Look back at Georgia, bowl talk
Greetings-
Hope you are well and have adequately processed Saturday’s game. To me, it ended up pretty simple. Georgia had the better team and Georgia Tech needed to play a near-flawless game to have a chance. It didn’t, and the Jackets lost.
Last Tuesday, Roddy Jones didn’t exactly give away the game plan, but this is what he said: “It’ll definitely be a hard-fought battle and come down to execution.”
It was and it did. Georgia made the plays and Tech didn’t, in part because the Bulldogs were more capable and positioned to make them. Georgia’s offensive line was probably the best that Tech has faced this season, and same goes for quarterback Aaron Murray and tight end Orson Charles at their respective positions.
To me, the Jackets lost the game (or Georgia won it) once they failed to hold serve in the third quarter, giving Georgia great field position with the kick return and two interceptions and then failing to generate points on the ensuing possessions.
1. For what it’s worth, coach Paul Johnson made mention of the late second-quarter field goal that Georgia kicker Blair Walsh hit, and how it changed the momentum and how it had happened a few times previously this season that Tech has scored late in the half and then let the opponent answer with another score. I thought it’d be worth looking up.
Tech’s opponent was the last to score in the first half seven times, and six of those times it was inside the final two minutes.
Including Saturday’s game, there were four instances of what Johnson mentioned – a late second-quarter score by Tech trumped by an opponent score – one of which was followed by a Jackets field goal.
Against Western Carolina, Jones scored on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 2:21 remaining. Tech got the ball back but had its field-goal try blocked and returned for a touchdown with no time left.
Against Kansas, Justin Moore made a 24-yard field goal with 39 seconds remaining, and the Jayhawks went 60 yards in four plays to set up a field goal. Kansas’ kicker missed his first attempt left but got another try on a Tech penalty and made the second from 28 yards.
Against Miami, Tech drove 92 yards in 20 plays, scoring on a Tevin Washington keeper with 1:02 remaining to close to 14-7. Miami returned the kickoff to the Tech 46 and got into the end zone in three plays and 25 seconds to make the score 21-7.
Against Virginia Tech, Moore scored a field goal with 1:00 remaining to close to 14-10, but Hokies quarterback Logan Thomas hit Danny Coale for a 63-yard yard touchdown and a 21-10 lead. Tech responded in that instance with a half-ending field goal.
Technically speaking, the Virginia Tech example is a little gray, as the Jackets answered the Coale touchdown. Still, both instances with Miami and the Hokies were pretty damaging.
2. I think Tech is headed to the Sun Bowl and I also think the Chick-fil-A Bowl is not very excited about its ACC options, assuming Virginia Tech wins the ACC title. I think the first because Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas said as much in an interview with me on Saturday after the game, saying the Jackets look like the pick right now if they’re available.
As for the second, if the Hokies win, here are Chick-fil-A Bowl president Gary Stokan’s options: Clemson, which would have lost three games in a row and four of its last five and likely would drop out of the BCS rankings (the Tigers are No. 20); Virginia, which was building momentum but got hammered by Virginia Tech on Saturday; Florida State, which got back into both polls after beating Florida, but which I don’t think is much of an option because the Seminoles played there last year, and Tech, which also lost Saturday in dispiriting fashion.
One possible problem for Tech and the Sun Bowl would occur if Clemson gets drilled and the Chick-fil-A decides it can’t take the Tigers and takes, I guess, Virginia. (Even if Clemson lost badly, it doesn’t seem likely the Tigers still wouldn’t come to Atlanta.) In this scenario, then the Champs Sports Bowl takes Florida State and then the Sun Bowl would take Clemson, as it’s contractually obligated to take the ACC title-game loser if available. The next game would be the Belk Bowl in Charlotte, which may well jump on N.C. State, a local team that finished hot. That would give the Jackets to the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl in Nashville.
3. That’s about it. I’ve got a couple things to get cranking on for Tuesday’s paper.
The All-ACC team will be released at 3 p.m. today. I’ll have something up on the blog shortly after. My guess is guard Omoregie Uzzi will be on the first team and deservedly so. A-back Orwin Smith and linebacker Julian Burnett have a shot at first team.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
182 comments Add your comment
Coach Johnson
November 28th, 2011
1:09 pm
He is ! He better not salt too much this time!!!!!
Stripes
November 28th, 2011
1:10 pm
Hello SOS is probably why you have not moved up in two weeks.
This has to be the most lopsided SEC championship game in history.
LSU rolls 52-21. At least you don’t have a long drive back home.
J-Dawg
November 28th, 2011
1:11 pm
May stay at Bobby Dodd stadium. It is always empty.
The Truth
November 28th, 2011
1:12 pm
Maybe Next Year
November 28th, 2011
12:57 pm
Just noticed…the finals were exactly the same! 31-17! HAHA Tech…SMH
Back at u.
