Jackets stun Clemson — and did that just happen?
Tevin Washington and teammates celebrate after his second-quarter touchdown run.
(UPDATED: 12:15 a.m.)
Was it all a setup? Was the plan to unravel offensively like never before during Paul Johnson’s tenure on The Flats, lose consecutive games after a 6-0 start, then hit the BCS’s No. 5 team across the head with a 2-by-4 — you know, just for a little drama?
Or maybe Georgia Tech was just teasing Independence Bowl officials.
The Jackets didn’t merely upset Clemson Saturday night. They handled the Tigers with alarming ease. They played easily their best game against their strongest opponent of the season. They allowed Clemson the first three points of the game, then scored the next 24. They had well over 400 yards in offense. They won 31-17.
Did that just happen?
“We played hard and we played with emotion,” coach Paul Johnson said. “When that happens, you have a chance to win.”
And suddenly, a season that seemed to be spinning out of control still has the chance to turn into something special.
When it was over, fans swarmed the field. I’m not sure, but I think I even saw Johnson smile.
“I knew we wouldn’t quit — unlike some people,” Johnson said, referencing doubts about the team from media and fans. “I knew we would play hard.”
Quarterback Tevin Washington, who came back from two shaky performances to rush for 176 yards (a school record for a quarterback) and a touchdown, said, “Coach just told us that it was a great team win and everybody had written us off.”
That won’t be an issue going into the Virginia Tech game Nov. 10. The Jackets (4-2, 7-2) are a game behind the Hokies in the ACC Coastal, but another win over a likely favorite would all but put them in the ACC championship (with only the Duke game remaining on the conference schedule).
Dabo Swinney’s first game as Clemson’s interim head coach came against Tech and Johnson in 2008. The Jackets won 21-17. Johnson was 3-1 in four head-to-head meetings between the two going into Saturday, so it’s not as if the Jackets haven’t had recent success against the Tigers.
But how do you see leads of 24-3 (halftime) and 31-10 (third quarter) coming for a team that only two weeks ago lost to Virginia?
Clemson had won eight straight. It has one of the nation’s most prolific offenses, with 114 points in the last two games. Tech had lost two straight. It’s offense had been more like an old tire with a leaky valve. In the last 10 quarters going into Saturday, the Jackets had scored three offensive touchdowns.
That’s like giving Paul Johnson the key to the U.S. mint and telling him, “You can only take a nickel.”
But neither team looked itself in the first half. Clemson had five full possessions and was held to one field goal, two punts, a fumble and a missed field goal. Swinney left the field with that stunned wildebeest look on his face.
The Jackets failed to gain even a first down on their first two possessions. Then they scored 24 points on their next four.
They got some help. Louis Young forced a fumble on Clemson’s backup running back, D.J. Howard, and Rod Sweeting recovered at the Tigers’ 19. (Officials originally ruled Howard down but the play was overturned on replay.) Six plays later, Orwin Smith scored from the one to give Tech its first lead at 7-3.
But the key to the offense on this night was Washington. He ran and passed better than he had in weeks. It seemed in recent games that his confidence was shaken. When Synjyn Days played the final inglorious minutes in last week’s loss at Miami, the thought occurred Johnson might even make a change at quarterback if Washington struggled early against Clemson.
That wasn’t necessary. He looked like the Washington of early season. He had a career-high 46-yard run in the first half (when he rushed for 85) and then trumped that with a 56-yarder in the third quarter. He completed a 44-yard pass to Stephen Hill (whose spectacular catch led to a late-half touchdown run by Smith). Washington also might’ve thrown a long touchdown pass to Hill but the wide receiver let a perfect pass slip between his hands near the Clemson 20 as he streaked down the right sideline.
The Jackets’ offense was churning. It had touchdown drives of 80 and 78 yards to close the half, making it 24-3. When Clemson scored in the first 1:26 of the second half, Tech responded with a 77-yard scoring drive of its own to make it 31-10.
