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
lewisbuzzard
December 28th, 2010
7:38 am
Very disappointed in the decisions to have an untested player returning punts. I don’t buy the Tarrant injury BS. Coach Johnson makes some of the most bungling decisions in bowl games. It is difficult to fathom. Tech could have exploited AF on the outside all night long if they had chose to do so but for some crazy reason we decided to go with our FB dive play all night that was picking up 1 to 2 yds a pop. Oh yeah and Dawg fans kiss my as#.
SuperB
December 28th, 2010
7:42 am
To St. Simons: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
MOONPIE
December 28th, 2010
7:48 am
Air Force?
You are kidding right?
heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
NEZ MAN
December 28th, 2010
7:54 am
I AM GLAD THIS JOKE OF A SEASON IS OVER. I CAN NOT TAKE ANYMORE OF THIS CRAP THIS YEAR. I LIKE COACH JOHNSON BUT PRETTY MUCH ALL THE MISTAKES HAPPEN ON THE OFFENCE AND SPECIAL TEAMS WHICH LAST TIME I CHECKED HE COACHES. HE NEEDS TO TAKE A LONG LOOK IN THE MIRROR WHEN HE TALKS ABOUT CORRECTING THE MISTAKES ON THE FEILD. AND FOR GOD SAKES DO WE HAVE TO THROW THE BALL DEEP EVERYTIME?
poor performance
December 28th, 2010
7:54 am
`
. . . . . # 80 for GT gave the game away on a silver platter.
Dave from GT
December 28th, 2010
8:02 am
Proper prior preparation prevents piss poor performance !!!!!!!
Well the performance was piss poor, What does that say to you ?
If the USAFA guys perform like that …. in real life….. they are dead ! Kinda brings it home, doesn’t it.?
And our Coach know this too !!
Scrod
December 28th, 2010
8:05 am
CPJ, arrogance is one thing. Backing it up is another.
Your team was unprepared, unmotivated and undisciplined all year. Do you realize we had at least one turnover in the red-zone in EVERY game this year? Do you realize that we commit stupid penalties at critical points in the games? Do you have any idea how many miscues our Special Teams committed this year?
Either earn that fat salary or step down…and take Hewitt with you.
bob
December 28th, 2010
8:08 am
Chan Gailey took his recruits to the ACC Championship the year before he was fired. Johnson took Gailey’s recruits to an ACC Championship the year after he was hired. But now that he is playing with his own recruits, he has a losing record playing in a weak conference. Top notch players do not want to go to a Division 2 style football program. btw: Stanford proves it is not the academic standards. It is the players they are bringing in, and that gimmick game they try to play. They are literally incapable of throwing a completed pass downfield. On that last drive with the time running, they were only able to throw 5 yard patterns.
9-1 in Last 10
December 28th, 2010
8:09 am
The ACC-Almost Collegiate Conference
What a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CloudmanJacket
December 28th, 2010
8:10 am
Air Force showed what an option attack should look like…mixing in the pass and different formations. CPJ is a joke and should be fired. 6 and 7 in the weak ACC plus losing to 6 unranked teams. You kool-aid drinkers keep drinking it. You are idiots.
We only scored 7 points against an arm service defense. We had bigger, faster, and stronger players, but we have a coach who is a stubborn with his “system”. I think the announcer said Air Force only had 2 players on their team with D1 offers-WOW. This ship isn’t sinking, it is at the bottom of the ocean.
redhairpimplefacetechnerd
December 28th, 2010
8:11 am
I guess now,I will add Air Force pilots to my growning list of people to punch in the nose!
The list is getting to long,CPJ
9-1 in Last 10
December 28th, 2010
8:14 am
I guess Tech lost because they can recruit the needed players because of the high class standards needed for enrollment at The North Ave Trade School?
Bhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
You just got schooled by Air Force!
Dooner
December 28th, 2010
8:14 am
Plese erveryone quit fussing I need to reind everyone of the fish fry and wonderful tartar sauce. GT rules!!!!
Dooner
December 28th, 2010
8:16 am
There will be extrafish fillets aplenty boys!!! Spread that tartar sauce o those fish!!!! BAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Old Gold
December 28th, 2010
8:21 am
Time for Johnson to go!
