UPDATED: Tech out-slugged by Clemson, 47-31
Clemson's Andre Ellington (23) tries to get by Georgia Tech's Jeremiah Attaochu.
Updated, 10:10 p.m.
CLEMSON, S.C. – As late-afternoon shadows crept across Memorial Stadium, the Clemson faithful stood in full-throated roar. The sellout crowd sensed its team about to deliver a knockout punch to Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets complied. Another fourth-quarter breakdown torched three quarters of effort and offensive play-making in a 47-31 defeat to No. 15 Clemson Saturday in Death Valley. A week after absorbing one of the worst losses in school history, Tech made good on its vow to give a better account of itself against the Tigers. It did, but up against an arsenal of offensive weapons and its own self-destructive habits, it wasn’t enough.
“Right now, we’ve got to play close to perfect,” coach Paul Johnson said. “Clearly, we’ve got to score more points.”
The Jackets fell to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the ACC and made the bus ride home down I-85 with regrets of plays missed and chances squandered packed underneath. They also are owners of their second three-game losing streak in the past three seasons.
Twelve months after opening the season 6-0 for the first time since 1966 and rising to No. 12 in the polls, the 2012 Jackets have scuffled their way to a less glorious piece of history. Tech goes into its bye week with its worst record after six games since the 1994 team, which started the season 1-5 and later brought about the late-season dismissal of coach Bill Lewis.
“We’ll come back,” Johnson said. “They played hard for the most part, and if they’ll play hard, we’ve got to find a way to try to help them win.”
As was the case against Virginia Tech and Miami, the Jackets held a fourth-quarter lead Saturday, this time in a game that few gave them any chance to win after their 21-point home loss to Middle Tennessee State last Saturday. The Tech offense at times scalded Clemson’s poor tackling defense. Quarterback Tevin Washington operated the option effectively, freeing up A-backs Orwin Smith and Robbie Godhigh to gain 178 rushing yards on just 11 carries. He completed nine of 14 passes for 144 yards.
Said Smith, “I saw guys with more drive than previous weeks.”
Tech’s work led to kicker David Scully’s 26-yard field goal that gave the Jackets a 31-30 lead with 13:03 left in the game, the fourth time they had wrested the lead from Clemson. The Tigers responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive, one of their six scoring drives measuring 70 yards or more, completing it with a 35-yard pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins. A two-point conversion gave Clemson a 38-31 lead.
A team that is becoming painfully familiar with an inability to rise to the game’s biggest moments tripped again, this time literally.
Chris Milton misplayed the ensuing kickoff, fumbling the ball before recovering it and then slipping to the ground at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Washington pitched to Smith, who was overrun by Clemson defenders and dropped for a safety for a 40-31 lead. The stadium shook in approval.
The episode recalled Smith’s own safety on a kickoff against Miami.
“You can play 10 years of football and never take a kickoff return on the 1-yard line and have a safety on a kickoff return,” Johnson said. “We’ve had both. It seems like it shouldn’t happen.”
On the series after the safety, the Tech defense, which allowed 601 yards to Clemson, gave a spark when inside linebacker Daniel Drummond intercepted a Tajh Boyd pass, returning the ball to the Jackets at the Tech 45-yard line. Down nine and needing two scores, Tech drove and then sent Scully out for a 37-yard field goal. His try was blocked, his second miss of the game.
“That was pretty much it,” Johnson said.
It brought an end to an afternoon that held the hope for a season-turning upset but was done in with a mound of errors. Tech tried for a first down on 4th-and-1 from its own 37 on its first possession of the game and was denied on a sneak by Washington.
Nose tackle Shawn Green made one of the plays of the game in the third quarter, intercepting a screen pass and returning it 17 yards to the Clemson 26, but Tech squandered the opportunity to add to its 28-27 lead. A botched snap between center Catlin Alford and Washington on 4th-and-1 from the 7 gave the ball back to the Tigers.
Occasionally better defensive play and pass-rush pressure often placed Clemson in 3rd-and-long situations. As has become rote, though, the Jackets allowed Clemson to convert 13 of 19 third downs. Tech has given up 31 of 46 third downs in the past three games.
The first-quarter fourth-down try in its own end spoke more about the state of Tech’s defense than Johnson would.
“I thought we could make it,” Johnson said.
Once again, opportunity lost.