Tech tried to make it interesting. A Washington fumble at the Clemson three late in the third quarter prevented a potential 38-10 lead and an early celebration. With the score 31-17, a Washington interception with 10:39 left gave the Tigers possession at the Jackets’ nine, with a chance to close to within a touchdown. But on first and goal, Taj Boyd’s pass into the end zone was intercepted by Jemea Thomas (wide receiver Sammy Watkins turned around after the ball already was over his head).
That was it. Clemson had been given its last chance. And Tech had morphed back into a winner.
By Jeff Schultz
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379 comments Add your comment
Veteran Fan
October 30th, 2011
11:26 am
So much for the so-called experts. Cheater Lou Holtz and Mark May both predicted Clemson in a blow out and then tried to say that Clemson didn’t play defense right. They both ignored the fact that the better team whipped Clemson on both sides of the ball all night! Enough of these talking airheads, line up and play football and check the results after the game!
gt45
October 30th, 2011
11:27 am
Great nite in the Atl! Kids storming the field was priceless! I think we run the table from here on. Congrats to the mutts for getting that monkey off your back! We’ll see you soon!
Yellow Fuzz
October 30th, 2011
11:28 am
11-26-11
FEAR THE FUZZ
gt45
October 30th, 2011
11:30 am
Carolina, Ayers transed. Probably saw the writing on the wall!
superDawg
October 30th, 2011
11:30 am
schultz you should pack your mule and leave this state before you are tared and feathered.
5150 UOAD
October 30th, 2011
11:30 am
Steve sure whatever you say. UGA beats Tech like the Gators beat the Dawgs. You mutts beat Florida and Tech will beat the mutts.
zbulldawg
October 30th, 2011
11:30 am
BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ You are a JERK. Great win Paul – Jackets! You beat a great football team.At least the Coaches and Players has CLASS.
Steve
October 30th, 2011
11:31 am
Ha Ha. UGA playing Tech is not exciting anymore. Expected win.
superDawg
October 30th, 2011
11:31 am
5150 those are bold words for a one eyed fat man.
Will
October 30th, 2011
11:32 am
the other big thing with this game was the momentum shift. anyone notice the last few games GT gave up 1 or 2 TDs in the first quater. Once the momentum is down the O seemed to screw up more. Last night was awesome we seemed to overcome that pretty quick
Yep
October 30th, 2011
11:34 am
The defense has been great this season and last night it was incredible. Great win and now with 12 days to rest up for vt, we are in the drivers seat. Then it’s revenge against the dogs.
GulfShoresALDawg
October 30th, 2011
11:35 am
Congratulations GT…great game! Awesome day for GT & UGA! Go Dawgs!
Jarmar
October 30th, 2011
11:40 am
Paul Johnson is easily the best football coach of the past 50 years. He yet agian finds a way to win in the most difficult conference in all of sports.
5150 UOAD
October 30th, 2011
11:40 am
superDawg “one eyed fat man”? have you been checking my Junk when we are at the urinals during the games?
1eyedJack
October 30th, 2011
11:43 am
superDawg
October 30th, 2011
11:31 am
5150 those are bold words for a one eyed fat man.
I resemble that remark. Congratulations to the GnaTs on a great win. Now, go get your drunken friends off our boards.
Ads
October 30th, 2011
11:45 am
How lucky is my friend who took stanford. The line was 7. It goes to OT. The only chance he has to win is if it makes it to triple ot where you are forced to go for 2. Then they would have to stop usc. And it happens. Unreal.
5150 UOAD
October 30th, 2011
11:45 am
Please no more talk about lifting Vad Lee’s redshirt.
Gorilla Biscuit
October 30th, 2011
11:45 am
“Then it’s revenge against the dogs.”
Whoa there Sparky, the Dawgs play defense.
Steve
October 30th, 2011
11:47 am
Jarmar – FUNNY! Best coach of the last 50 years?????????? Virginia?????????
Steve
October 30th, 2011
11:48 am
I did not go to the game, or watch, but I would bet my 401K at least a third of the high school stadium was Clemson. Sad that the nerds only sellout when they play Clemson, UGA, or FSU.
Freddy Blassie
October 30th, 2011
11:50 am
Johnson is one helluva coach. I’ve never doubted Johnson, but I have doubted the players. The players proved me wrong. Glad I went to the game instead of rearranging the spice rack. Helluva a show, guys.
