Georgia State had several opportunities to make plays that would've possibly changed the trajectory of the game on Saturday night, but Georgia Tech's defense held strong in multiple goal-to-go situations to earn a 35-12 victory over its fellow-Atlanta foes at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
After the game, first-year Panthers head coach Dell McGee met with the media to discuss his team's efforts in their opener across town against the Jackets. He talked about being pleased with how hard his team played, how they wanted a few sequences back that could've been handled differently especially in the red zone and was complimentary of a strong opponent in Georgia Tech.
Here's a sample of what he had to say following the game relating to the Jackets:
Opening statement:
"First off, congratulations to Georgia Tech and Coach (Brent) Key. They did a great job tonight of winning the football game, out-executing us. And give them all the credit - their players played very hard. I'm also encouraged by how hard our guys played. We've definitely got to clean up the details, goal line plays, limiting big plays. We've got to tackle better, leverage the ball better - just basically getting better at simple things. And I know our kids will grow from this experience. Definitely not the outcome that we wanted or planned for, but we've got to learn in this moment and get ready to move on to the next opponent."
On goal line situations:
"It's all on me. Nothing with the kids. They executed the play that was called. (Georgia Tech) is big up front and stout inside so we just didn't win those battles. We came away with only three points in three opportunities (in goal-to-go situations). We had the chance to seize momentum early in the game, and of course it's a momentum game. We needed to get all the momentum we could early."
On Georgia Tech's efforts and finding out answers about his team:
"You've got to give Georgia Tech credit. They came out and did what they were supposed to do especially in the second half. They kind of (busted) the game wide open and put us in a little bit of a catch-up mode, but our kids never quit. They kept fighting. And we're still learning about our team. That's the the thing I think just moving forward how do we define who we're going to be, what is our identity going to be. I think a lot of questions got answered. There was a lot of unknowns coming into this game, but after watching the tape I'm sure we'll get a lot of personnel and individual personnel questions answered."
On what the goal-to-go situations and what he would've done differently:
"Yeah, you always wish you could do something different. We could argue we could've kicked a field goal and say you're up 3-0 (after the first drive), but percentages say even if you don't get it, the chances of them driving 99 yards is not likely. So that was a necessary decision. Just some of the decisions and calls were on me and not our players. We've just got to do a better job in preparation and just work on things to get better."
On thoughts in the locker room with the team after the game:
"We just gave up way too many big plays, and we didn't have enough big plays. I think we possessed the ball just as long as they did which was kind of the plan coming in, trying to shorten the game. Like I said, lot of good things happened in the game, lot of bad things. We've just got to learn from it collectively, from players, coaches, everyone in the organization and just get better."
On impression of Georgia Tech after seeing them live on Saturday:
"They are a physical bunch. They are going to run the football. Quarterback poses a lot of problems because he can run, he can create explosive plays, he can extend plays, he can make broken plays. They have a good set of running backs. Like I said, the O-line is very physical. They are an older group that has been playing together for a while so we knew what we were getting into when we got here. There is always a couple of moments you wish you could get back and make a better call."
On what he and coach Key talked about after the game at midfield:
"He was very complimentary. He thought our guys played hard and felt like they would. He understands the process. He said "you're going to be fine." Like I said he was very encouraging, and I appreciate that. We come from the same type of head coach with him working with (Nick) Saban and I worked for Coach (Kirby) Smart. So the way they practice and the way we practice is the same exact way so he gets it. He knows this is the best way to develop a championship team."
