Quotes from Tech’s loss
SHREVEPORT, La. — Quotes from Georgia Tech’s 14-7 loss to Air Force in the Independence Bowl, courtesy of bowl organizers:
Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson
“Air Force played a very good game. I said before the game started that the team that won the turnover battle is going to win the game and that is what happened. The way the game was going I knew both teams were not going to have the ball many times and I knew that.”
“We started the second half and we put together a great drive and then we fumbled the ball on the 3-yard line. It was kind of a microcosm of our season. Then we come in and have a defensive series and hold them, fumble again, go out and hold them. Then fumble again. It is hard to overcome all of those mistakes.”
“It is very disappointing. At the start of the third quarter I thought we had the game right where we wanted it. They got a touchdown and go up 14-7, but to their credit we didn’t get it in. We fumbled the ball.”
“We had to go to our back up returner, and he didn’t have it. He misjudged the first one and then he probably lost confidence after that. He has been the back-up returner all year and it is just one of those things. We had our chances, so don’t lay the loss on him.”
Defensive End Jason Peters
“Sometimes things don’t go your way and at this point we should know how to grow and mature as a team and learn how to handle those things better. The situations that don’t turn out in our favor we need to learn how to turn it in our favor and have a better outcome next time.
“That is one thing we expected to do and we expected from the young guys and you see how they work in practice. We push each other and we push ourselves and we know that we expect that from the rest of them.”
Running back Anthony Allen
On fumble before halftime
“We are kinda used to having long drives and taking some time off the clock and driving down and grinding it in. It is kinda heartbreaking and frustrating when you drive all the way into the red zone and have a fumble. The momentum kind of turned around from there when they went and scored.”
On if reality has set in that he has played his final college game
“Oh yeah most definitely. This was my last game. I wanted to go out with a win and get Georgia Tech its first bowl win in a few years but that is the way the season went, it was very frustrating. We had opportunities to make plays and win games and we did not do it.”
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun
On first half:
“We were fair on our execution in the first half, and when we’re fair we don’t move the ball nearly as proficiently. Our guys were excited, had a great week of practice, but we just weren’t quite as crisp as we have to be.”
“I thought the drive that we engineered prior to the half time was huge. It just gave us a real good boost coming in. To be able to move down the field . . . we took some shots and we able to make good throws, and in the end were able to convert the field goal. That was a key drive.”
On the upcoming off season:
“We’ll start from scratch. There’s a good bit of building that will have to occur, but we aren’t starting from the beginning. When you think of all the guys you have to replace . . . I mean we’ve got guys that have started nearly 40 games . . . and so we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”
On the passing game:
“Coming in we thought we were going to have to hit some play action passes. Coming into the game it was going to be the turnover margin that would be a key part of it and special teams, and, just, how efficiently you could throw would be a part of it too.”
“We’ve got a guy who’s a heck of a passer and we do a tremendous job with protection. We have some capable guys on the outside who are able to run routes too.”
On 4th down conversion attempts:
“Our guys are good enough to execute. That’s who you trust.”
On the field goal kicker getting “iced” at the end of the first half:
“These guys aren’t going to get too riled up. They love to play. You’re not going to be around guys who are any more passionate, any more disciplined, guys that have any more care or pride in them than these guys. Ask these guys what’s it’s like to go through a basic training at the Air Force Academy. . . There’s some poise these guys have—that’s why they’re going to be great leaders.”
Running back Jared Tew
“That first half our offense struggled a little bit, we only got six points on the board, and we came into the locker room at half time and, just, realized we have to put some plays together, we’ve got to execute better than we did in that first half, and basically, if we took care of our responsibilities and every person did their job we knew we could drive the ball, and that’s pretty much what we did.”
On his last TD:
“My number got called on the three yard line and coach SingIeton [] says you get the ball in the red zone you don’t get stopped. I got lucky enough to get my number called, and in my last name I was lucky enough to get a touchdown. It’s pretty cool to end like that.”
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455 comments Add your comment
Chuck
December 28th, 2010
1:02 am
New guy, you won an ACC title in a year when the Noles, Canes, and Hokies were all rebuilding. You also lost to a chum Big one plus ten team in the Orange Bowl. Contain yourself, kid. Last year isn’t helping this program at all! Better start looking ahead! Last year is over and so is this one. Thank God…
GIVE ME A BREAK
December 28th, 2010
1:06 am
Embarrassing season. CPJ should be ashamed.
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
1:09 am
JacketsAndCPJAreAJoke, you remind me of a literacy test…you fail! Your obsession with Tech is cute….I’m tellin’ you, go to the pup blogs; you’ll fit right in!
