Georgia Tech went on the road and dropped its sixth game of the season tonight in its loss to Pittsburgh, and the program is at an all-time low in the Brent Key era. The offense was awful all night, and the defense had moments but couldn’t string it together for four quarters. The struggles against the run remain the same. This has been a tough all-around season for the Yellow Jackets 

Let's get into the takeaways for tonight.

1. Georgia Tech offense was putrid all night long 

The Yellow Jackets offense was lackluster and couldn’t get anything going for more than three quarters. They had multiple turnovers on downs, and on those 4th-down plays, a lot of them ended in sacks. They also couldn’t get the ball to their playmakers enough on the night. Georgia Tech had just 238 yards of offense on Saturday night and didn't start to get some momentum until they made a quarterback switch. The Yellow Jackets didn't score another touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.

2. Defense has moments but still not good enough 

Overall, it wasn’t a pretty day for Ga Tech, but they were able to make some game-changing plays to keep the Yellow Jackets in the game. The much-maligned defense made plays on Saturday night despite the offense's struggles, which totaled just 77 yards in the first half. Jonas Duclona had a forced fumble near the goal line that prevented a score for the Pittsburgh Panthers, who were trying to extend their lead. You also had Taje McCoy come up with a big forced fumble before halftime that led to three first-half points for the Yellow Jackets before the break.

They are still struggling to stop the run and slow down opposing rushing attacks, but they did do a good job of making plays and trying to help a struggling team. They also made two goal-line stands in the game to help the offense, but they could never take advantage of it. There were busts too, and the Panthers made big-time plays in the run game. Overall, you can’t be mad at the defense, who were put in inopportune situations. They can be better, but only so much you can do. 

3. Jonas Duclona has been a bright spot for the Yellow Jackets over the past few weeks 

With increased playing time, Duclona has taken full advantage of his opportunities. He put together another strong effort on Saturday. In the first half alone, he finished with six tackles, two passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a tackle for loss. He made some game-changing plays to help the offense, which was struggling mightily. If he can continue to put together these types of performances, he could garner more time on the field.

4. Run game was nonexistent 

The Yellow Jackets' run game was nonexistent on Saturday night, and they couldn't get anything going. It was the worst running performance of the season, and the Yellow Jackets finished with just 95 yards on the ground. Justice Haynes had only 33 yards on 10 carries, and Trelain Maddox had 10 yards on four carries. Simply put, the offensive line didn’t do a good job creating lanes the Yellow Jackets could run through or giving them any chance in the run game.

When Georgia Tech can’t run the ball, the offense simply can’t get it done to help the team. 

5. It may be time to give Grady Adamson some burn besides the 4th quarter 

The Yellow Jackets are 2-6 on the season, with a struggling team that either has the offense play well and the defense struggle, or the defense plays well and the offense doesn’t. On Saturday, it was the latter. Alberto Mendoza has been the starter since Week 1 and played well to begin the year. Lately, he's been trending in the wrong direction. Last week vs. Boston College, he had two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Tonight against Pittsburgh, he fumbled three times and recovered all of them. However, the fourth fumble was costly after the defense forced another field goal and a stop. Mendoza tried to hand it off to Haynes, but didn’t secure the ball when he pulled it out, leading to the turnover. Mendoza had just 81 passing yards on Saturday and had a lot of self-inflicted plays that hurt an already struggling offense. Not saying Adamson is the answer, but at least see what you have in him with an already lost season. 

6. Something needs to change 

However you want to slice it, it has been a putrid couple of weeks for the Yellow Jackets, and someone either needs to go, a change at quarterback, or even a change at coordinator needs to happen. It has been the same result over and over. Defense can’t stop the run.

They give up big plays in the pass game. They gave up 225 yards on the ground against Pittsburgh. Damon Ferguson Jr. had 112 rushing yards at the half. Offensively, it was their worst performance of the season. They had five fumbles, and two of them were recovered by the opposing team. It was a bad performance all around, and the Yellow Jackets look like one of the worst teams in the ACC.