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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361 comments Add your comment
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
9:46 pm
Gt is worst team in acc!
GT-UT
October 6th, 2012
9:49 pm
Buzzed is right. Pipeline DOES look good. Real good.
Gotta start Vad and plan for the future.
GT Grad is right on. Nice to see cooler heads on the blog. The O is not the problem. The D is terrible again.
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
9:51 pm
Gr8 2b….while I have been hard on the defense, justified IMHO, you are right about what you said….2 TD’s go on CPJ being a chucklehead.
GTpack
October 6th, 2012
9:53 pm
Crazy how the team can get up for a team like Clemson but be totally flat against MTSU and lose to both. ULofMonroe held B Cunningham to 65 yds and MTSU to abt 350 yds total. Time to drop Groan defense. I see SC with 4-7 players on the dine against Uga.
We need to look at the staff at UL Monroe, or get George back.
techfan
October 6th, 2012
9:55 pm
hey silly mutts… Get back to flipping burgers
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
9:58 pm
I would never say it to brother, but USCe is beating the snot out of Georgie. The OBC has ‘em working towards a shutout….how sweet that would be. THWGeorgie GOOOOO JACKETS GOOOOO GAMECO……
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:00 pm
I hope our brethren that like to troll the Georgie blogs have the good sense to leave them alone. Don’t be children. Be better than the dwags….which we are anyway.
TechnocratNOTdemokrat
October 6th, 2012
10:02 pm
GROH MUST GO…if he doesn’t, then I will
.
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
10:04 pm
Tech fan i will flip your wife’s burger after you engineer a football program! Ie Never! Hahahha
TechTim
October 6th, 2012
10:04 pm
What happened to all the dwags? What a beatdown. At least we know we’re not any good.
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:05 pm
FYI….before the GT/MTSU game, Cunningham had played in 2 games with 20 carries for 91 yards & 2 TD’s….against GT 217 yards (don;t recall how many carries) for 5 TD’s….against GT he went from Clark Kent to Superman without a phone booth.
HA,HA,HA!! MUTTS get skunked!
October 6th, 2012
10:06 pm
SHAW just scored again!!! ugag D lays down!!!
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:06 pm
USCe 35-0 6:17 left in 4th Q
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:07 pm
Hold onto the shut out now Gameco……
35 to NOTHING!!!
October 6th, 2012
10:07 pm
rikkkt caint beat sourrier!
Jp
October 6th, 2012
10:08 pm
No coaching, no players, no football program…pulling for Tech is an exercise in futility. Coach got to go!
35 to NOTHING!!!
October 6th, 2012
10:08 pm
where are all the dwag trolls?
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
10:11 pm
Wow gt fans celebrate somebody elses program winning over uga! Why? Because gt will never beat uga but once every 200 years!!!! Hahahahahaa hope that makes gt fans feel better since gt is the worst team in the worst conference in the country!!! Pj has the best offense in the country!!!!! Blahahahaaaa !!!!!
Rodeo
October 6th, 2012
10:12 pm
Pipeline does look good, but coaching does not.
PJ is as loyal to TW as CG was to RB. He will not play VL unless its mop up duty in a game or if TW gets hurt. And TW always calls his own number when they get close to the goal line or 4th & short. TW is no where the talent as Nesbitt was.
I don’t care if we have all 5 stars on the offense, the TO the way PJ imagines it is ineffective when you’re essentially 1-dimensional, coupled with having to play from behind because of the defense.
PJ will last at least one more season because the GTAA cannot afford the $10+ mil to buy out his contract at his point. He is NOT going to resign because of the money owed him – same thing happened with Hewitt. Maybe in a year when the guarantee drops to ~$7 mil and they paid off some more of the debt owed to Hewitt.
Better days are ahead, I just don’t see it with the current staff.
hahahaha
October 6th, 2012
10:14 pm
HhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
SUCAS!!!!!!
WnE
October 6th, 2012
10:19 pm
re:
GT-UT
October 6th, 2012
9:49 pm
Buzzed is right. Pipeline DOES look good. Real good.
Gotta start Vad and plan for the future.
GT Grad is right on. Nice to see cooler heads on the blog. The O is not the problem. The D is terrible again.
_____________
I respectfully disagree about our “pipeline”.
When we had players out vs. MTSU our back-ups on D looked horrible, they looked worse than D1-AA players.