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
1:10 am
Chuck….wouldn’t you call losing 4 key players to the NFL a ‘rebuilding year’? Just wondering.
OldSchoolTechFanatic
December 28th, 2010
1:16 am
CPJ is a GREAT COACH and I hope he will learn from this and have two quarterbacks ready to play at all times, this offense is rough on a quarterback. It was just one of those years. It was like everytime we had a good run someone was holding and it was called back. CPJ did more with less at Navy, WE just did not gel this year. It takes a TEAM to WIN. Good luck to all you seniors !!!
WrecksNEffect aka Ol' Wrecks
December 28th, 2010
1:23 am
Sorry macrotech, but CPJ had 15 Starters coming back for this season. plue key reserves like Orwin Smith, 15 starters is more than most Teams have coming back most seasons, with that returning Talent vs. the 70th toughest schedule AND playing in a crappy ACC where Klimpson, Miami, and UNC were down should have resulted in an 8 or 9 win season.
The Reason we didn’t have that 8-9 win season is that CPJ is a crappy Recruiter and his RS-Fr., T-Sophs, and RS-Sophs were not ready to step up.
Remember that CPJ marveled at HOW YOUNG we were in 2008 when he beat UGA.y, well you can’t be YOUNG in the 2008 and then complain about being young AGAIN in 2010.
We beat UGA.y with a bunch of Sophs. that Chan recruited and now that CJ’s Recruits are at LEAST Sophs. they are not able to contribute to wins because they lack the TALENT that Chan’s Recruits had.
GT man
December 28th, 2010
1:29 am
PJ is looking bad, what a sorry game plan and that idiot that fumbled the first punt had no buisness on the field again, should have put him on the bus coming home and Washington is no QB, hopefully Vad Lee wont be punished at Tech by becoming a WR instead of the QB.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
December 28th, 2010
1:38 am
change your offense and the lame triple option and things will change…..and this is from a uga fan. seriously, this package does not work…recruit qbs who can pass. when you run the ball 98% of the time, your more prone to fumbles and whatnot. get a serious offense, not some crap scheme.
Mama Says
December 28th, 2010
1:39 am
If any of you were real Tech fans you would stop with the comments and look at the actual future. The only OB on this team with ANY experience was a guy who absolutely could not hit the side of a barn with a pass if he was standing 3 feet from it (Nesbit). He was replaced by Washington who had been on the field exactly 3 plays. Tech has reshirted talent out the rear end. Perkins, an AJC top 15 RB is on the field next year, Ayers-a top 15 defensive back from 2 years ago will be coming off a redshirt, Isiah Johnson is another top 25 DB out of the state, who will be starting after being in a back up role this year ( because he was not red shirted= young). W
Mama Says
December 28th, 2010
1:39 am
to continue—–W
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
December 28th, 2010
1:43 am
this offense works for navy, not for gt. you folks who think the triple option is something a fbs school needs/wants are crazy. please name me another top 50 fbs school who runs this type of offense. keep expecting the same results year after year as long as this crap offense is being run…not to mention the effect it’ll have on recruiting.
NoMoreHewitt
December 28th, 2010
1:44 am
Four observations from a long-time Tech fan:
- Hardly any mention here of the injury to J. Nesbitt. He was our team, folks. Without him, the offense just wasn’t the same. EXCEPT –
- Vs the the Georgia doggards. This “Jr. High offense” ran it down their pathetic throats all night long. We completely outplayed them and lost only because of their insurmountable luck in this series. So they can keep crowing if they like: they are pathetic losers who don’t even know enough to sit down and shut up.
- I really hate this TO offense and I don’t think it is feasible to expect to win with no passing dimension whatsoever, or, for that matter, without a lot of passing ability. Just isn’t done in today’s football.
- I have been turned off on Coach Paul Johnson. His intransigent insistence on running this stuff is destroying our program and I hope he leaves or changes very, very soon. But I don’t think he will leave because I don’t believe any other division 1 school, other than a service academy, would have him.
Mama Says
December 28th, 2010
1:54 am
To continue—we also have a back QB (this year) in David Sims who CAN pass the ball and is just as big as Nesbit. But to top everything off Tech fumbled the ball 6 times in the pass two games. 3 of those wereinside the other teams 10 yard line.
With no fumbles we easily beat Georgia, Kansas, Va. Tech, Air Force and Miami and yes I said easily !
Fumbles are not a coaches fault. These kids have played football their entire lives they should know how to carry a ball and when to cover it !
Bottom line Tech killed themselves this year, the offense was not “stopped” by any other team, they stopped themselves.
