Tech loses bragging rights, chance for something special
Look a little different than the end of last year's Tech-Georgia game? The Jackets lost to the Bulldogs, 30-24, and they won't soon forget this. (Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@AJC)
Signs of change were everywhere.
Bobby Dodd’s stands weren’t half-red. Thus, the game didn’t have the usual neutral-site feel to it. Bowl officials didn’t jam the press box. What for? Georgia Tech’s future was fairly simple, and Georgia’s was fairly depressing. The Jackets could be headed to the Orange Bowl, a game with history. The Bulldogs could be headed to the PapaJohns.com Bowl, a game with anchovies. The Dogs even had a temp-Uga on the sideline.
But if the Jackets feel like they just got knocked back in time, there’s a reason.
A year ago, they stunned Georgia at home and tore branches off the sacred hedges. On Saturday, with an eight-game winning streak and a fantasy season unfolding, they fell behind early to the Bulldogs 17-3 and fell short in a comeback. They lost 30-24.
The 12 months of bragging just kicked off from the other direction.
It doesn’t mean Tech can’t win the ACC title. It doesn’t mean the Jackets can’t play in Miami and finish 12-2. But this one will sting for a year because this is one most expected they would win. They were playing a mediocre Georgia team coming off a loss to Kentucky, and it doesn’t get much worse than that.
Tech coach Paul Johnson downplayed the significance of this game earlier in the week. He believes everybody should focus on the big picture, and that picture includes conference championships and competing for BCS bowls, not just bragging rights over big brother from Athens. “I don’t want to leave the wrong impression because I do realize that the game is important and I know for a lot of our fans that this is the game they want to win,” Johnson said. “[But] we want to get to the point where our program is bigger than one game. We want to win the game, but we want to do some other things that just beating Georgia won’t do for you.”
And Johnson’s right. Tech’s season is about more than beating Georgia. But beating Georgia ranks pretty high.
Bottom line: This was the Jackets’ chance to take charge, and they failed.
Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt left the game in the first quarter with a sprained ankle but returned later. (AP photo)
This won’t do much to boost morale in the ACC’s offices, either. The conference’s two championship game entries, Tech and Clemson (to South Carolina), both closed the regular season with losses to SEC rivals.
Tech trailed 17-3 at halftime. It clawed back to within 30-24 in the fourth quarter after a touchdown run by Josh Nesbitt, who keyed the comeback when he returned from an ankle injury. When Georgia’s Blair Walsh missed a 55-yard field goal attempt with three minutes remaining, it gave them one last chance. But a dropped pass by Demaryius Thomas at the Dogs’ 35 ended the final threat.
There was a general consensus that this would be a high-scoring game, with the game’s two defensive coordinators, Georgia’s Willie Martinez and Tech’s Dave Wommack, taking turns absorbing blows like those old inflatable clowns that keep bouncing back up after being punched. (In Martinez’s case, there’s no guarantee he’ll be bouncing back up after the season.)
What nobody figured: At halftime, Tech would be trailing 17-3 and its run-dominated offense — one of the top units in the nation — would be outrushed by Georgia 204-80. (On second thought, maybe it’s Wommack who won’t be bouncing back up.) That kept the Jackets’ offense off the field.
Not only was Tech limited to four possessions, it lost Nesbitt, who might as well be this team’s transmission. When he suffered a sprained ankle with 1:03 left in the first quarter, every projection about this game changed. He tested the injury on the sideline, eventually went into the locker room, presumably for a wonder cure, and returned during the second. But backup Jaybo Shaw ran the next possession and threw an interception, which the Bulldogs turned into a touchdown and the 17-3 halftime lead.
But Nesbitt played Tech’s final possession of the half, not looking full-speed, and then returned strong in the third quarter. He led the Jackets to touchdowns on their first two possessions of the second half (including a 77-yard scoring pass to Thomas). But the Dogs’ responded with touchdown and field-goal drives and held a 27-17 lead. If nothing else, it had turned into the game most expected.
But the end wasn’t what Tech players or fans expected. Last year was about getting attention. This year has been proving their worth. It can still be a great season. But not nearly as great it could have been.
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
1,802 comments Add your comment
JaxsurfGTP
November 29th, 2009
11:25 am
No quite sure why all the dawg fans are acting like they won the superbowl. You won by six points and it was far from a beat down. If gatech stops you twice on offense we win. Its not like you stopped our offense you just exsposed a young defense. Remember this team has 6 seniors! I hope everyone comes back next year. Good game and it puts the series at 1-1 in the CPJ era. CPJ cant change the past put he has already proved he is changing the future. Maybe UGA should worry about putting together a run to win their conference, obivously thats what GaTech has focused on!
gtforever
November 29th, 2009
11:25 am
Its not that Georgia played that well (they basically ran one play all game), its because they were playing against a defense that was made up of 10 practice dummies and a safety.
