UPDATE: Tech handles Maryland, 33-13
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – In search of a full, four-quarter effort, Georgia Tech left Byrd Stadium Saturday still looking for it. But the Yellow Jackets did regain their offensive footing and located the right opponent for confidence-building purposes.
In what may go down in the annals as “The game when Tech played against the quarterback who was a linebacker,” the Yellow Jackets pushed aside Maryland 33-13 in their attempt to reclaim the season and finish on an upward trajectory.
“I know they’re on, like, their fifth quarterback,” said A-back Orwin Smith, his tone void of sympathy. “It has to be tough. We’re moving on to North Carolina.”
A week after BYU body-slammed the Jackets in all phases of the game, Tech offered a performance that was rugged and energetic, though not free of flaws. The Tech defense didn’t permit a first down until midway through the second quarter and shut out the Terrapins through the first 44 minutes of the game. Quarterbacks Tevin Washington and Vad Lee directed Tech to 370 rushing yards against the No. 4 rushing defense in the country, more than three times what Tech gained against BYU last Saturday and 202 yards more than the Terrapins’ previous season high.
However, Tech lost two fumbles and again encountered turbulence on kickoff coverage and extra points, as kicker David Scully bounced one try off an upright and then failed to clear the line of scrimmage on another. The defense, given an opportunity to close down a Maryland offense that was eminently capable of cooperating, gave up 161 yards and two touchdowns on the Terrapins’ final three possessions.
That said, in a season in which Tech has lost three games in which it led in the fourth quarter and this week compelled coach Paul Johnson to stick up for the state of the program, a victory was more than enough. On a chilly and overcast afternoon, Tech improved to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the ACC. Maryland fell to 4-5 and 2-3.
“As I told our guys, we keep alive what we’re playing for this season,” Johnson said. “We still have a chance mathematically (to win) the league, still have a chance to have a winning season and go to a bowl game. That’s what we’re playing for right now. It makes next week’s game against North Carolina the biggest game of the year for us.”
Maryland quarterback Shawn Petty, a true freshman recruited to College Park as a linebacker but forced to switch positions after the Terrapins’ first four quarterbacks suffered season-ending injuries, was largely ineffective. As Tech coaches expected, Maryland mostly kept the game on the ground, trying zone-option plays and also using a Wildcat package with running back Wes Brown.
Crowding the tackle box with as many as seven players, Tech held Maryland to 144 rushing yards and a 3.3 yards-per-carry average. On Maryland’s final three possessions of the game, Petty led the Terrapins to a pair of touchdowns, both on passes. The second was on the final play of the game.
“The speed of the game was something that it took him a little bit of time to get used to,” Maryland coach Randy Edsall said of Petty. “You can’t go out there and line up at this level after only seven practices and think that everything is going to happen the way you hope it will.”
Interim defensive coordinator Charles Kelly “was, like, Stay inside the box and let him prove that he can pass and then we’ll widen things out,” said inside linebacker Quayshawn Nealy.
Nealy led Tech with a career-high 12 tackles, including a jarring point-of-attack stop on a 3rd-and-1 play in the second quarter when he knocked tailback Albert Reid back for a 1-yard loss. After the punt, Lee drove the Jackets 49 yards for a touchdown and a 20-0 lead with 8:47 to play in the second quarter. It went a great length to doom Maryland, which has scored more than 21 points just twice this season.
Johnson rotated Washington and Lee, giving Washington two series to begin the game and then Lee the final three of the half. In the second half, Washington had the first two possessions and Lee had the final two. Washington led Tech to two touchdowns in his four series. Lee was 3-for-5.
It was the A-backs’ day, as Johnson called a number of tosses and option plays that often ended with the ball in their hands. They gained 220 of Tech’s 370 rushing yards. Smith ran with speed and force and led Tech with 89 yards on 10 carries. He scored the second touchdown of the game, a second-quarter 5-yard run to the corner freed up by a block by B-back David Sims.
“Coach found a couple of plays that were very successful,” Lee said. “We just took advantage of it and kept running it and it was working. We just kept grinding.”
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375 comments Add your comment
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
10:57 pm
@ 1 4 GT…….you and me both, bro
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
10:58 pm
Super the numbers are on a Google article. No counting involved. gt uga football rivalry….I believe that is what I used….1st header I believe
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
10:58 pm
Enter your comments here
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
10:59 pm
@ 1 4 GT…..OK
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:01 pm
@ 1 4 GT…….you are right. That article DOES say UGA has 14, but if you count the ones they have listed, there are only 13.
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:03 pm
Reality….Tech was on the verge of giving up football in the early ’80’s….before they hired Curry & Ken Swilling came on campus. Supersize hates Curry he says, but he & Swilling saved Tech Football. Per a book I recently read on Tech history.
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:04 pm
I just saw the numbers. I didn’t count. Even Google can make a mistake!
