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.
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1,802 comments Add your comment
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
12:56 pm
have you seen him?
Let’s Look Back And Remember…
November 27th, 2009
2:25 pm
If past performance is any indicator of future results, you Puppy fans are in for a long night Saturday night!
Coach Paul Johnson
November 29th, 2009
12:58 pm
I just want to say I didn’t expect the Bulldogs to be so mean and ready to play. I hope the Tech Nation still thinks of me as their savior even though I just lost at home, with two weeks to prepare, against a poor UGA team without their best player.
God Bless,
CPJ
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
12:58 pm
Know your place.
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
12:58 pm
have you seen him?
CF fan
November 27th, 2009
3:10 pm
So how far will bama fall with this loss? They should fall below GT. GT’s loss is to a 3 loss ranked team. Bama loses to 4 loss unranked team. This will be interesting to watch. Bama should have a loss already along with UF.
where does tech belong now CF fan?
back under the rocks they go!!!
November 29th, 2009
12:59 pm
Somewhere Chan Gailey is laughing his butt off
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
12:59 pm
have you seen him?
Its CJ Spiller Time
November 27th, 2009
4:27 pm
ACC will DOMINATE in the State of Georgia and South Carolina tomorrow and how sweet it will be!. Dawgs will get Beatdown from Tech and Clemson will show the Dawgs how to do chicken right. UGA sports is such a joke now. Have fun in the Pizza Bowl mutts while the mighty Tigers win A BCS game in the BIG Orange!
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
1:00 pm
have you seen him?
Saint Simons
November 27th, 2009
6:21 pm
45-42!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahahahahaha
James T. Kirk
November 29th, 2009
1:00 pm
I’ve never seen a team play more dirty in my life. If UGA had played by the rules we would have won by 5 TD’s.
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
1:00 pm
We OWN you.
karma
November 29th, 2009
1:01 pm
Yep, serves the Tool Nation right after that ridiculous highway robbery the ACC officials allowed them to get away with last year!!!!!
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
1:01 pm
hahahahha. . .. i don’t even want to post this one, but the irony is too good.
Gator in the Hootch
November 27th, 2009
6:33 pm
killerJ. Did your earn that degree from the 3rd grade or was it honary? Certainly, you never attended your reading or writing classes.
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
1:02 pm
have you seen him?
GTOldSchool21
November 27th, 2009
7:34 pm
The only thing that matters is this…Tech will control the clock in the second quarter and will own the 3rd quarter, adding on 21 points during the long drives that destroys the weak UGA defense. After getting pounded each play in the first half, No. 21 breaks one for 82 yards in the 3rd quarter. He then proceeds to run over each of the UGA players late in the 3rd and all the 4th quarter. And by the way, Nesbit connects three times to Thomas for 212 yards passing…7 for 11 passing, 240 yards. Tech rolls 61 to 28 and beats UGA by more of a spread than GT beat Vandy….Tech will add up it’s greatest offensive game in the Paul Johnson era…695 yards of total offense….Joe Cox has 2 INTs, the running back by committee has two fumbles….4 turnovers for UGA and 9 penalties for 85 yards…the only bright spot is the two kickers for UGA….talk at ya tomorrow at 11:30pm for the victory blog…. What’s the Good Word? We say “To Hell with Georgia…and Piss on UGAs grave”
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
1:02 pm
Don’t make excuses, it’s unbecoming.
AJC Writers Suck
November 29th, 2009
1:04 pm
CMR ruined Jeff Shultz and M Bradley’s christmas…. Shultz please take the first plane back to where ever you came from. Your antagonist bit has worn thin and you have to live with this loss all year. What happened to your beloved Tech Shultz? Who has the better, qb, coach etc now? Face it Shultz you don’t know what you’re talking about, ever. Go home. We all hate you here.
Johnny Test
November 29th, 2009
1:04 pm
To all Tech fans…. most of you have class and stay out of the gutter. That is true of most Dawg fans as well. You can blame all the nasty stuff you see on these blogs on ST SIMONS, M, RAMBLE ON, BURDELL, and particularly YELLOW FUZZ. You are gonna get it for the next 365 days and get it good. You can thank those guys.
Where are they? They probably jumped off the 17th street bridge last night because this was too much for them to take.
