UPDATED: Tech humbled by MTSU, 49-28
Georgia Tech did not need overtime to falter Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets, uninspired and perhaps still groggy from its second crushing overtime loss of the season a week ago, required only the regulation 60 minutes to capitulate. Tech was force-fed the worst loss of coach Paul Johnson’s five-year tenure, a 49-28 defeat to Middle Tennessee State at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
MTSU, an FBS school out of the Sun Belt Conference that has produced wins this season over Arkansas (by Louisiana-Monroe) and Kentucky (Western Kentucky), pounded the listless Jackets with 510 yards of offense, forced four turnovers and neutralized Tech with force and energy. On this day, at least, little doubt existed over the identity of the superior team.
“I told (MTSU) Coach (Rick) Stockstill after the game (that) they got after us, whipped our butt, and give them some credit, because they played hard,” Johnson said. “After saying that, it was embarrassing. I don’t think there’s any other way to describe it.”
Plenty of conditions for an upset congregated Saturday at Bobby Dodd – a tough loss the previous week, a noon start, key players sidelined with injuries (outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu and cornerback Louis Young), a half-filled stadium and a confident opponent eager for payback and arriving with two weeks’ rest.
Tech did the rest in falling to 2-3.
On the road, with fewer resources and fielding a roster full of players deemed unworthy of a scholarship to Tech, the Blue Raiders (3-1) steamrolled the Jackets. It was the sort of result that Johnson produced regularly at Navy, leading to his hire at Tech following the 2007 season. Johnson said it was probably the worst loss of his career.
“We didn’t throw the ball much,” MTSU guard Josh Walker, who overpowered Tech defensive linemen all afternoon, told the Daily News Journal of Murfreesboro, Tenn. “We didn’t have to. We were so physical, and we ran the football right at them. We were more physical than them, faster than them and in better shape than them.”
The Jackets’ start offered little hint of the waterfall that they were heading towards. Inside linebacker Jabari Hunt-Days intercepted MTSU quarterback Logan Kilgore on the game’s first possession, a turnover that Tech turned into the first of quarterback Tevin Washington’s four rushing touchdowns. Washington’s four ground scores tied a school single-game record and perhaps set a new standard for least cherished record.
Tech’s fabric disintegrated quickly after that. The Blue Raiders countered with a 75-yard touchdown drive, the first of three such drives in the half. None of them measured less than 75 yards and included a 60-yard score by MTSU running back Benny Cunningham in which he shot through a gap in the line and scored untouched.
Tied at 21 at halftime, the Jackets found themselves in a shootout with a team they had defeated by a combined 56 points in the past two seasons and were favored to beat by almost 30 points.
“We went down and scored after the defense gave us the ball,” Washington said. “After that, there wasn’t much life on the sideline or out there on the field. We just came out too flat [Saturday]. When you give another team energy and momentum, it’s hard to stop them once they get going.”
The Tech defense was again flattened, done in by its opponents’ play-calling and offensive line and its own slippery tackling attempts. Prior to the game, Johnson said he thought that last week’s play against Miami – 609 yards, 30 first downs, missed tackles galore – was an aberration. Nothing much looked different Saturday, save the colors of the opponents’ jerseys and the chants from the visiting fans that drowned out the home crowd.
“That’s probably as bad a tackling game as I have seen,” Johnson said.
There was no tackling on the Blue Raiders’ two longest scores of the game. No Jacket laid a hand on Cunningham on his 60-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter or wide receiver Marcus Henry’s 75-yard scoring reception, also down the center of the field, in the third quarter.
MTSU’s ransacking ought to make McNeese State, Florida Atlantic and Memphis feel better. The Cowboys, Owls and Tigers all managed to keep the Blue Raiders under 500 yards in MTSU’s first three games. McNeese State, an FCS team, actually beat MTSU in the opener, 27-21.
The Jackets had a final opportunity in the fourth quarter trailing 35-28. After forcing a punt, Tech started a drive on its 17-yard line with 8:20 left in the game. Despite having been outplayed, a chance for a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback like the one that the Jackets had permitted last Saturday against Miami flickered in the afternoon light.