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:04 pm
I really don’t see how anyone can claim that Curry SAVED Tech football. He was a TERRIBLE coach, although he did have two memorable wins over UGA.
List Mama » Tech handles Maryland, 33-13 – Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)
November 3rd, 2012
11:05 pm
[...] Tech handles Maryland, 33-13Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)However, Tech lost two fumbles and again encountered turbulence on kickoff coverage and extra points, as kicker David Scully bounced one try off an upright and then failed to clear the line of scrimmage on another. The defense, given an opportunity to …Georgia Tech rolls past Maryland 33-13Yahoo! SportsGeorgia Tech runs all over Terps, who struggle without true QBBaltimore Sun (blog)Instant analysis: Ga. Tech 33, Maryland 13ESPN (blog) [...]
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:06 pm
I want LSU to win. They just went in front….17-14.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:06 pm
@ 1 4 GT……Wiki’s info on UGA lists 14 conference championships, so who knows which is right?
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:07 pm
I guess I really don’t care which team wins as long as the winner beats the mutts.
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:07 pm
It’s in that book I will bring to you on the 17th.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:08 pm
@ 1 4 GT……it MIGHT be appropriate to say that Homer Rice saved Tech football, but not Curry
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:08 pm
Why do you dislike Curry so much? Dodd urged him to take the Bama job when it was offered.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:09 pm
I just thought he was a terrible coach. Look at his record. I was thrilled when he took the Bama job.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:12 pm
Curry was 0-1-1 against Furman. FURMAN !!!!!!
lindseysnot
November 3rd, 2012
11:12 pm
@davidsnot — ura troll
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:13 pm
Rice was part of it too. I thought Curry did a pretty good job myself. I didn’t want him to go, but understood why he went. 2 jobs no good coach with 1/2 a brain would turn down. Bama & ND! Holtz had it in his contract with Northwestern (he was there 1 year) that if ND offered him, he could go with no restrictions of any sort. They did & he did.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:15 pm
Actually, if it had not been for John Dewberry, Curry would probably have been fired.
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:24 pm
It’s amazing how many Tech football guys have become rich in Atlanta, huh?
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:25 pm
boy, ain’t that the truth
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:26 pm
THAT should be a recruiting tool. I don’t know for a fact, but I bet the number of Tech success stories after football is probably greater than the number of UGA success stories, NFL notwithstanding.
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:29 pm
I’d say so, no doubt. Under Dodd, virtually every AA was taken under some rich guy’s wing and helped learn the ropes & made a pile. A Tech recruiter should use that & the starting salary difference between the school’s new grads as recruiting tools.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:30 pm
I would hope that somebody already does that, but who knows?
1 4 GT
November 3rd, 2012
11:31 pm
I think I’m outta here. Seeya!
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:31 pm
Something Dodd always did, and I THINK it is still being done, is that once a kid signed to play for Tech, Tech had his back for the entire rest of his life.
Supersize that order, mutt
November 3rd, 2012
11:32 pm
I’m hanging around till the end of the Bama game, which is not far off. TTYL, 1 4
SlimG
November 4th, 2012
3:20 am
Still drinking the koolaid
Buzz Kill
November 4th, 2012
7:45 am
Youse can do it……………
Herschel Talker
November 4th, 2012
8:23 am
Fire Paul Johnson!
Ignition
November 4th, 2012
8:38 am
4 pass attempts !!!!!
I don’t give a damn what CPJ says that’s AWFUL …
This was not a good game to measure GT by because Maryland was breaking in a QB who just starting taking snaps this week, & he still moved the ball and put up 14pts !!!
North Carolina gonna roll 56 on the institute..
GTpack
November 4th, 2012
9:06 am
Well, congrats to the team on a good win!
However, Md’s 4th ranked defense is because the teams they have played are not teams like BYU.
You have to admit that Md was not picked to win their division, and especially with a linebacker at QB. So we have to be careful to not get too full of ourselves and stay focused. We could lose all of the remaining games, not saying we will, just that the teams we face have the potential to beat us. I never thought MTSU would beat us either, but…..
I had hoped prior to the season, with our new strength and conditioning coach we would held up better in the 4th qtr. Maybe next year if they actually work hard on conditioning.
4 seconds left on the clock and they are on the 33 yd line, you know they are going to throw the ball, so should have had at least one guy defending the goal line. Giving up that play at the end is still Va Tech and Miami redux with a pass from a middle linebacker?
The team’s new motto is play for 60 minutes, not 59 minutes and 56 seconds, that goes for the coaches as well. We had the game in hand, but, there is still a lesson to be learned for players and coaches alike on that game ending play.
Buzz-Off
November 4th, 2012
9:22 am
@Supersize……
I got a kick out of how you were having an orgasm announcing the “play by play” of the UGa-Ole Miss game…..in the first quarter. Suddenly, for some unexplained reason you quit your job as the play by play announcer. I wonder why?!?!
