go.

Following three seasons of far too many turnovers, many recognized that righting the ship would require more focus on taking care of the football. Brewer was supposed to be that steady influence, but he has made critical mistakes in consecutive games trying to do too much. Maybe too much has been asked of him in recent games — Brewer has thrown the ball 161 times through the first four games, compared to 134 attempts by Logan Thomas through four games a year ago — but that doesn't excuse some of the decisions he has made of late.

Brewer has done an admirable job of leading this offense and we have witnessed glimpses of what that group can be when functioning on all cylinders. I still believe Brewer is the best man for the job right now, but he needs to improve his decision making.

With that being said, we can't place fault entirely on Brewer. Ultimately, it is the coaches' responsibility to put both him and the rest of the players in a position to succeed. On Saturday, we saw a number of situations where that failed to happen and it cost the Hokies dearly.

What in the Hell is Going on Out Here?

Four illegal substitution penalties. 12 penalties in all. The third time in four games that the Hokies have had double-digit penalties.

It was chaos on the sidelines. Coach Beamer looked irate. I thought I saw flames literally shoot from his eyeballs in the direction of Bucky Hodges following the illegal block in the back penalty he drew on another great Greg Stroman punt return.

Against a team where it is imperative that you maintain possession of the football, eliminate stupid mistakes and take advantage of all opportunities to put points on the board, the Hokies continuously shot themselves in the foot with silly penalties at — theme of the day — terrible moments.

We have lauded the dynamic abilities of the dozen freshmen that have played key roles this season, but Saturday exhibited the dark underbelly of a team full of inexperienced players. At least that was my thought Saturday evening. A day later, I wasn't so sure the youngsters were entirely to blame.

Offensive Coordinator Scot Loeffler's offensive system is complex, filled with shifts, movement and numerous personnel packages. Substitutions take place often, and you could see the miscommunication on the sidelines throughout the game Saturday. A week after the defense struggled with the pace of the ECU offense, Saturday saw far too many pre-snap penalties by the Hokie offense. Was it a series of breakdowns by the coaching staff? Was it a series of mental lapses by the players? Veteran wide receiver Willie Byrn attributed the penalties to a collective breakdown, stating, "Everyone on offense, every single person, has to do a better job of signaling. We've got to act like we're on the road and at a hostile environment all the time in order to communicate the way we need to, because it obviously bit us today."

But I would be remiss not to ask the following question: Is Scot Loeffler's system too complex? Is he trying to be too smart with his play calling?

One of the elements I love about the Techmo Bowl is the chess match between opposing minds, specifically Paul Johnson and Bud Foster. This year's installment saw a second game-within-a-game between GT defensive coordinator Ted Roof and Loeffler. After giving up 28 second half points to Georgia Southern a week ago, Roof employed an overly conservative game plan against the Hokies (which is a strong statement, considering his standard defensive system uses a "Bend But Don't Break" approach). GT defensive backs set-up 8 yards off the line of scrimmage on the outside and played soft coverage, allowing the Hokies to gain consistent chunks of yardage on outside throws all game.

Despite the soft defensive approach, Loeffler made questionable play calls. There was the aforementioned screen pass to Hodges; the jet sweep with Deon Newsome on the Hokies' second play from scrimmage; multiple J.C. Coleman sweeps on short down-and-distances; and the most egregious of all: With 6:34 left in the game and up by 7, Loeffler called a bubble screen on 2nd-and-4 that was easily sniffed out and blown up for a 4 yard loss.

Why? Why get so cute while protecting a lead, at a time when the running game finally began to find success against the ACC's weakest rush defense?

Have we begun to blindly trust Loeffler's offensive system, deifying the man and his complex approach to maximizing his playmakers' abilities by exploiting matchup advantages? In my mind, Saturday exploited our continued movement away from executing the simple things. While protecting a one-score lead, it appeared as though Lefty wasn't comfortable running the ball play-after-play. It exhibited a profound lack of confidence in his unit.

The simple things were part of what made Virginia Tech football great. Man-on-man football, where everyone knew the Hokies are going to run the ball and it didn't matter, because Tech would win at the point of attack every time. Where has that gone?

I'm not suggesting we step into the wayback machine and alter our offensive approach. At the same time, it is imperative that this offense has the ability to impose their will when required; otherwise, the Hokies will find tough sledding the remainder of the season.

The players necessary to succeed are currently on the roster and improving on a daily basis. Now it is up to the coaching staff to instill a renewed focus on executing the basics and cleaning up the mistakes. An inexperienced team is prone to errors, and managing those inevitabilities over the course of the week and during the games will be a key concern for this coaching staff. How the Hokies respond over the coming week will be vital towards righting the ship and determining whether this season will be a success or a failure.