11-2 is what they SHOULD have been–if they hold the ball you are bragging about back to back ACC championships and how good the future is.
Oh one more thing–The Gailey recruited non throwing QB known as Nesbit–broke his arm trying to tackle the Va Tech player after he threw him the ball as if he was a Tech WR, as he was in the end zone. So I guess you “it’s Gailey’s players” people would have to write that game off as lost by Gailey instead of Johnson, right ?
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
1:55 am
I’d like for us to win a bowl game, but I remain optimistic with CPJ at the helm. We NEED to get the turnover bug taken care of, though. I’ll leave all the hate to the pathetic pup fans that have nothing better to do than to generate a “Fire CPJ” campaign….a hint: the powers that be don’t make decisions based off of blogs. Bark away!
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
1:56 am
Mama don’t PLAY!!! AMEN!!!
Russell
December 28th, 2010
1:56 am
I cannot wait until UCF beats the crap out of the Bulldogs.. then hopefully all of these “Nerd” comments will go away.
Genius2010
December 28th, 2010
1:57 am
GTBob is delusional if he thinks Georgia Tech fans don’t go on the Georgia Blogs, and pose as “georgia fans”. GTBobblehead, when are you going to face reality, and start to put some blame on your “genius” coach Blow Johnson? Here are some facts for GTBobblehead and the other tech nerds.
Since he has been the coach GT is 0-3 in bowl games, and has only scored 2 offensive touchdowns in those 3 games. You really think Paul Johnson isn’t to blame for any of that? GT got their butts kicked bad to LSU, because Georgia Tech players were still living off their first win in many years against Georgia. When players aren’t prepared that falls on the HEAD coach, even if you don’t want to accept that fact. I wonder what the “moral victory” Georgia Tech nerds will use for their loss in the bowl game to Air Force? I’m going to guess and say “we only lost by a touchdown, and that’s because we had some players suspended for the game”. If that’s the case, than no matter how you look at it Paul Johnson is to blame for the loss, because he’s the one who made that decision to suspend the players.
Did Georgia Tech hire Paul Johnson to win a National Championship & be able to compete with Georgia? If that’s the case, GT is getting ripped of by Paul Johnson, because he hasn’t even done both. Sure, you have kept the games close, but you still lose them.
Blame the GT players all you want for losing the games. If you’re players keep losing the games, than it’s because you’re not recruiting top 5 star athletes. If the recruiting is bad, than that would be Paul Johnsons fault, but I’m sure you GT fans will give some excuse for him like always. Please, don’t use the excuse “gt has high standards, so it’s hard to recruit top 5 star athletes”. Chain Gailey had no problem recruiting great receivers like Calvin Johnson & Demaryius Thomas. Paul Johnson will never have a great recruiting class. because great players who have the NFL on their mind don’t want to play in the triple option.
Yes, Chan Gailey never was able to beat Georgia. Chan Gailey also never had a losing season while coaching at Georgia Tech. Paul Johnson brought GT’s first losing season in 15 years.
Don’t worry GT nerds, you’ll see this truth after next season when you have another losing season.
Russell
December 28th, 2010
2:02 am
Dear Genius2010,
If you represent UGA then you should be ashamed of yourself. You write like a 3rd grader.
We speak English in this Country, not Redneck Hick Dawg Pup Language.
Mama Says
December 28th, 2010
2:04 am
You folks have me going—–Have ANY of you stopped to think that Tech has been limited by it’s inability to throw the ball ?
Gailey recruited Nesbit as a pro style QB yet he missed wide open recivers and backs MORE THAN HE HIT THEM.
Washington is young and needs to develop arm strength–but he DOES not have the arm strength needed for a college level QB as of now.
I do believe that IF tech gets a QB who can throw the ball you will see a more prolific passing attack. Not to say it will become the base offense but it will open up the field.
We have yet to see what CPJ can do with a QB who can pass, you saw a hint of it in this game Jefferson is a QB at Air Force who can throw when needed and do it on target.
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
2:04 am
Genius2010, I’ve GOTTA believe that uga hired cmr to win a National Championship….HOW’S that workin’ out for ya? In fact, you mutts been barking for his head for the past few years. How long has he been there? You have some barking to do….bey away!
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
2:06 am
By the way…I’ve seen Tech fans on the uga blogs…they are what they are, and NOW you are too!
NoMoreHewitt
December 28th, 2010
2:10 am
Don’t worry about the “nerd comments” Russell. Georgia hicks think anybody who can do long division and write a full sentence is a nerd.
Genius2010
December 28th, 2010
2:18 am
Russell If you had a hard time reading that, than you read like a 3rd grader.