Sorry to confuse all of you UGA fans. Not very difficult.
Under CPJ
November 28th, 2011
1:13 pm
Tech fans …………………this season and last year really give y’all the best look see at a CPJ era. He is a solid 7-4 type of coach ……………………like Bobby Dodd was after the mid 1950s. CPJ cannot ever win the ACC in back to back years.
Tech has to be really clicking on all cylinders and VaTech and Clemson, Miami and FSU, the so called “powers” of the ACC have to be in rough shape and ALL at that same time. The stars will never align themselves that way to assist GT, so 7-4 it is.
Maybe Next Year
November 28th, 2011
1:13 pm
@The Truth: I pointed out scores of two games…that is classless? I think not. Try again…MAYBE NEXT YEAR
J-Dawg
November 28th, 2011
1:13 pm
This has been fun. Same time next year!!!!!!!!!!!! On to the LSU guys!!!!!!
Ric Flair
November 28th, 2011
1:15 pm
GodSpeed J-Dawg!!!!!!! Whooooooooooooooo!
GT Dude
November 28th, 2011
1:16 pm
@ maybe, sorry to hear that you were treated badly,
Now about that corner office with the big window, I have a feeling that the window opens, you have to wear a headset and sit behind a cash register, its called the DRIVE THRU lane.
SorryTech
November 28th, 2011
1:17 pm
Tech… Triple option is a failure, and one that will take years of recruiting to fix if you ever come to your senses and drop that gimmicky scheme. Defense is non-existent. Long way to go before you’ll compete with Georgia again. Pretty clear the trajectories that these two programs are on. Irrelevence isn’t a recipe for a strong rivalry, but I guess we’ll keep playing you guys as an excuse to hold up a “We Run This State!” sign every year.
GA Native
November 28th, 2011
1:17 pm
GT and UGA have horrible defense. Both schools need to do a better job of recruiting in Georgia.
Old Blind Dawg
November 28th, 2011
1:17 pm
Hey Truth you sure do paint with a broad brush……………………
dawgfan
November 28th, 2011
1:18 pm
LOL @ #2 Ken. Good grief the ACC is as big of a disaster as ever. How this conference still has an auto BCS bid is beyond me.
After running their mouths for the better part of 3 years about a “New Sheriff In Town,” I sense a little bit of resignation out of the Techies. We have destroyed their will. Paul Johnson was a false prophet. All talk and no walk.
Be honest Techies, after 45-42 how many of you thought the great Paul Johnson would be 1-3 vs. the Dawgs right now? Remember I said to be HONEST. I know that is difficult for you.
Thanks.
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
1:18 pm
Now about that corner office with the big window, I have a feeling that the window opens, you have to wear a headset and sit behind a cash register, its called the DRIVE THRU lane.
Class. Total class that’s what Tech is.
Haha
November 28th, 2011
1:19 pm
GT Dude is really sitting in his dorm playing Warcraft skipping classes he can’t pass because he’s just never wanted to be an engineer!
Stripes
November 28th, 2011
1:19 pm
J-Dog- I am a graduate of LSU and have been reading these blogs
from your game with TECH and now see why the UGA name is
not only slandered in GA but every other state including
Louisiana. Bobby Dodd might be a safe place for you to watch the game this wkend after we shread your oversized line 52-21. Losers
Sven Ottke
November 28th, 2011
1:19 pm
headley, your alma mater Troy got beat by Western Kentucky? Western Kentucky? Didn’t they go like 2 full years without winning a game?
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
1:20 pm
SEC East 3 ACC 1
Still think there isn’t much difference between the SEC and ACC CPJ ????
Maybe Next Year
November 28th, 2011
1:20 pm
@GT Dude: I don’t have to prove anything to you. Stay in that Tech Denial I mentioned earlier. I’ll give you credit…that was a good come back though. But I can assure you it is no drive thru.
Haha
November 28th, 2011
1:21 pm
Stripes is a closet tech fan who has now a LSU kitty fan since his team continually disappoints.
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
1:21 pm
headley, your alma mater Troy got beat by Western Kentucky? Western Kentucky? Didn’t they go like 2 full years without winning a game?
Could care less about Troy football. Just went for the sheepskin and the doors that would open.
headley lamar
November 28th, 2011
1:23 pm
Stripes is a closet tech fan who has now a LSU kitty fan since his team continually disappoints.
Your gonna see allot of that in the next few days.
Tech fans are famous for hiding behind other teams. They have been doing that with Florida for years.
Stripes
November 28th, 2011
1:23 pm
HAHA we will see if you are still bloging on Sunday.