On a play-action pass on the first play from scrimmage, Washington heaved a pass downfield to wide receiver Jeff Greene around the MTSU 40-yard line. Greene couldn’t hang onto the slightly underthrown pass, which was intercepted by cornerback Kenneth Gilstrap and returned to the Tech 15-yard line. The Blue Raiders got into the end zone in four plays for a 42-28 advantage.
That was the end of the flickering.
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931 comments Add your comment
In the middle
September 30th, 2012
11:38 am
in fact, the SunBelt wouldn’t even consider this a “signature” win for the conference. they already know ACC is weak and the SEC has some cupcakes too.
dufferdawg
September 30th, 2012
11:40 am
well the good news is …that not a lot of people saw this debacle since the stadium was half empty…and the arrogance of CPJ is truly baffling. He thinks of himself as bigger than the program.
As a Dawg fan I hope he stays for many years but I just can’t fathom your fan base allowing that to happen.
THWGT
September 30th, 2012
11:44 am
Hey Ken, just out of curiosity, how far down the “non-rankings” do you feel that GT fell? Do you feel that this drop will be justified?
Thanks in advance for the answer and also for not giving me a “warning” about the post.
Paul Johnson
September 30th, 2012
11:48 am
It is what it is.
Clyde
September 30th, 2012
11:49 am
What would be funny is if Georgia Tech sucked the rest of the year and then ruined Georgia’s perfect record.
The Sunday ACC football wrap: Week 5
September 30th, 2012
11:54 am
[...] – The Yellow Jackets were embarrassed by … Middle Tennessee State. [...]
Flag Boy
September 30th, 2012
11:56 am
It wasn’t even the real Tennessee. It was Middle Tennessee.
wreckmaniac
September 30th, 2012
11:57 am
Surely someone has resigned in the last 24 hours. I did not attend, did not watch the game on TV and now I will not read the blogs. I can’t take this.
A resignation should take place Monday. I am waiting to see who it is. Perhaps more than one resignation is needed.
Greene Hornet
September 30th, 2012
12:20 pm
I’m a UGA fan and frankly hate GT. However, I don’t like seeing programs like yours tank so badly and lose against an inferior opponent. It makes the State of Georgia look bad in football. UGA has its own problems (i.e. how many points we allowed UT to score on us). I hope GT gets straighten out and turns into a force in the ACC. Our rivalry is much better when both teams come in to it as powerful football team instead of one or both being down. I hope you GT fans will be calm and levelheaded until something gets figured out to get you guys back on track again. Support your team and the players on it. They are trying hard.
fun to read and listen to tech fans
September 30th, 2012
12:24 pm
hahahahahah I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! you bunch of CLOWNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
db
September 30th, 2012
12:26 pm
wow – 16 pages of comments on a Tech blog. People must be pissed!
ToccoaDawg
September 30th, 2012
12:29 pm
Cheer up Yech. I hear Petrino is looking for a steady job.
db
September 30th, 2012
12:31 pm
Now that’s not even funny TococoaDawg…. That would be the lowest of the low.
Rich
September 30th, 2012
12:32 pm
My wife said, ‘Maybe Tech should give up football’…..I said, ‘I think they already have’
Glawrence
September 30th, 2012
12:34 pm
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greta
September 30th, 2012
12:39 pm
Radakovich must be laughing all the way to the bank. Nice retirement plan.
What other program would put up with an A D who violates NCAA rules costing us ACC championship and a few scholarships?
He must think we are complete buffoons, his arrogance an pj’s arrogance, no wonder they like each other.
However neither represent Tech as noted above.
Does no alumni of influence give a damn or do these guys have lifetime contracts?
No responsibility and no repercussions, only arrogance and blaming others.
Not representative of Tech.
Hello?
Clyde
September 30th, 2012
12:42 pm
Hello
St Pete Cane
September 30th, 2012
12:46 pm
Enter your comments here
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
12:50 pm
I’m done with this football program until Coach Johnson is fired. The sooner DRad wakes up, the better.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
12:53 pm
Fake post at 12:50. Those of you who know me don’t need to be told that. To the others, I urge that you email the staff at the AJC and insist that fakers like that be permanently be banned from posting on the AJC blogs.
Delbert D.