Macrotech, not all dawg fans have been barking for his head, just like you’ll say “not all tech fans are yelling for Paul Johnson fired”. To answer your question Mark Richt has been at Georgia for 10 years, and has a record of 96–33. If you’re going to argue that’s a bad record, than you obviously didn’t go to Georgia Tech. Also, Mark Richt is 7-2 in bowl games. What is Blow Paul Johnson’s record in bowl games? 0-3
Mark Richt’s first 3 seasons as head coach he went 32-8 (3 wins against Georgia Tech). Paul Johnson’s record as Georgia Tech’s coach is 26-14 (1-2 record against Georgia). If Georgia really sucks, than GT has to suck more, if they are losing to a “horrible” Georgia team under a “horrible” coach.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
December 28th, 2010
2:19 am
tech fans, its called denial. while the educational comments are amusing, the fact remains the same. what richt has done for uga will never be accomplished by cpj. change the offense, change the coach. otherwise, you’ll be going down the same road year after year. granted uga has had it’s problems, however aside from the past 2 years, uga has been a constant threat in the fbs system.
Genius2010
December 28th, 2010
2:23 am
NoMoreHewitt
“Don’t worry about the “nerd comments” Russell. Georgia hicks think anybody who can do long division and write a full sentence is a nerd.”
Yea, I remember Reggie Ball was really good at long division.
Lennox
December 28th, 2010
2:28 am
@NoMoreHewitt
You had a comma splice in your comment. You’re not a nerd, just an idiot.
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
2:29 am
I, ACTUALLY, appreciate the cmr as a good coach and laugh at the pup fans that continue to bark for his removal. It doesn’t take a genius to recognize what he’s done at uga. I scoff at those of you that would come onto an opposing teams blog and try to generate similar drivel about OUR coach. I’m disappointed in CPJ’s bowl record, but I’m willing to give him time.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater? Is your name in reference to a fart in the tub? Your post supports this!
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
2:30 am
….appreciate THAT cmr IS a good coach….
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
December 28th, 2010
2:33 am
macrotech, i’ll let you look my name up in reference, but facts remain the same. i’m all for keeping richt as head coach. What i’m suggesting is that cpj does away with this pathetic offense. do i need to remind you that you lost a bowl game to air force? air force? air force? seriously…let that sink in for awhile.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
December 28th, 2010
2:36 am
oh and you guys managed to score 7 points against air force….great job. find a qb who knows how to throw a ball and stop relying on this lame offense…triple option?? really..is this what gt’s future is all about? have you no self pride?
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
2:42 am
I hear ya…but, we ARE talking about the same AF team that ONLY lost to Oklahoma by three. Enjoy the bubbles!
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
December 28th, 2010
2:46 am
don’t use that as an excuse, gt is better than that. i’ll take my bubbles and rest tonight that i’m pretty confident that uga will beat ucf and gt will return with the same triple option next year and history will repeat itself. get rid of that crap offense and things will turn around for gt.
Kevin
December 28th, 2010
2:54 am
McKayhan needs to just keep his head up. Look on the bright side, he led his team in receiving… with 1 catch for 16 yards hahahaha
macrotech
December 28th, 2010
3:00 am
Would you be referring to the offense that HAS NOT worked for us during the previous regimes of recent history? We’ll stick to this one….perhaps uga could adopt the triple option and get beyond all the preseason hype….just a thought. What’s the definition of insanity? Sleep well…don’t take UCF too lightly, though…they have a good ‘D’, solid QB and a REALLY strong RB. Take no offense in my humor…you seem to be one of the good ones.
superDawg
December 28th, 2010
3:20 am
macriod lift your yellow hair clown trophy and kiss it brother.The T.O. is for kids and that is not a trick.
superDawg
December 28th, 2010
3:23 am
CMR will smoke your boy pj for years to come so get ready to enjoy life in the toilet bowl year after year.
Headley Lamar
December 28th, 2010
3:26 am
As the late “Dandy” Don Meridith would sing
Turn out the lights … the parties over …..
CPJ is safe at Tech but the honeymoon is definitely over and a some bloom is off the rose theses days,
Stinger 2
December 28th, 2010
3:39 am
GT fans complained so long and loud about Chan`s medicore 7and 5 seasons which led to his being fired. At least he never had a losing season record and deployed an offense that could both throw and run the ball.
Relax everyone. Regardless of how many complaints DRad
hears about CPJ, he is no going anywhere for a while. We either have to find another team to pull for or accept what CPJ wants to dish out which will not change.