BUZZMAN
December 28th, 2010
8:22 am
Well maybe the Athletic Dept will listen, our team looked like high schoolers out there. The announcers were right. Why would you go with a triple option like the service schools. It doesn’t make sense. This will really hurt our recruiting, how are we going to get players like, Calvin Johnson, D. Thomas, Morgan, Dwyer, etc. These are players that wanted to play in the NFL, what NFL team will recruit a Washington, Hill, etc. Have to give credit to Chan Gaily for recruiting those players. Tech will not have a winning season as long as CPJ and Al Groh are there. Wake up Athletic Dept. I will not get season tickets next year or as long a CPJ is coaching. Have a good year.
matt
December 28th, 2010
8:24 am
hahahahahahaha Air Force! hahahahahahahaha
And you nerds want Richt fired? lmao!
GTBob
December 28th, 2010
8:25 am
Dave from GT, that is a good post. Of the two teams that played last night, one of the two teams had no turnovers, and only one penalty for 5 yards. The other team had 4 turnovers (one in the red zone) and three penalties for 22 yards. It’s really not hard to figure out who won. Air Force didn’t really have to beat us. They just had to play well enough to let us beat ourselves. They show how important discipline can be.
CloudmanJacket
December 28th, 2010
8:25 am
Where are all of the Koo-Aid drinkers who are normally on here? It seems most of you now agree with what I have been saying for the past couple of months. FIRE CPJ, 6 losses to unranked teams – simply no excuse.
CloudmanJacket
December 28th, 2010
8:26 am
GTBob – and who recruits and coaches up the players?
eye exam
December 28th, 2010
8:27 am
Ever play softball and miss a pop fly? I did and had an eye exam and discovered I had poor depth perception that was corrected by glasses.
Has #80 ever had an eye exam. Johnson asked a guy earlier…”are you stupid?”
When a coach sees his guy misjudge a punt badly and sends the same guy in again, does that demand the question…are you …..?
SRF
December 28th, 2010
8:29 am
eye exam – I agree, but there was just nobody left. After injuries, players quitting and players flunking… they had to stick with the scrubs.
roughrider
December 28th, 2010
8:30 am
I hope Tech will refuse a bowl request if they are eligible next year. I get tired of seeing them lose every bowl game.
CloudmanJacket
December 28th, 2010
8:31 am
SRF; so what was their problem in the other 5 losses to unranked teams?
SRF
December 28th, 2010
8:33 am
There is not enough time to list all of their problems. They just stink.
poor performance
December 28th, 2010
8:34 am
Just let the ball bounce and Get Away if you can’t catch the damn thing.
Coaches of second-rate schools
December 28th, 2010
8:34 am
LONG-LIVE PAUL JOHNSON & PAUL HEWITT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CloudmanJacket
December 28th, 2010
8:34 am
SRF; I can list all of the problems…
1) Coaching
2) Recruiting
SRF
December 28th, 2010
8:36 am
Those would indeed be the top 2.
GTBob
December 28th, 2010
8:36 am
@bob,
btw: Stanford proves it is not the academic standards
In the past 14 seasons, GT has had 13 winning seasons. Stanford has had 4. 5 of those seasons Stanford had 4 wins or less. You bash GT for bowl games, yet Stanford hasn’t won a bowl game in 14 years. Good for Stanford that they struck gold recently with Andrew Luck but you might want to find a better team for comparison.
nickj0321
December 28th, 2010
8:36 am
Bad game, bad season…but come on guys its not the end of the world. We made mistake after mistake game after game. You cant lose the turnover battle seemingly every game and be successful. Not to mention, we were without our BEST PLAYER and LEADER (Joshua) for the last 5 games. CPJ will right the ship next year. Wish we had a better basketball program to look forward too. Go Jackets!
Tech Guy
December 28th, 2010
8:38 am
We won the party!
collegeballfan
December 28th, 2010
8:38 am
I will join the “big problems at Tech” parade. One problem is the QB position. Washington appears to be just to slow in making decisions. Plus he is just a slow runner. A fast QB would have turned a couple of his runs into long TD runs. Sims or Days the answer?
Botton line, Gailey never had a losing season did he?