September 30th, 2012
12:58 pm
Super – I’m going drop in to day hello and then out to watch the Falcons. For creds: Par Pond.
alex
September 30th, 2012
1:07 pm
@rich, very good
Simply said this team is out of shape ,slow and not engaged (watch the sideline in the 3rd quarter),
PJ has to go and a complete turnover of the staff.
Empirically it looks as if GT has a bunch of 2nd team single A all-staters-very little (if any) D1 talent in the offensive backfield, secondary and linebackers. Number 35 and 30 would be on alabama’s scout team, MABYE the water boys…(but hey, they are getting a GREAT education!
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
1:07 pm
We just lost to middle Tennessee state. We’re still the best team in Georgia bar none right now
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
1:10 pm
We’re still better than Georgia, we have 4 national titles
tomdawg
September 30th, 2012
1:13 pm
you need to request a running clock when you play georgia, or they will score 100, no lie.
St Pete Cane
September 30th, 2012
1:13 pm
it’s not my board but.. You guys really stink. As much as I hate to admit it, so do my UM canes and so does the ACC. It’s discouraging to see once great programs li Ga tech fall so badly When I was a kid tech was the epitome of college football as was its coach Bobby Dodd- I remember his son Jr playing QB for the gators. That being said, look at the record of ACC teams- Have ony of them beaten a quality opponent this year? Va tech struggled against you, and lost 2 games to Big Least teams.- look at yesterday NCS and my canes, neither of whom have beten a ranked, or for that matter a decent team- stumbled over each other defensively as did Duke and Wake- Va tech lost to Cinn, VA to Louisiana tech ( Louisiana Tech? when did they become a power, ) AND YOU GUYS,- you know what happened. SAd state of affairs. I think the Canes might be a bit ahead of you in attempting to rebuild. We fired our old coach and hired Golden_ I have no idea how good he is- they stink defensively. I see some comments about recruiting. you should be doing better with what you got. Howard Schnellenberger won U first championship with a bunch that UF, the Big 10 and FSU didn’t want- He got 120% out of them. All you need is a new coach that uses 21st century offense formations – not the wishbone-triple option then wen’t out with Oklahoma 30 yrs ago.
good luck to all
Joel Armistead
September 30th, 2012
1:25 pm
I never thought I would say this, but Johnson needs to go. He is a bad recruiter and his defense has been bad the entire time he’;s been at Tech. His trick offense has lost its punch. We need a chnage…now..
Dobby Bodd
September 30th, 2012
1:27 pm
Really don’t understand how his offense worked so well with Navy and has sputtered so badly at Tech. He should definitely be able to get better players than he had at Navy…even with Tech’s academic standards. Al Groh’s 3-4 experiment hasn’t worked from day 1. That defense requires personnel GT just isn’t going to recruit.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
1:32 pm
@ Delbert……Par Pond? WOW, that’s a name I haven’t heard in years. Very cool !!!!
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
1:33 pm
To the fake Supersize……enjoy your immature antics while you can. You will be taken care of properly, and be warned, you may even be subject to legal action. Hope you enjoy that, bubba
Clyde
September 30th, 2012
1:36 pm
Everyone that has followed CPJ since he got to Tech can see the potential having the right quarterback. Joshua Nesbitt made it happen, Tevin Washington does not make it happen. Defense sucks and needs to be fixed.
K
September 30th, 2012
1:36 pm
We lost.
tell me again
September 30th, 2012
1:41 pm
I usually don’t post on this blog, but, I have to say this – after a disappointing loss like what you experienced today all of the naysayers will pop out of the woodwork and start crying, “The sky is falling”……I will say the same thing I have said on the Dawg blog after some distressing losses the past few years – the coaches have not suddenly forgotten how to coach and the players are not as untalented as they seemed…..I think your team has gone through a perfect storm of tough games and brutal losses culminating in a total failure yesterday – I think your team will regroup and make a run. It’s easy to outcoach the coaches after the fact and suddenly have a fan base that knows more than the guys getting paid millions to run the program – remember, and this year proves the point more than ever, there are NO untalented teams in NCAA football anymore – there is too much talent out there for all of them to get into the big programs and so all of the smaller and tradidtionally weaker teams have been stocking up on some decent talent. We can all forget thinking that if the school is not Alabama or LSU they must be patsies. Those days are over now. Take a step back, take a deep breath and go write some computer programs – your team will be OK – it’s just a game after all, no matter what we may think to the contrary. And if there are any Dawg fans on this blog talking smack – get your butts back to our blog. See ya’ Techies…..hope you win the rest except for one in November. We Georgia teams need to stick tgether except for one game a year
Burgess
September 30th, 2012
1:43 pm
You saw how many yards the kids from Middle Tenn got, can you imagine how many Gurley and Henderson will get ?