DawgFan
November 29th, 2009
11:27 am
GT Fan if the only good teams in the SEC are Bama and Florida, then you guys got your butts handed to you by too mid tier SEC teams in Georgia, oh yeah and LSU in the bowl last year.
30-24 ...and it wasn't THAT hard to do.
November 29th, 2009
11:27 am
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHAHAAAAAAA
OWNED. Again.
SMALL JOHNSON
November 29th, 2009
11:29 am
OH
HE’S A DRUNKEN WRECK FROM GT AND A HELL OF WASTE MANAGEMENT ENGINEER
HE THINKS HE’S GOOD BECAUSE HE’S 10-1 AND PLAYS IN THE ACC
BUT HE FOUND OUT THAT THIS AINT SO AFTER HE LOST TO WILLIE MARTINEZ
BLAH HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
Duke
November 29th, 2009
11:29 am
Richt and Martinez outcoached the genius Paul Johnson and the rock faced Wommack.
Duke
November 29th, 2009
11:30 am
P.S. Saint Simons can suck it!!! 30-24
DawgFan
November 29th, 2009
11:32 am
God, the post of “if” we stopped you on offense 2 times we would have won. LOL. Hell, if we had a QB and receivers we would have scored twice more on you guys. Excuses pile up. Ga. Tech at least now you have another 7 years to think of more excuses on why UGA is up 22 wins on you all time.
dawgcrzy
November 29th, 2009
11:34 am
the only good teams in the acc are…..o yhere are ‘nt any
30-24 OWNED AGAIN!!!!
November 29th, 2009
11:34 am
I tore up part of gtu’s endzone… added it to my collection of WINS over the maggots.
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
11:35 am
GIVE ME A H !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GIVE ME A A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GIVE ME A T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHATTA YA GOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tech
Hal
November 29th, 2009
11:36 am
GT Fan…
bandwagoneers? Have you been on these blogs all season? Thousands of pages of hard core UGA fans like myself arguing with you nats all year. Sanford Stadium West had another great UGA crowd in attendance last night… don’t remark stupid things just because you feeling were hurt last night. If you guys hadn’t talked soooo much all year over a 3 point surprise victory this wouldn’t hurt so bad.
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
11:36 am
Always have been, always will be.
Another Dawg
November 29th, 2009
11:36 am
How good of a passer is Nesbitt now? We saw it on 4 straight plays in the 4th quarter. He can’t play from under center without the gimmick. He does a great job of throwing in the flats to receivers who can break tackles from Vance Cuff, though. *eye roll*
Super Dog
November 29th, 2009
11:38 am
GT Fan
Im not a fair weather fan.
I saw the same defense I’ve seen the last 4 yrs
What is sad is Tech just sux and lucked out last year.
You play no one all year you knew that in 1964 thats why Tech moved out of the SEC
I still hope Richt does something with his coaching staff.
You lost
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
30-24 say hi to yellow fuzz and st. simons ha ahhahahahah
DawgFan
November 29th, 2009
11:38 am
I wonder if Ga. Tech will place the UGA/Ga. Tech score on the marque on I-75 tomorrow?
BOOGIES THE MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 29th, 2009
11:39 am
HERE COMES CLEMSON CLAWS, HERE COMES CLEMSON CLAWS………… SING THE NEXT VERSE AND TELL UM TO LET GO OF THEIR ANKLES……… TOO MUCH DAMAGE DONE LAST NIGHT ………..Im going back to sleep …………Selah==============
dawgcrzy
November 29th, 2009
11:40 am
if the queen had balls she would be the king and if ifs and buts were candy and nuts o what a world it would be
bandit dawgg
November 29th, 2009
11:40 am
Acc chapionship is now a joke.Hey SAINT SIMONS HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Clay
November 29th, 2009
11:40 am
Hey, Jeff, why does everyone feel a loss to Kentucky is the worst thing in the world? I’m not happy about it; but, haven’t they won 4 bowl games in a row? That’s not the mark of a weak team. Make fun of Vandy, make fun of Miss State (the only SEC teams Ga Tech can figure out), but Kentucky has earned the right to be left alone.
