GT’s path to the ACC title game wide open

Earlier in the day, I posted a bunch of game-after quotes, the lazy-man’s blog.

However, that was before Clemson defeated Miami in Miami. Now,  Georgia Tech needs to only win its two remaining ACC games, against Wake Forest and Duke, no less, and it’s headed to Tampa to play for the ACC title.

Who would they play, you ask? Right now, it would be a rematch against the Tigers. Clemson and BC are tied atop the Atlantic, but the Tigers have the tie-breaker thanks to the beatdown they administered to the Eagles earlier this year. Remember that one? BC had 54 yards, I think, in the game.

I think of all the teams from the Atlantic that Tech would not want to play, Clemson would be at the top of that list. The Tigers seem to have gotten things figured out on offense now, and freshman quarterback Kyle Parker, for all the mistakes he made against Miami, still led the the Tigers to the win in a tough place to play.

Plus, the Tigers have the experience of already playing Tech’s offense once this season. Of course, CPJ has the experience of playing them, as well.

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Now, back to what I had earlier:

Georgia Tech Player Quotes

Junior Running Back Anthony Allen
On winning in Charlottesville for the first time since 1990:
“Coach gives us all the motivation ­ we had a lot of firsts this year and this has to be one of the biggest ones.”

On wearing down the Virginia defense:
“When we had that 11 minute drive ­ as A-backs, we are rolling in and out.
We are staying fresh as we’re coming in looking at the lineman across from us. That dog tired. We knew we had them right then.”

On the difference makers between this season and last season:
“We are just playing as a team. We are trying to finish. We are practicing hard, getting ready for our games better ­ we are just playing as a team a lot better this year.”

On the effectiveness of the triple option:
“I was just going to my assignments, but with the triple option they have to stop three valuable assets to the game ­ they have to stop the dive, they have to stop the quarterback, and they have to stop the pitch. Sometimes you can tell that they get weary going to stop one part while they are trying to get to another part.”

On the success of the pitch:
“With the 3-4 defense that they run, they have the second man on line which is usually the guy we pitch off of and he was coming up and trying to play the pitch and the quarterback, but he had to determine which one he wanted.
“He was taking the quarterback and then sometimes he couldn’t get out.”

On the significance of the win:
“We came into the locker room at halftime and we knew we were playing for the championship. We were playing to go into first place. We had to come out in the second half and take it home. We had to play smash-mouth football and that’s what we did.”

Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Johnson
On the win:
“That was a good win. We didn’t play very well in the first half and you have to give Virginia some credit. They showed up and played hard. I thought we played much better in the second half. We controlled the game on offense, and once we got in the red zone on defense, not to give up a touchdown was big. As long as you do that, you’re going to win a lot of football games.”

On Georgia Tech’s defense:
“We didn’t give up any big plays and that was key. If you don’t give up a big play, you have the chance to snap it again and make another play on defense. When you hold them to nine points, that’s pretty good.”

On Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt:
“He’s way better now than he was a year ago. The more you do things, the better you’re going to get at them. I think the game has slowed down for him. Last year, the game was so fast for him. He has a better feel for what is going on.”

On the Georgia Tech team:
“They believe in themselves and what we are doing here. They’ve worked hard.
When they come to play, they feel like they are going to win. Everyone keeps doubting them, and they keep coming back and trying to answer the call.”

On winning at Virginia for the first time since 1990:
“I talked to them about it before the game. I told them that Georgia Tech hadn’t won here since 1990, and that they could be the team to break that streak.”

Junior Running Back Jonathan Dwyer
On field conditions and effects:
“I wouldn’t say it was difficult to cut. It was difficult to burst ­ felt like you had 20-pound weights on your feet. That was kind of unusual. I wasn’t used to that since high school.”

On intensity:
“I guess a lot of guys on the team were challenging me to go full speed and go all out throughout this whole game and take every opportunity that’s given to me. I was trying to make a play to get the team fired up.”

On breaking tackles:
“My position coach [Brian] Bohannon keep telling me on the head set, ‘Keep plugging, keep plugging. You’re going to break one sooner or later. So just keep playing.’ That was my mindset throughout the whole game.”