dr.dawg
September 30th, 2012
1:51 pm
30,000 fans? where were they? getting mugged and raped outside the stadium? 30,000? more like 3k. that little stadium only seats about 40,000, it was half full, and most of those folks were mtsu fans or bag people who opted for free cokes and hot dogs. oh, what a mess it has become. in my youth, grant field was THE place to be on saturday afternoons. capacity crowds, alabama, notre dame, and even tulane, which was good at that time. auburn, and on through the rest of the sec. but, no more, now being beaten by the likes of mtsu. sad to say it may all be long gone for gt football. i cannot imagine a grant field half empty on a lovely fall saturday. oh, oh.
old gold
September 30th, 2012
1:56 pm
The question is and has always been; can a triple option team, with the type of players that Johnson recruits, compete at the highest level. I believe, that that question has been answered, with 3 out 4 losses to GA, 4 straight against Miami, and the last two years against VT.What happened yesterday, was no aberration. Therefore, we are just wasting time with this guy and his high school offensive system. I for one, a consistent season ticket holder, am absoultely will not renew. I hate that I am giving up points, but I refuse to watch this debacle weekend and weekout. As Furman Bisher used to say, Selah!
Big Ol Stinger
September 30th, 2012
2:02 pm
Hate to say it, but Johnson = Hewitt.
Over his head, can’t get it done, but smug as hell, and a very rich man thanks to Tech.
He’ll be around one more season, then down the road he’ll go. The program has been set back ten years by this little experiment.
Delbert D.
September 30th, 2012
2:08 pm
Run over to chuckoliver dot net and read Chadd Scott’s headline article, “Paul Johnson Has Earned His Firing by Publicly Embarrassing Georgia Tech Fans.” Scott usually doesn’t contribute much concerning Georgia Tech, as Taylor King covers the Jackets. This is pretty serious stuff.
Big Ol Stinger
September 30th, 2012
2:16 pm
That article by Chadd Scott sums it up nicely Delbert D. It’s embarrassing to be a Tech fan right now. I’ll admit, I thought about taking the “GT” front license plate off the truck this morning.
Our student athletes deserve our support though, so I thought better of that.
Delbert D.
September 30th, 2012
2:18 pm
My position is this. Radakovich give should give Johnson an ultimatum to hire an offensive coordinator and be the head coach. If that doesn’t work, buy out the contract.
WnE
September 30th, 2012
2:20 pm
re:
Dobby Bodd
September 30th, 2012
1:27 pm
Really don’t understand how his offense worked so well with Navy and has sputtered so badly at Tech. He should definitely be able to get better players than he had at Navy…even with Tech’s academic standards. Al Groh’s 3-4 experiment hasn’t worked from day 1. That defense requires personnel GT just isn’t going to recruit.
_______________
Navy had the #100-something ranked Recruits playing vs. the #100-something ranked Schedule.
When you’re playing CFB at that LOW of a level then anything that happens is a crapshoot.
There is no transitive property as it relates to CFB, what happens on a LOWER LEVEL, does NOT necessarily transfer to a higher level.
This is what I said back in 2007 when CPJ was hired when I was a “lone voice of reason”.
Of course I was hammered and banned from various GT themed Message boards, but I stuck with my CFB intellect, and have been proven correct.
When GT had ” 20 wins in 2 years”, my detractors laughed at me as I was banned from yet another GT themed Message Board, but my talking points back then was “the storm is coming because CPJ is not replacing the Talent he inherited from Chan”………….they (my Detractors) still did NOT listen.
Over the next 2 yrs. my detractors started to notice that I wasn’t as crazy as they thought and CPJ wasn’t as smart as they thought either.