I guess the ACC will need to send its championsip trophy to Athens this year. UGA beat Tech and SC beat Clemson (and UGA beat SC), so whoever finally wins the pathetic ACC will owe the trophy to the Dawgs, won’t they?
30-24, order has been restored!
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
11:42 am
And you know it.
1eyedJack
November 29th, 2009
11:42 am
This just in…..Caleb King just scored again!
DawgFan
November 29th, 2009
11:43 am
This just in………….King and Ealey still running!!!!!!!!!
Didn't Get it Done
November 29th, 2009
11:43 am
We deserve the trash talking. UGA exposed what has been a great run in a weak conference supported by good coaching and a little luck. Our D-Line got handled, bringing back memories to LSU last year. DC should go. Surprised CPJ went away from our game in the final drive. UGA was the far more athletic and hungrier team last night. Clearly we were not deserving of a number 7 rank. Lets figure out why our line gets pancaked against real teams. Are cornfed lineman really that hard to find?? CPJ you need to pay attention to the D next year.
gt86
November 29th, 2009
11:44 am
Lets be honest Tech fans we are overated and our Conference is inferior to the SEC today proved that.Sad but true,good game Dogs.
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
11:44 am
You can’t fight your destiny.
Ga_bulldawg79
November 29th, 2009
11:44 am
Tech fears Russ!
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
11:46 am
And it’s not even close.
Didn't Get it Done
November 29th, 2009
11:52 am
And I am officially done with this post-Thanksgiving ritual. 1 for 9 is not a “rivalry game”, its an annual a$$ whipping that brings back memories of the freshman core classes and caring professors at our fine institution. Next year I’ll just read about it on Sunday.
son_sir
November 29th, 2009
11:54 am
Congrats to UGA on the win. You did a good job of preparation after the loss to KY and exploited Tech’s weakness….Tech’s DL and LB play. With the occasional exception of D. Morgan, Tech’s front 7 on D was overmatched and overwhelmed. Ealey, King, and Co. will get the credit for the rushing onslaught, but UGA’s bigger and stronger line blew gapping holes in Tech’s D all night long. Heck, Blair Walsh could have rushed for at least 100 with the holes I saw being blown open.
The stong possibility of losing Morgan to the NFL does not bode well for the future. Focus #1 needs to be recruting and developing a front 7 on D that won’t be manhandled to the point of embarrassment. Hiding this problem behind a powerful offensive scheme will only get you so far. Last night made that all too evident. Like most, I’m not sold on Wommack, but when you have kids who are in over their heads physically there is only so much you can do. Here’s hoping there is high priority on Tech rectifying this problem on the recruiting trails.
Vince
November 29th, 2009
11:54 am
JaxSurf…
I bet Richt won’t have rings made with last night’s score on them.
Vince
November 29th, 2009
11:57 am
After yesterday…..what does America think of the ACC? Is next week’s championship a total joke? It’s sad to think a Cincinnati vs. Boise State match up would be FAR more interesting.
1eyedJack
November 29th, 2009
11:57 am
There’s a new sheriff in town, and he just turned into Barney Fife with 1:30 seconds to go and 1 timeout.
Frank Wren
November 29th, 2009
11:58 am
There is a new sheriff in town. His name is Washaun Ealey
and this is just the beginning
My god a freshman!!!
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
12:00 pm
It’s the truth.
Saint Simons
November 29th, 2009
12:02 pm
UGA 30 – GT 24!!
HAHAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHHAAHHAAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Losers!
http://www.firepauljohnson.com
macrotech
November 29th, 2009
12:02 pm
superDawg, HA HA HA, you’re back! Where were you for the half of the season when ya’ll lost? Way to represent your team….NOT!
BOOGERMAN FROM HARTWELL, nice win for your dawgs…. Tech will stick with their own song, “Baby Got BOWL”….thanks for the tune, though.
CornieBread
November 29th, 2009
12:03 pm
Oh yeah! Coaches at Florida, LSU,TN,Kentucky,Alabama and other SEC schools are jubilant that the Techsters from North Avenue acted the part of the “Good Samaritan” and did what they could to allow Georgia’s Coach Martinez an opportunity to save his job(as surely will be the case) and in turn allow many SEC schools in the dominant conference to re-initiate their pounding of the dawgs defense next year. Ain’t it wonderful how life has its ups and downs.
jay
November 29th, 2009
12:04 pm
The last thing I expected to see was Paul Johnson throw the ball
deep on 3 consecutive downs with the game on the line. Tech fans,
your coach lost that game.