Tech Guy
December 28th, 2010
8:39 am
Remember that these are STUDENT Atheltes
nickj0321
December 28th, 2010
8:39 am
The band wagon fans will fall off now…but the true fans will stick around to see us rebound next year. Most of the haters on here are UGA fans (who just pull for UGA because its cool, none of them can use the correct forms of there/their and you/your etc…) who just come on here because all of the blue collar jobs have disappeared in this economy and they have nothing better to do.
nickj0321
December 28th, 2010
8:40 am
collegeballfan – Gailey also never won the ACC
Obama
December 28th, 2010
8:40 am
Unemployment is at 11%,and you can’t find a special team coach?
CloudmanJacket
December 28th, 2010
8:41 am
@ GTBob; please don’t use high academic standards as the excuse. Air Force’s standards are much higher to get good players. FWIW; there is a reason GT added a business management degree – so their football players could take it.
SRF
December 28th, 2010
8:41 am
CPJ will not “right the ship” next year – he will have even LESS talent to work with and he does not even seem to know which end of the boat is up.
GTBob
December 28th, 2010
8:43 am
@CloudmanJacket,
That absolutely falls on CPJ and I am pretty sure he would admit that. Lack of discipline, fundamentals, and motivation was the killer for our team all season. He has to figure out where that went wrong and right the ship in the off season.
nickj0321
December 28th, 2010
8:44 am
SRF – you are either a bandwagon fan or UGA fan that i mentioned previously
6-7
December 28th, 2010
8:45 am
6-7 record in the weak ACC???? Inexcusable—time for johnson to hit the road and go back to Navy. Tech needs a real coach who will run a pro offense to get big time recruits who want to play in the nfl–not this weird, mickey mouse option offense that doesn’t work in big games.
Fish Fry
December 28th, 2010
8:46 am
Let’s see, where were we…
42-34 loss to UGA leaves tech fans giddy
Moral victories leave tech fans giddy
14-7 loss to Air Force leaves tech fans giddy
6th straight bowl loss leaves tech fans giddy
Losing season leaves tech fans giddy
CPJ throwing players under the bus leaves tech fans giddy
Techmaninathens
December 28th, 2010
8:46 am
Why did Johnson let No. 80, Daniel McKayhan, catch the punts, or drop them when that is Tarrant’s job? Was Tarrant hurt? Did PJ want Daniel McKayhan to get experience? I hope it’s not the latter.
the real Old Gold
December 28th, 2010
8:46 am
Most of you guys have the football IQ of a dead cat. What do dropped passes, fumbles, special teams blunders, and bad third down defense have to do with Coach Johnson’s play calling and offensive genius? These have been the story of the season. Every coach has those teams that he can’t just seem to teach (2007 Alabama, 2010 Georgia, 2008 Clemson etc…). It’s about players making plays and gaining confidence in themselves, and this years Tech team was a terrible one.
The coach is fine; The offense is fine; Tech is fine. Learn to watch the game and not be a knee jerk ESPN News sound byte idiot.
Dawglasville
December 28th, 2010
8:49 am
Tech lost their starting quarterback and best player in the middle of the season. I can’t believe that the media isn’t cutting them more slack. That said, as a Georgia fan I know what that feels like (Losing to Florida without Shockley and losing to Tech without Quincy Carter).
SRF
December 28th, 2010
8:49 am
Nope – I am old and grouchy Tech alumin and fan – probably have seen more GT games than most of the people here.
I Despise UGA.
nickj0321
December 28th, 2010
8:53 am
the real Old Gold – thank god there are still some rational thinking people out there…you would think people would cut CPJ a little slack after he came in and won the ACC championship in his 2nd season, which, by the way was just last year!
BigTimeTechFan
December 28th, 2010
8:57 am
My two cents:
If T Washington wins the starting QB job next year Tech is in for anouther 5/6 win season at best. Why CJP did not give Sims solid playing time after Washington’s play the last 3 games is crazy. Only game Washington looked pretty good in was when Nesbitt got hurt against Va Tech. If Washington is that much better then Sims we better hope Vad signs. If not I say keep the guy that just committed at QB instead of LB.
Nice to see Defense play a real nice game, played AF better then Oklahoma, Utah, and all other. Attuachu and I Johnson are going to be solid players.
Groh did a very nice job, did good job against Va Tech also, hope he stays next year, defense should improve, find a nice QB and Tech could have a nice year next year.
nickj0321
December 28th, 2010
8:58 am
BigTimeTechFan – I agree on all points. While Tevin is a solid backup, I dont think he is the answer for us to compete for championships