Technically Correct
November 28th, 2011
1:29 pm
Ken, you are right that the better team won on Saturday. The difference in talent level showed up everywhere, but most notably at the QB position. Basically, Murray carried Georgia’s offense on his back, while Washington struggled. Surely, we cannot endure another season without a quality passing attack. Is Vad Lee destined to step in next season to finally create some balance within this offense?
Jacket864
November 28th, 2011
1:32 pm
How do dog fans have the time to troll these blogs? Don’t you have a job??? Maybe dog fans with class do have jobs and aren’t the ones trolling Tech posts. Maybe these indecent and classless posts by dog fans are made by unsupervised high schoolers. But I am probably wrong in both cases. Here’s my suggestion; go here and leave your classless rants about your one victory in 23 years vs gators http://dooley.blogs.gatorsports.com
There’s plenty of ‘nole fans yucking it up after their crap team beat a crapier one. Better hurry up though. The clock’s ticking. Less than 330 days before gators resume to doing what they do best…
Teddy Roosevelt
November 28th, 2011
1:35 pm
Just reading the grammar form the inbreds on this blog proves every point ever made about the education disparity between both schools.
Miles from home
November 28th, 2011
1:35 pm
LMAO these so called DAWGS or however you spell it think they can win on Saturday……PLEASE they only reason you get to play my alma mater is because you won by default. In that horribly secrond-rate division in the EAST. See you Saturday…..oh just keep the car warm when you leave by the beginning of the third quarter.
Vad Lee here
November 28th, 2011
1:37 pm
I’m looking at a transfer………………..GSU looks more promising at the moment. I can’t run off tackle because it scares me. I thought if I signed with a high school team I would play against high school type guys – oops.
Old blind Dawg
November 28th, 2011
1:39 pm
Hey Jacket864 – how is it you have time to blog here – you looking for a job?
jsmooth
November 28th, 2011
1:39 pm
The Truth:
Classless fans? Whose fans (student body) were standing, booing and chanting “THWG” during the tribute to Munson and halftime?? Pot calling the kettle black. Every school has them, however, Tech has more than enough. I know losing is tough, believe me, we have had our share with UF. However, get over it and move on. 1 out of 10. Maybe next year.
Haha
November 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
@Teddy it’s from not form! Lmao!
Tech Man
November 28th, 2011
1:40 pm
The mutts played better Saturday, but we did have more rushing yards against the mutts more than any other sec team. That is saying a lot with a team that is # 2 against the run and 4th in total defense. All that offense needs is a passer and the offense will be OK. Defense is another story, must be a much better pass defensive unit next year. I know Tech fans are tired of losing against the mutts and VT, but hang in there, next year we’ll be a more better, stronger, and more experience team!! GO JACKETS
James Carville
November 28th, 2011
1:41 pm
Teddy, where did you go to school, you big dummy!
Chris
November 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
The difference in the game Saturday was one thing…Quarterback. We have not had a sharp quarterback since Godsey. A good quarterback would have made a HUGE difference. Not trying to disparage Washington. I think he did a pretty good job this year, but the plays were there to be made against Georgia. He’s overthrowing WIDE OPEN recievers and throwing it to the wrong recievers at times. Our lineman were doing a fine job blocking. If you compare Tech and Georgia for the last decade one thing separates the two: one school has had outstanding quarterback play, the other has not. Can you guess which is which?
Baddawg
November 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
@tech man. You sound like a broken record every year. Getting bored with these pitiful excuses. Give us a team to play at the end of the season that will help us move up in the polls when we smack you down!
GT Dude
November 28th, 2011
1:45 pm
@Maybe it was just a softball I had to hit, but hope you do come back to the flats and that you will have a better experience. I believe that both fan bases have a share of bad apples.
It always amazes me that some fans giving their opposing fans grief, because without the opponents there would be no one on the other side of the field to play your team, pretty simple…
Munson was a peedofile
November 28th, 2011
1:54 pm
we had shower time
GT Dude
November 28th, 2011
1:55 pm
Concerning the QB discussion, we would have won two more games with a faster QB
Hopefully, Vad Lee is the answer…
OkieDawg
November 28th, 2011
1:58 pm
GT’s biggest weakness is at QB which many Tech fans have pointed out. But how will GT ever get a really top notch QB? How many highly recruited high school QBs would want to play in a system that runs the ball around 60 times a game and passes around 15? Great high school players want to play for a program that will get them exposure for the next level. A great passer is not going to play in Tech’s antiquated offense. I’m afraid there is not much light at the end of the tunnel for “Chop Block-U”.
TampaDawg
November 28th, 2011
2:00 pm
Stripes
November 28th, 2011
1:10 pm
Hello SOS is probably why you have not moved up in two weeks.
This has to be the most lopsided SEC championship game in history.
LSU rolls 52-21. At least you don’t have a long drive back home.
————————-
UGA fans heard this same crap back in 2005. And guess how that turned out???? The rankings looked very similar too, go figure.