1eyedJack
November 29th, 2009
12:04 pm
30-24!!! Glad it still hurts!!!!
Duke
November 29th, 2009
12:04 pm
This just in…Prince Miller just planted a flag at the 40…Saint Simons can still suck it!!!! 30-24
Super Dog
November 29th, 2009
12:04 pm
NESBITY for HEISMAN
blah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
30-24 who’s your dadday
YOU LOST TO A TEAM GOING TO PAPPA JERK BOWL
YOU GOT BEAT BY WILLIE MARTINEZ
blah hahha ha hahahaha haha
fcmr
November 29th, 2009
12:05 pm
The only win the ACC had yesterday was when the ACC officials over ruled the SEC officials on the Tech touchdown. In the ACC you have to look for small victories!
Super Dog
November 29th, 2009
12:07 pm
how bout a real running offense you saw one last night didnt you
dryer for heisman blah ha ha haha hahaha
Willie Martinez
November 29th, 2009
12:09 pm
It’s great.. to be.. a Georgia Bulldog. Say it’s great, to be, a Georgia Bulldog…It’s great, to be ………..
Man, I just love it in Athens, GA.
reebok
November 29th, 2009
12:09 pm
Tech fan here. Congrats to the Dogs and their fans. Good luck in your bowl game.
fcmr
November 29th, 2009
12:09 pm
Let’s get serious, how many tech fans are heading to Tampa next week. I’ll set the over/under at 9800.
GTbill
November 29th, 2009
12:10 pm
Congrats to the Georgia football team on a good win in a great game. And contrary to what many of the Georgia fans want to believe, it was a great game between two good teams. The game was not decided until the final minute and could very easily have gone the other way. What an exciting game. I am proud of the Jackets for not quitting and that they kept fighting to the end.
Now let’s talk about SOME of the Georgia fans logic and comments:
1. Since Georgia won yesterday that somehow diminishes an ACC championship for Tech if we win next week. By that logic, Florida was not a legitimate National Champion last year because they lost to Ole Miss. LSU lost two games (Kentucky and Arkansas) the year before and were still National Champs. As a practical matter many teams in many sports have won championships while having lost to other teams. So I don’t care how much you try to diminish our team or what you think. If Tech wins next week they will be ACC champions and play in a BCS bowl.
2. Yes, Tech fans ragged Georgia fans after last year’s win, but that is what Georgia fans do every time they win a big game so why was it wrong for Tech fans to have done the same. We won last year’s game, so that gave us the right to rag Ga fans. But all I heard from Ga fans was “Tech fans are picking on us.” I remember many comments after last year’s game from Ga fans that said “well you beat us but you are not even going to play for your Conference’s Championship.” I believe therefore that it is OK for me to say to Ga fans “well you beat us but you are not even going to play for your Conference’s Championship.” So there, SEC also rans. Most teams fans rag the other team’s fans when they win, but Ga fans are such crybabies they can’t take. It is Ok for Georgia fans to rag us this year because Ga won. So rag on.
3. It is sad that you denigrate your own team in order to tear down our team. Many of Ga “fans” comments talk about how Tech lost to an average, middle of the SEC conference team. Well I disagree with them. I think Ga has a good team and it is no disgrace for Tech to lose to them. A few breaks and Ga could easily be 9 and 3 right now (LSU game in particular). Both teams of young men played their hearts out last night and gave us fans an exciting evening of football.
So GA fans enjoy your victory and rag all you want. I for one am man enough to take it and will remain a loyal Tech fan regardless. GO TECH, TO HELL WITH GEORGIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
22 wins in a row
November 29th, 2009
12:11 pm
Jackets are no Gators. Congrats to the Dawgs and the SEC.
Didn't Get it Done
November 29th, 2009
12:11 pm
And please indulge me on one last point. While the game was disgusting to watch and UGA deserves bragging rights about THE GAME for beating an overrated team that was reading its own headlines, what is up with those UGA ads during the game talking about academic excellence??? Did I read correctly that one of the players majors was “pre-business”. Pre-business? Really? That is a new one for me. I mean I get the beauty of athens, and more competitive athletics program, but the ads made it sound like Harvard. This was truly the only funny thing about watching the game last night. I mean sure you have better looking women, and sometimes we have to drive all the way out to BFE (athens) to show them what a provider actually looks like (full set of teeth, house without wheels, no experience with farm animals, etc.) but to suggest Athens is anything but what it is… I guess we should thank UGA for providing a little levity during what was otherwise a painful three hours of television.