P.S. How did a true freshman and converted linebacker complete 50% of his passes against GT? You have got to be kidding me!!!!
dawg4life
November 4th, 2012
9:25 am
Hey, nice win Techies! Against the most injury riddled team in the ACC, that had a back-up lb playing 5th string QB!!!! If he scored 13 pts, then UGA is going to hang 50 on you. If CPJ starts Vad Lee (which he should have been doing all year), Tech MAY score its usual 17… What a dumpster fire your program is. Fire your DC in the middle of the year, lose your AD to your daddy Clemson, losses to MIddle Tenn State and BYU, and your beloved HC will be gone at the end of the year. I will make a wager right now with the 8 of you on this blog that if UGA doesn’t beat Tech by atleast 17 pts, I will never post on this site again. If they do, you guys have to not post. Deal?
dawg4life
November 4th, 2012
9:30 am
Hey Buzz-Off, that is because at Tech, if they go down by 10 in the first qtr, their high school offense can’t come back and win. So, if UGA is losing after the first possesion, they (techies) feel as though we are going to lose. I am going to love watching UGA run tech off the field this year! It never gets old!
Buzz-Off
November 4th, 2012
9:35 am
Rumor has it that UGa will give Murray a rest against GT and start Jarvis Jone at QB. Wow, he’ll kill Tech since he isn’t a “true” freshman….and knows the playbook, unlike the freshman LB….I mean QB at MD who was 9-18 for over 115 yards. It’s incredible and embarrassing that Techies would be proud of that win!!!
DawginNY
November 4th, 2012
9:42 am
Yep, that offense is tough to sell. Please fire Paul Johnson. I mean they have fallen all the way down to 4th in the nation in rushing. Regardless of the coach, my Yellowjacket have always pointed out that they have a recruiting problem due to their academic standards and narrow curriculum. An unusual offensive scheme tends to level the field when there is a talent gap. You won a conference title just a few years ago. The problem is that a good DC is tough to find. On paper, Groh should have been at least decent. This is the second time PJ has replaced his DC. I hope that you are not patient enough for him to find the right fit on that side of the ball. I suggest Greg Hudson, LB coach at FSU. He was DC at ECU under Skip Holtz. But if you want to fire Paul Johnson, by all means go ahead.
Buzz-Off
November 4th, 2012
9:44 am
To all obnoxious Techies,
My comments above are exactly what Dawg fans have to endure on the UGa blogs from folks like: GT Bob, Supersize, etc. I just wanted to give you a taste of what your fans like to say on other sites. Have a good day and it is time for me to Buzz-off and quit harassing you over your wimpy win.
It’s great to be a Georgia BullDawg!!!
Triple Floption Lives in ATL
November 4th, 2012
9:54 am
not being able to get the top, or any or the meaningful, players out of the Atlanta area or the state is what is hurting tech…….
how can some of these guys not even give tech a chance? all the talent in the state and it’s going to GA or leaving , never give Tech a wiff……that is the problem!
Al Bundy
November 4th, 2012
9:58 am
I’m proud of our team! Go Jackets!
jeffjacket
November 4th, 2012
10:11 am
good win, all will quiet down if Miami losses one game and take the coastal.
what then? still want to fire CPJ? Take from a 40 year REAL Tech fan. Great coach who will lead very good team for years to come. Get over it!
GO JACKETS!!
jeffjacket
November 4th, 2012
10:12 am
“WE” TAKE THE COASTAL , (SORRY , I HAVE SAUSAGE FINGERS)
Triple Lindy
November 4th, 2012
10:56 am
The Kang’s job is saved! Eeeeeeemmmmm!
wrecked again and again
November 4th, 2012
11:38 am
Jeff Jacket ,For Tech to win Coastal the coastal Miami will have to lose to both Virginia and Duke(have 4 losses) , and Gt has to beat NC and Duke to win coastal combined with Miami losses.
Ken in Alpharetta
November 4th, 2012
11:55 am
Maryland must be very pathetic.
Slovak
November 4th, 2012
12:23 pm
CPU says the UNC has become the biggest game of the yr. Think he has incentives in his contract for winning Coastal?
go42
November 4th, 2012
12:36 pm
Coach Johnson is on drugs if he doesn’t put Moore back in at PK. He’s not that much better but he’s at least beyond the level of not being able to get the ball up in the air. Just horrible! HORRIBLE!
papa doc
November 4th, 2012
12:43 pm
It’s a win. Spend this week smiling whle we can.
GT TN
November 4th, 2012
1:26 pm
I think it is funny that UGA fans talk like they are world beaters..they beat a UF that is the most over rated team in the country outside of ND..anything can happen..GT can pull off the upset..how UGA fans forget they should have lost to a KY team that is 109 in passing and 107 in rushing in the country..you gave up 329 yards and 24 points to a KY that hadn’t scored more than 20 points in all but 1 game..and it was in OT against WKU..UGA wins next week and GT beats them 2 weeks later and the dream season will end..UGA can’t win the big one