Lets look at the so-called pipeline:
All the other A-Backs are worse than Orwin Smith
The B-back position is still no threat
QBs are big question mark no matter how much we hype up Vad Lee
OL still can’t pass block and the dive play has not been a threat for 2 full seasons this yr. included
Whatever DLs we have are worse than the horrible DL we have now
Our 2ndary was supposed to a strength, but they have turned out to be the weakest unit on the team TIED with our crappy DL
Our LBs aren’t really spectacular, more like serviceable.
Please inform me what is so great about what we have in the pipeline that would make GT fans feel better about the future?
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:19 pm
Damn,,,,,Georgie scored
WnE
October 6th, 2012
10:22 pm
Take notice Falcons:
Braves………we see what happened there
GT ’nuff said
Muttville………….a beatdown of epic proportions
Falcons it is up to you to salvage the Sports Weekend for Metro Area Sports Fans.
TechTim
October 6th, 2012
10:23 pm
daddy…your team is embarrassingly pathetic.
Clyde
October 6th, 2012
10:24 pm
I think CPJ knows how to coach, he is just stuck trying to figure out how to work magic. His team is his own worst enemy right now.
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
10:27 pm
@rodeo….what do you see that makes gts future looks good? Gt is horrible! They have no players no coaches and run a middle school offense that cant pass! My father who graduated from gt just rolled over in his grave!! Paul johnson hired and recruited this mess! FAiLURE at alll levels!
William Casey
October 6th, 2012
10:28 pm
@WnE: Why don’t we just disband the Georgia Institute of Technology? Happy now, weasel?
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:28 pm
I sure do want to stir ‘em up on the Georgie blogs & get some payback……but I won’t…..I’m better than that.
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:29 pm
WVU leading Tx with under 1 minute & the ball.
GIVE ME A BREAK
October 6th, 2012
10:31 pm
ND stomped Miami. Go figure.
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
10:34 pm
Before today ND was giving up 9pts/game & undefeated & in the top 10. I never saw Georgie as 5th best team in the nation.
Gr8 2B aFuzzyB
October 6th, 2012
10:37 pm
I can’t wait for the day when we actually run a 4th down play from our “try to draw them off sides” play. Coach must be waiting for the right moment – must be saving that for Georgie.
jacketnation deflation
October 6th, 2012
10:40 pm
HEADLINE – Tech loses by few points this week!
Despite giving up over 600 yards of offense, the Jackets out did themselves by losing by a smaller margin this week. “We are making strides in the right direction. Heck last week we gave up 49 points,so there was an improvement this week of two less points scored against us” said defensive coordinator Al Groh. Next up for Tech is Boston College after a bye week. Georgia Tech is sure to set the bar higher and will try to lose by a lot less being that Boston College is also a lousy football team. Tech has accepted an early bowl invitation and will play in the inaugural Toilet Bowl.
GTBob
October 6th, 2012
10:44 pm
Here are today’s results for the teams that Tech has lost to before today:
Miami – Losing by 31 to Notre Dame.
VT – Lost by 14 to UNC.
MTSU – Lost by 14 to La-Monroe.
Yeah, we are pretty awful.
Clyde
October 6th, 2012
10:44 pm
No kidding Gr8 2B aFuzzyB, that play is hilarious. How many times have we seen that now?
BLT
October 6th, 2012
10:44 pm
UGA destroyed by USCe…nothing could be finer.Own it and eat it mutts! Leave it alone unless you want more! LOSERS!
Gr8 2B aFuzzyB
October 6th, 2012
10:44 pm
The TV announcers built Tevin up as one of the best QBs around, leading the nation in rushing TD, etc. Oops they forgot to say that in games decided by less than 10 points he’s only won a game or two – all that comes to mind is UNC at home against their interim head coach and Duke if you want to count that.
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
10:44 pm
@wiiliam…..it would save gt from future embarrassment year in and year out! Gt is not committed to winning football games! From the top to the lowly bottom! Everything is desparation! From the contracts given to the play on the field! The school is a fraud! Go build a bridge to thesouth pole! LOSERS!
Footballrules
October 6th, 2012
10:49 pm
GUERSHELL: a very mild, tasteless Hungarian dish, consisting of two lean, scrawny crows, and heavily seasoned with Palmetto hop ‘n john.