5150 UOAD
October 30th, 2011
11:55 am
Steve………So, you are an idiot talking about something you have absolutely no first hand knowledge of. Sounds like most UGA fans. Always a Dawg fan , but never a Dawg Student. Got to love the uga fans.
For those asking for us to get the Tech fans off YOUR blogs, then maybe you should set the Example and get off OUR blogs. HAHAHAHAHAH
Stress Management
October 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
GT slams #5 undefeated Clemson.
UGA squeezes by unranked 4-4 Florida.
Steve
October 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
5150 hopefully you are man enough to be on here after your annual loss to UGA.
Steve
October 30th, 2011
12:03 pm
GT loses to a pathetic Virginia team.
carolinajacket
October 30th, 2011
12:14 pm
Steve, you really know your football. Lets see, ACC Coastal Division vs. top 25, 4-6. Not great, but not really so bad. Now lets look at the might SEC East — they will surely show us how it is supposed to be done, oops, 0-16. Are you serious?
5150 UOAD
October 30th, 2011
12:14 pm
What was Boise St ranked when they spanked the Dawgs?
Steve I am at every home game. I will never return to that Septic Tank aka Sanford Stadium. Dawg fans are pigs and rude no matter what team you are a fan of.
reebok
October 30th, 2011
12:24 pm
great day for both of the home teams…Tech controls their own destiny…beat V-Tech in 10 days and then Duke and we are back in the ACC Championship game…Dogs need to beat Auburn and Kentucky, plus S Carolina has to lose once…I would love to see both teams have their tickets punched to their conference championships when we meet the Dogs at Bobby Dood in November!
Yellow Fuzz
October 30th, 2011
12:28 pm
NOT GONNA SEE TOO MANY DOG POSTERS ON HERE TODAY. THEY SAW OUR GAME WITH CLEMSON AND KNOW THAT IT WILL BE BLOODY IN NOVEMBER. I LOVE IT. THEY HATE IT.
dan 2
October 30th, 2011
12:28 pm
Jeff, sorry but your following is much smaller than it was last week…You are on the hot seat now……Is Clemson that bad? The tech fans don’t like you either…A sfor tech last night, remember what Forrest Gump said……S*** happens
Tony
October 30th, 2011
12:28 pm
Carolinajacket
Our panty waist commissioner will not do anything. He didn’t when North Carolina was here a couple of years ago and Tech was trying to get into position to at least kick a field goal at the end of the half. Tech completes a pass for a first down and runs out of bounds. Both should have stopped the clock. But not with that crew. The clock ran out and the half was over. But the North Carolina lover, he was there athletic director for about 10 years, did nothing to that crew. Why do you think NC wins so many games especially in basketball. Not only is the basketball team good but they have help from the comissioners office to insure the calls go their way when they need it. It would be the same for their mental migit football team if they could at least stay close in games. Remember they had to have a young lady write reports for them to try to stay eligible and the coach lied about not knowing. A complete loss of institutional control but nothing from the comissioner and I would bet they get off light by the NCAA just like Miami did. My point is don’t expect anything from the worst commisioner in college foorball in this case.
Gorilla Biscuit
October 30th, 2011
12:31 pm
Yellow Fuzz, we are not afraid.
5150 UOAD
October 30th, 2011
12:31 pm
dan 2……………Forrest Gump never cussed. You need to watch the movie and you will see. Now Miss Gump gave Forrest a saying for life……….Stupid is as Stupid does. You should look on the outside of Sanford Stadium on game day and you will truly understand the meaning in that statement.
carolinajacket
October 30th, 2011
12:33 pm
And thats just another reason I am a member of the ABC Club, anybody but Carolina.
BS Parol
October 30th, 2011
12:35 pm
Doggie victory over a has been & unranked SEC team is meaningless compared to Tech’s total domination of 5th ranked powerhouse Clemson. How long has it been since the doggies knocked off a real top 5 team?