Too say UGA is a mediocre team is just plain fact. Look at the record They played two decent games Auburn and Tech. You got beat by the worst UGA team in 13 years.
CPJ is not a genius as Schultz would have everyone believe. The weakness in his offensive scheme was evident in the final two minutes.
There is not a new sheriff in town… who got the mudhole stomped in their azz? What is the ACC vs SEC record.. That argument is a joke.
If I had to guess I’d say Tech loses to Clemson and whatever bowl game they play in and fall out of the top 25 in the final polls. Your luck just ran out.
Thogwummpy
November 29th, 2009
1:06 pm
Ding-dong the Wicked Bug is dead!
MtnDawg
November 29th, 2009
1:06 pm
St Simons,
Where oh where are you? Whats the matter, dawg got your keyboard??!!!
30-24 hahahahahahah ….
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
1:06 pm
have you seen him?
Yellow Fuzz
November 28th, 2009
10:09 am
georgia = Tech’s b**** for 364.5 straight days!
georgia = Tech’s b**** for 364.5 straight days!
georgia = Tech’s b**** for 364.5 straight days!
georgia = Tech’s b**** for 364.5 straight days!
edited of course.
GT9
November 29th, 2009
1:07 pm
Just got back from Atlanta.
Congratulations, Georgia Bulldogs.
Very impressive win.
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
1:07 pm
to be expected.
Melissa in Tennille
November 28th, 2009
10:48 am
I love Yellow Fuzz.
Brunswick Marsh Dawg
November 29th, 2009
1:07 pm
(((((((((((((30-24))))))))))))) hahahahahahahahaha
Brunswick Marsh Dawg
November 29th, 2009
1:10 pm
If Wooten doesn’t drop a sure touchdown pass, the final score is not even that close. The joke by Coke!!!!!!! UGA beats Tech……all is right in the world today!!!
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
1:11 pm
It’s a fact.
big deal
November 29th, 2009
1:11 pm
10-2
is still a lot better than
7-5
big deal
November 29th, 2009
1:12 pm
12-2
is still a lot better than
7-6
big deal
November 29th, 2009
1:14 pm
big deal
……….GT still goes to ORANGE BOWL
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
1:16 pm
Always have been, always will be…
GT fan ...
November 29th, 2009
1:16 pm
Hard for GT’s d-line to force Cox into bad decisions when all he had to do was hand it to a RB. Very impressive rushing performance by the dogs. Big win – CONGRATS!
Did this win save Willie’s job?
Reggie Ball
November 29th, 2009
1:17 pm
Shultz, we need your backup. These Dawg fans must haven’t read your last 30 articles detailing why UGA sucks and Tech should have won the game. What happened Shultz? How could you have been so wrong? How could the emperor PJ have no clothes? Why do you suck as bad as our team Shultz. You built us up all year only to have this happen.
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
1:17 pm
And it feels GREAT.
have you seen him?
November 29th, 2009
1:18 pm
TexasJacket
November 29th, 2009
12:21 pm
BTW, fcmr, we lost last night, but GT is not like most universities in America.. when a school that is consistently has a top 5 engineering program in the US and was recently ranked in the top 10 in the WORLD even has a competitive football program, that’s an accomplishment.
There is NO similar major to Pre-Business at Georgia Tech.. period.
What was Marbury’s major at tech?
jesse james
November 29th, 2009
1:18 pm
I would rather be 7 and 5 playing in the SEC. Also it looks like we are still the top program in the State. 8 of 9, you haven’t won since 1999 at Grant Field, yea I will take the 7 and 5 with the group we have coming back (King, Ealey, whole offensive line and many more)
Reggie Ball
November 29th, 2009
1:19 pm
Big Deal = Top two ACC teams get beat by two unranked SEC teams from, one division, in one day. Big Deal the ACC sucks let’s just face it.
Johnny Test
November 29th, 2009
1:19 pm
King is still running… Nice catch Bay Bay… Incomplete, Incomplete, Incomplete, drop. The genius of the CPJ offensive machine exposed.
Glad it hurts do bad and it’s only the beginning of a new streak
30-24 We're just better than you.
November 29th, 2009
1:19 pm
We’re better than you gtu. Period.
Reggie Ball
November 29th, 2009
1:20 pm
We couldn’t win a game to save our lives. PJ looked like a BJ.