Techno train
November 28th, 2011
2:01 pm
Maybe not just a faster QB but some faster chop blockers on the OL also! Maybe we can take out some more of the defensive players with our blindside leg chops!
Old Blind Dawg
November 28th, 2011
2:03 pm
GT would be better served with Vad Lee at safety. They need defensive help and Vad’s gaudy passing stats were a result of great receivers not a great arm – look at the highlight stuff on Youtube.
SmartJay
November 28th, 2011
2:04 pm
Funny at the end of the season Georgia fans are all about the “trajectory” of the 2 programs. Wonder how many of these people were confident of the UGA “trajectory” when they were 0-2 and lost to a team that plays on a blue field? Seem to remember some scalps being called for then.
Tech’s path is just fine. 8 wins after last year is better than expected, and, in hindsight, wins in all 4 losses were possible. Tech is never going to compete at the same level with a top tier SEC football school (and though it’s painful, UGA is definitely a top tier SEC football school), nor with one that has 3x the enrollment, a much more flexible academic program, and many more financial resources.
I don’t want to see CPJ and his high school offense leave the flats. I enjoy it, as it’s different from what we see from all the other copycat schools, and it’s exciting. Sure, he needs to incorporate more of a passing attack into this thing. He’s done that at Hawaii, where he ran a kind o frun and shoot, so he knows how, but, when you make the leap from 10-15 to 15-20 passes in a game, that may not seem like much, but it impacts the effectiveness of the rest of the triple option. Of course, now that Tebow is making running fashionable again for QB’s, perhaps John Fox needs a new OC in Denver to show him how it’s done…
We’ll see. At least at this level, it’s proving plenty capable of delivering 7-10 wins, and if this team had a defense this season, 10 wins were certainly within reach.
I realize it’s a lot of fun for UGA fans to talk about the offense, but Tech’s issues in the CPJ era are not on offense. If we’re fighting a major talent gap, it’s defense. I refuse to believe that the same school that brought great defenses in the 80’s and early ’90’s, can’t recruit players good enough to do it again.
To all you UGA fans, enjoy the season, it was nice to see Richt recover and prove that he still has what it takes and that he’s going to stick around now (I could have lived without his Al Gore kiss and the awful V6 Ford commercials, though). I won’t be able to pull for UGA this weekend, but if they throw a big wrench into the BCS, that wouldn’t be the worst thing ever, either.
plaid
November 28th, 2011
2:08 pm
Hey stripes no “bloging” for me. Are you “bloging” yourself right now?
Hairy
November 28th, 2011
2:09 pm
Stripes is nervous! The bayou kitties will be chasing their tails and the honey badger will be dog meat!!
jacketbrave
November 28th, 2011
2:14 pm
those who say the stands were filled with uga fans, actually it wasnt 70% UGA. it was 75% GT…. the tv only shows the visiting section, yet the other side holds season ticket holders
Miles from home
November 28th, 2011
2:15 pm
LMAO…..you wish Hairy the tigers will expose that weak @ss defense you have and your sorry excuse of an offense.
reebok
November 28th, 2011
2:16 pm
A few thoughts on Saturday’s game…I was at Bobby Dodd with my UGA-alumni wife in tow…she was proudly woofing and wearing her red and black. First, I want to congratulate Georgia on ten wins in a row (hard to do in any sport in any league). Next, good luck in the SEC Championship. As for our game, Georgia was just plain better. Bigger, deeper and better at executing the game plan (I won’t say faster, because I’m not sure that Georgia is in fact faster than Tech.) Georgia played very well and deserved to win. Regarding fan behavior, we were sitting in a section that was about evenly split between Tech and Georgia fans, and everyone behaved themselves. There was 1 Tech fan who had perhaps been overserved and got pretty obnoxious at the end…the Georgia fans just ignored him…several Tech fans told him to knock it off. Even on the MARTA train out, fans were generally friendly and respectful…there was a little trash-talking, but nothing to take offense at. My wife was really choked up by the Larry Munson tributes before the game and at halftime…she posted her thanks to Georgia Tech on her Facebook page. I have hard somebody say that Tech fans booed the Munson tributes, but I guarantee you I didn’t hear it, and if I had, I would have at least attempted to put a stop to it. Inversely, the Georgia fans around me were very respectful of the Tech astronauts who were introduced at halftime. It was a great gameday experience…notwithstanding the final score, of course! I guess we will tee it up and try again next year!
Miles from home
November 28th, 2011
2:18 pm
Geux Tigers!!!!
TechAlum02
November 28th, 2011
2:20 pm
We need O’Leary back. Not kidding here. He’s the only recent Tech coach who knows how to beat Georgia and win bowl games. Hell, he accomplished both last year, and he’s the coach of Central Florida!