Yellow Fuzz
October 30th, 2011
12:35 pm
Hahaha. Glad all you chest pounding, AH dog nation represenatives on here were able to get by a banged up Florida team. Hahaha. While THE GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS totally dominated the #5 ranked team in the nation (which had far more talent and depth than us) with our “2 star players”, “gimmick, high school offense” and “80 year old defensive coordinator”. See you soon doggies. You may beat us but you will have to play the game of your life. There is NO WAY that you have more talent than Clemson.
FEAR THE FUZZ!
Not a GT fan
October 30th, 2011
12:41 pm
The last 2 weeks GT fans went into hiding. Now after Saturday’s, GT fans are everywhere. Be real fans and support your team, in the good and bad.
Spurrier
October 30th, 2011
12:44 pm
Klempsin is a fraud. They will lose to us, too. Just after we clinch the east, right, Richt?
MT
October 30th, 2011
12:48 pm
Ga fans…go to your own blog. Mark Bradley has a story for your epic win. 18/22 Nice job. Even worse than us against you.
5150 UOAD
October 30th, 2011
12:50 pm
ALWAYS a GT fan
I have NEVER been in Hiding.
I was not happy with how Washington had played, but he was great last night. I also have not called for Vad Lee. I haven’t lost faith in CPJ either.
ATLER (Ramblin Wreck)
October 30th, 2011
12:52 pm
I’ve read all the comments on this show and some of you have been missing for a couple of weeks. Great job Jackets. Had a ball at the game and will see you guys at the Tech vs VPI game Thurs night. Go Jackets!!!!
ATLER (Ramblin Wreck)
October 30th, 2011
12:54 pm
What’s up with Steve? What’s his problem?
Ol'JacketFan
October 30th, 2011
12:54 pm
Great win last night with all 3 phases of the game clicking. Looking forward to VT and the remainder of the season. Go Jackets!!!!!!!!!
Not a GT fan
October 30th, 2011
12:55 pm
5150 UOAD, you are the only one.
Jay
October 30th, 2011
1:01 pm
when’s the last time ugag beat a top 5 team. or even a ranked team. 2 years? probably against us. congrats. your sec wins come against teams that have won an aggregate 4 sec wins.
Robert Barron
October 30th, 2011
1:02 pm
Too many Tech “fans” sold their tickets which are. of course, going to mostly wind up in Clemson hands.
Man did u folks blow it.
To pay to see a beatdown of undefeated Clemson when few saw it coming is worth thousands a ticket at least.
Bad call, which I deplore, had the benefit of making the game better and giving Clemson no excuses.
Props to Davo for manning up after the game.
Man is it fun to watch this secondary develop game by game (in person).
Jamea improvement with every game is awesome but credit to the whole D.
Great job Jackets.
What a fabulous team effort.
Thousands?
I mean the ticket for a game like that was worth a hundred thousand.
BooBoo
October 30th, 2011
1:03 pm
I am going into business as a Special Teams coach, along with my assistant, Bubba Linejudge. As a team we will specialize in goal line defenses. We will train our defensive tackles to charge offsides, and grab the ball from the center’s hinney, before the quarterback gets a chance to receive the ball. Then, Bubba will come in and call it a fumble.
Genius! I’ll have a job for life!
Cohutta Dawgman
October 30th, 2011
1:05 pm
Just goes to show how pitiful the ACC is.
TechRon
October 30th, 2011
1:09 pm
GIve credit where credit is due, and you need a big shovel to dole it all out!
I have been very critical of the Jackets for the last 4 games. I was dead wrong about one thing. They definitely do have the ability to perform at this level. I was convinced that they did not. They showed what can happen when you go out and block and tackle and they turned in an amazing performance.
I still cannot understand the half hearted performances of the last 4 games and the miserable coaching done in them. Where did this defense come from last night? They have played like bums in every previous game. And how do we move the ball like that against the best team we have seen (by far) and we can’t do it against Virginia, Maryland, Miami?
A lot of questions, but you have to give the team and coaches a big A+ for a fantastic job.
this guy
October 30th, 2011
1:09 pm
this just confirms what I’ve said the past several weeks – it has not been better competition that has caused GT’s slide. not at all. for whatever reason, they just quit executing the offense after their 5-0 start (demise began against maryland). last night, they executed nearly perfectly against an outstanding team.
and folks, the defense looks legit, and has for several weeks now.