Reggie Ball
November 29th, 2009
1:22 pm
We were out coached and out played. Stop it tech fans, we suck. It reminds me of the time I threw the ball out of bounds on 4th down to stop the clock.
ACC sucks
November 29th, 2009
1:22 pm
To HELL with Georgia Tech!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jesse james
November 29th, 2009
1:23 pm
Texas Jacket – Since you are going to bring academics into it, why is when Tech recognizes the Senior football players they don’t give their majors, but when the senior band members are recognized they do give the majors. Have you ever heard of Sports Management?
Judge Jagaloon
November 29th, 2009
1:23 pm
Texas Jacket, GT Bill, One eyed,m,Z, Matt, Jeff Schultz, Bradley, Barnhardt, and all other Techies who told us how bad GTU was going to beat UGA, thanks, your continued support tells us all how great your “Tech Engineering” degree is worth. Maybe you Techies can learn to read, and your writters can learn to not leave the auditorium simpley becuase someone yells “FIRE” Chec this , by being ranked top 5 in engineering schools put you as most surveys indicate now, as the 4th best school in the state of Ga. .
What is recreational engineering? never have understood that major!!!! Do they have many pre-meds or pre laws over at the concrete campus?
Here is the scoop though, UGA won a great game. UGA played without thier best offensive player, and one of thier best secondary players. THE WHOLE GAME. Don’t even begin to offer excuses. UGA will go on to whatever minor bowl that we get to go to this year, and Tech will still have a chance for a respectable ending by beating Clemson, and winning the Orange Bowl. However, we beat you, and it will be that we beat you in the best year that you have had in 20 years. Good luck against Clemson, and we will all meet again next year. We never gave up until we finished the fight. UGA rules again! Here endeth the Lesson!
Johnny Test
November 29th, 2009
1:24 pm
GTFAN, no Willie is gone and so is Fabris. BOBO will survive.
jesse james
November 29th, 2009
1:24 pm
Reggie don’t be too hard on yourself. You were asked to do something you couldn’t do and that was count to four without your slide rule.
Tide Rising
November 29th, 2009
1:25 pm
Just when the dawgs are thinking they had a crappy season they end up winning the ACC conference championship.
GTbill
November 29th, 2009
1:26 pm
OK Ga Fans, if you insist, I accept your analysis. A better 10 and 1 Ga Tech team lost to a sorry mediocre 6 and 5 Ga team. This happens often in sports (see Pre-Season Number 1 Georgia and Ga Tech last year, see Florida and Ole Miss last year and LSU and Kentucky and Arkansas in 2007). Florida and LSU still accepted their championship rings and when Tech wins the ACC and a BCS bowl so will we.
Long Memory
November 29th, 2009
1:27 pm
Hey Saint Hymans, you better shut down your computer because you have 365 day to bend over and take it. That was one hell of a short dynasty–The Dung Dynasty. 8 of 9 and 15 of 19. Get ready for Johnson to have second thoughts about the Trade School. Saint Simons molest collies.
GTbill
November 29th, 2009
1:28 pm
Oh forgot GO TECH THE HELL WITH GEORGIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
rhodesscolar
November 29th, 2009
1:31 pm
Hey Titancoach, keep preaching that intellectual superiority. I hope is comforts you these next 364 nights while you’re crying bitter tears into your pillow. Say whens the last time Yech had 2 Rhodes Scholars? O that’s right never. So in the parlance that you seem to expect, F*UK YOU LOSER!
Reggie Ball
November 29th, 2009
1:31 pm
It just seems every-time we think we’re man enough to beat the dawgs Jeff Shultz jumps on our bandwagon and we get put in our place. I’m tired of it. Jeff stay off our Rambling Wreck. I’ll be the first one to say I think we should fire PJ.
Corch Paul Johnson
November 29th, 2009
1:33 pm
That week off to prepare for Georgia scheme worked out real well, didn’t it?
Judge Jagaloon
November 29th, 2009
1:35 pm
GT BILL, thanks for the insight, if you want a better insight, maybe you should check out the stands in Tampa this weekend. Tide Rising, when will Bama win another SEC chammpionship? All in all, It was a great day for UGA, BAMA, SC, USC, Stanford, UT, UF, OU, and several others. GT bill, I forgot, “Isn’t it a shame about Tech”?