We had one losing season and then went 8-5 the next season losing in a crappy Bowl to Utah in OT.
That brings us to this season where I told anyone & everyone that the Talent drain had reached “critical mass” and could not be overcome, we had DLs that couldn’t beat out the crappy DLs from last yr. and that our D was in trouble, we had no B-backs, we had no WRs, our OL could not pass block, once again I was attacked by the masses of CPJ “BLTs”.
It is sad for me to say that I saw this happening all along from the day we hired CPJ in Dec. 2007
It’s even more disturbing that more GT fans didn’t see the same things that I saw back in Dec. 2007.
It is with great sadness that I say that I AM WnE, and the line forms right here for all those that want to bow down to the CFB intellect that I posses and apologize for not having faith in the ” CFB gospel according to Wrecks”!
ABAC-North Doggies
September 30th, 2012
2:20 pm
Navy will gladly take PJ off your hands and GSU will gladly take Mike Sewak.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
2:25 pm
@ Delbert……I don’t know that it WILL happen, and I am not even totally convinced that it SHOULD happen, but for the first time in his five years at Tech, I think it is now safe to say that it COULD happen. Something has got to change, whether Johnson personally wants to or even personally believes that it needs to. Obviously Groh, and probably the entire defensive staff needs to go. As far as hiring an offensive coordinator, I don’t know, but I DO think he should hire a QB’s coach to spend virtually all his time working with the QB’s. Friedgen comes to mind there, IF he would accept it. The Fridge should never now at this point in his life be a head coach again, not to mention that he failed miserably at Maryland. But he certainly can still teach a QB how to run an offense and pass; he proved that even at Maryland in spite of his failure there as a head coach. Johnson, on top of several other things he probably needs to do, needs to win back the fans, and hiring the Fridge would definitely help there. Did you notice the ad for the basketball team on the big screen yesterday? Gregory and Cremins standing side by side touting the Yellow Jacket basketball team. That was AWESOME, and the fans loved it. Hiring Friedgen in some capacity like that and treating him if not as an equal, certainly as a true icon of Tech athletics, would do a helluva lot of good.
Delbert D.
September 30th, 2012
2:32 pm
Super – My reason is that this “my offense and your defense” nonsense has to stop. Johnson is a driven and arrogant man, and this team is suffering for it. He has to be a head coach and right the ship and bury his egotism. Focus on the team. If he can’t make that work over a 2 year period, replace him as head coach.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
2:36 pm
@ Delbert……I don’t disagree with that, and that’s why I said I don’t know that it SHOULD happen now — his firing, that is
old gold
September 30th, 2012
2:36 pm
To those who say give Johnson one more year, your fooling yourself. Why prolong the inevitable. What do you expect to change next year? The defense, even with a new DC is not going to get better in one year. The offense will be the same old fullback up the middle on every first down. Its useless to keep this insantity going. The template is the type of offense and defense that O’leary. If George Godsey is too young, what about Jimmy Robinson. Does anyone know how many years are left on Johnson’s contract?
Clyde
September 30th, 2012
2:41 pm
Through 2016 someone said earlier.
Delbert D.
September 30th, 2012
2:42 pm
I don’t agree with the Friedgen possibility. I think he is too old for one thing (a year younger than me), and I think it would create more problems than it would solve. I’m saying it would create conflict between him and Johnson, and the unity of the team would further deteriorate. Friedgen is a great person and one of the best offensive minds in the country, but that doesn’t help unless Johnson turns the offense over to him completely. That would be at odds with keeping the offense, yet improving it with diversity. I don’t think that Friedgen is the guy that could do that, but it is possible that he could. My bottom line is that Johnson has to stop micromanaging the offense and focus on the team. They sorely need help with focus.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
2:43 pm
A defense CAN change in one year. Take for example when Dodd hired Bud Carson to coach the defense in his last year as head coach. In that one year Carson totally transformed the mediocre defense Tech had had the year before into one of the best around.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 30th, 2012
2:45 pm
@ Delbert……that is why I offered Friedgen’s name NOT as OC, but as QB coach. Johnson would still have to eat a huge slice of humble pie, and even Fridge might have to as well. But, at least in theory, I think it could work