GIVE ME A BREAK
October 6th, 2012
10:50 pm
The ” BLOWOUT ” in Columbia.
BigTIMETechFan
October 6th, 2012
10:52 pm
Good thing all Tech losses are behind them, win out the rest of the year
Gr8 2B aFuzzyB
October 6th, 2012
10:52 pm
How is it that we seem to always sign coaches to long term contracts after they have a little success?? If they can parlay one good season at GT into a better contract with a different team, let them. Are you listening DRAD?? What’s the point of rewarding someone for eternity for beating your rival once? Is that going to ensure the same result for years to come? I think we know the answer to that. Here’s a concept DRAD, make coaches EARN their contract on a yearly basis. GET IT?
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
10:57 pm
The ajc should substitute anything related to gt with cooking with ralph and lil joe..first show “how to make chili and biscuits” blahahaahaa “with techfan’s wife as a special guest” blahahahaaaaaaa
Tampa Wreck
October 6th, 2012
11:00 pm
Overall, I thought the young men put forth a much better effort this week. While I still like CPJ’s offense, I have to say his game management is atrocious. As many have said, going for it on your own 37 in a scoreless game in 1st quarter was just stupid, and clock management at end of half was just terrible.
I was calling for TWs head after last weeks debacle, but I thought he had a decent game. Not sure if he blew the play on the 1st quarter 4th and 1 play. Not sure why we abandoned the quick outs after the first TD drive, but offense generally did enough to win the game. Can’t blame them for missed field goals, botched kick offs and anemic defense. Regardless, it’s still time to give Vad some snaps and, and start getting him ready for nest year.
Not sure what to do about the D. We just don’t have the playmakers to succeed in the 3-4. D-line generates no pressure at all, and third down D is just non existent.
Not giving up though. Need to regroup during the bye week, and put forth effort down the stretch. All are winnable games, even the Dawgs after what I saw tonight. Keep the faith and THWG.
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
11:05 pm
Gt will lose every game the rest of the year!!!!! Keep supporting this team and coach!!!! You will get what you deserve! More losing!!!!!!blahahahahahahaa
GTech Fan
October 6th, 2012
11:08 pm
The outlook for Tech looks pretty bleak for the foreseeable future. Assuming TW stays healthy, he will be the starting QB for the rest of the year with Vad only getting mop up duty. Unfortuantely, the defense isn’t going to just figure things out and automatically get better this year. Our opponents litterally score every time they have the ball. Fast forward to next year, we’ll have an inexperienced QB with marginal d-1 skilled players and average offensive line. So instead of an efficient offense like we have this year, look for an inconsistent, turn-over prone offense (center/qb exchange problems and meshpoint caused fumbles) ,and many missed option reads. While I’d like to thing his talent will over come the steep learning curve ahead, I think the offense actually takes a step back next year and we have a terrible defense next year and an inconsistent offense. Back to marginal d-1 skilled players, I’m sorry but is it just me, but why do we have so many undersized, similar skilled A-backs – godhigh, zenon, snoddy, hill and average b-backs (sims and laskey). I know people love Laskey because he runs hard, plays hard, but he is the eptiome of average. Next year, it will be the same cast of characters on defense so unfortunately it will be more of the same on that side of the ball. Fire coach groh you say. What does that accomplish? A coach can’t get out there get off blocks, tackle and cover. Change from 3-4 to 4-3? The issue is talent, not scheme. I’m a glutton for punishment and will continue to support the team. It just looks pretty bleak. just had to vent…
MORGANTECH
October 6th, 2012
11:10 pm
Dont feel to bad trolls,UGA did score 7 against SC 2 and 3 string , with your starters.Now we have to hear how great SC is ,best team in history of football.What was fellow GT fans favorite part of game.mine was hearing 70,000 people yell, over rated .I know trolls we suck,im still laughing ,cant help it.We know were not going to win N.C every year,unlike you.I wont post anything on UGA blog,but trolls are free game.
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
11:11 pm
Shoot, after watching the Georgie game, I believe GT gave Clemons a better game then Georgie could. They were sooooooo overrated.
Silly Mutts
October 6th, 2012
11:15 pm
Nobody in the acc has defense like SC!
1 4 GT
October 6th, 2012
11:19 pm
Silly Mutts….I just can’t decide if you’re a GT guy or what, but your last comment @11:15 PM is so right on the money.