Ron Hyatt
December 28th, 2010
3:53 am
100 years from now, we all will be dead. nanny nanny boo boo.
Real TECH Grad
December 28th, 2010
4:49 am
Getting tired of CPJ and this offense. Also, Poor recruiting, poor execution. Time for a change; change the offense or change the coach. Ga Tech is a top Academic Institution but is not serious about Athletics, why?, in Football and Basketball we are losers. If we want to be the best, then we need to rethink our programs. Who has CPJ recruited that the NFL will want down the line? Maybe a couple of defensive players. Last year we won the ACC, went to the Orange Bowl but dropped our last two games to Georgia and in the Orange bowl. Not good to me. I have supported Tech a very long time but this is looking like the Pepper Rogers era all over again. If we are going to try to be a top Academic and Athletic School, we need to look at what Stanford, Michigan, and even Auburn (yes, Auburn is a fine academic school); need to play by the same rules as your opponent or you will lose more often than them. Add some education courses, our state needs more good teachers and our high schools overall are poor. We are putting our Athletes under too much pressure with the limited course offerings we have. Come on, Georgia BOR, quit protecting UGA Football and let Tech add Education Majors. We already are a University and you added Engineering at UGA. Fair is fair or are you BOR members just about UGA Football?
Techron
December 28th, 2010
6:17 am
Not a scrap of good in this season. The offense sucks and the defense is worse. Kicking was good, of course, but what can that do with everyone else lying down? Johnson is in trouble. I really think it is time to sack the whole coaching staff and start all over. 6 bowl losses in a row! Of course, last years bowl vs. Iowa was a much bigger disgrace, so maybe this is an improvement. Our team is poorly conceived and poorly prepared. When will Johnson come to grips with the fact that something is not working and try something else? For example: Getting stuffed over and over on 3rd and 8? Is there not a play they know that is designed to get 8 yards? Don’t tell me, Coach, that they are all designed to go all the way if everyone “executes.” None of your people have executed all year and you stick to the same BS. I am sick of it.
dagnabit
December 28th, 2010
6:43 am
brown frown… Who asked you…. axhole.
Cmon man
December 28th, 2010
7:01 am
first your bball team loses to siena now the football team loses to air force what a joke! Only gt can win the conf championship then turn around and have a losing season the next yr with a senior qb! Also only gt fans brag abt gaining 400+ yds against uga they also ran abt 30 more plays, controlled the ball for 17 mins more than uga and still lost the game! uga held tech to abt 5 yds per play on 97 plays. uga ave 8yds per play and abt 90 less total yds so looking at the complete stat sheet uga kicked your butt! If you dont believe me look at the stats yourself! Air force? You really lost to air force lmao so so sad
gotta go
December 28th, 2010
7:07 am
First of all, I am a UGA fan, but I think there are some GT fans who will agree with this. If we don’t have our epic meltdown for a quarter in the GA/GT game in 2008, would Coach PJ be thought of as such an offensive genius?
Secondly, it’s official….both GT AND UGA are bad and neither is going anywhere soon.
JB
December 28th, 2010
7:22 am
I kid a lot on here about Tech, But Tech could have won that game….Turnovers killed Tech, but it’s part of the game. Paul, Get you a punter. Man, that guy is not even high school level. I do not think the Johnson era will work. You gotta have players, and he ain’t got them….or getting them. If I was Tech, I would hire that Diaz DC from Mississippi St. as my HC. Trust me, he’d bring fire to your program. Hate to say it, Johnson’s demeanor looks like HE’S quit.
JB
December 28th, 2010
7:26 am
6-6
0-6
1-10
Very telling numbers.
HBTD!!!
InsectInside
December 28th, 2010
7:27 am
Can we re-title this a Dog blog…that’s all that’s here.
UGA Rules in 2011!
December 28th, 2010
7:32 am
Why can’t johnson win with his own recruits?? 6-7 in that weak conference—are you serious? Paul johnson and paul hewitt–two of the same—mediocre with their own players.
GTBob
December 28th, 2010
7:34 am
Real TECH Grad, we are not serious about athletics? Just last year we had an ACC winning football team, a basketball team in the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament, a baseball team hosting the regionals again and plenty of other competitive sports outside of that. You want to be like Stanford and Michigan? Between 2006-2008 Stanford was 10-26 in football. They were even 1-11 one year. They are just fortunate that Andrew Luck decided to go there. Michigan is 15-21 in the past 3 years. We are having a bad season in football and basketball. Take it like a man and quit whining.
mad
December 28th, 2010
7:36 am
If he drops the first punt, why have him the second time. You know he is now scared of fumbling and guess what? Poor coaching.