Georgia Tech shows its upside in win — and it’s impressive
Orwin Smith's 77-yard touchdown run was part of Tech's first-half assault. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)
The first play went for 70 yards and a touchdown. The third play went for 77 yards and a touchdown. The fourth play went for 60 yards. No touchdown. (Virginia’s defense celebrates this small victory, then two minutes later gives up a touchdown.)
Remember 2008, when Paul Johnson brought this scattering-fire-ants-looking offense to Georgia Tech, and the Jackets won games scoring 41, 38, 31, 41 and 45 points, the last coming in Athens?
Remember 2009, when the numbers just got more stupid (49, 49, 39 … 56?), and Tech fans tore down the goal posts after an upset of No. 4 Virginia Tech, and Johnson was viewed as some borderline deity on The Flats for winning the ACC title in only his second season?
That’s sort of what it looked like Saturday. Maybe the ramifications weren’t as great. Virginia, the afternoon sacrifice, wasn’t ranked. There was no title clinched. Tech isn’t even in first place today.
But the Jackets’ 56-20 body-slam of Virginia was significant in other ways. Most notably, it momentarily stuffed all whines and questions about whether the program is headed in the wrong direction. It also suggested something about this team’s high ceiling.
“I believe everything happens for a reason,” quarterback Tevin Washington said after rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for another. “When something goes wrong, just learn. We learned something when we lost at Virginia Tech. It just showed us how even when you have a team down late, you can’t let up. You have to keep playing like it’s 0-0. That’s what we did today. I have a really good feeling about this team. I feel like if we can play with that kind of attitude every week, we can be really good.”
Tech led 14-0 4:29 into the game and 35-7 at halftime. It was 49-7 in the fourth before the foot came off the pedal. It’s not likely going to be that easy against Miami next week, or certainly in a few weeks at Clemson. But if this was the Jackets’ upside, they’re going to be a player in the ACC this season.
Note: Pittsburgh 35, Virginia Tech 17. It’s an open race in the Coastal Division.
Players were motivated watching clips of last season’s 24-21 loss to Virginia in Charlottesville, when the Cavaliers rushed for 274 yards. Washington referenced the contrasting scenes of the two sidelines in the final seconds, and Johnson later: “I heard a long time ago: Revenge is a great motivator for those who care. We were embarrassed the way we played up there.”
The defense, looking more comfortable now in the 3-4, was physical. Virginia was stuffed on a fourth-and-1 in the second quarter (when the blowout was only 28-7). Players were inspired in part by watching a tape of the 1985 Marvin Hagler-Thomas Hearns middleweight title fight the night before.
“That got me real excited,” cornerback Louis Young said. “We knocked them down and had them on the ropes a lot today. … We were going to stalk them the whole game. Last year, if you look the film, they threw a lot of punches at us early and we didn’t come back at them.”
There was no letup Saturday. It was an important response in the conference to the overtime loss at Virginia Tech two weeks ago. The Jackets scored touchdowns on their first four possessions. Three of their first four offensive plays from scrimmage covered 207 yards, approaching their entire output in Blacksburg (288).
Their first offensive play was a 70-yard touchdown pass fromWashington to Zack Laskey. Their third play was a 77-yard touchdown run by Orwin Smith. Their fourth play was a 60-yard run by Washington, setting up another score. By halftime, Tech had 386 yards in offense, give or take a furlong.
It was a difficult to tell exactly what Virginia’s defensive strategy was, but it appeared to center on their ability to tear the helmet off Washington’s head. They did it twice, forcing him to the sideline to sit out plays because of the NCAA’s inane new rule. (Didn’t matter. The Jackets scored touchdowns on both drives.)
Asked if he felt the helmet grabs were intentional, Washington: “Yeah, and I told the officials. I don’t like that rule.”
Johnson’s pointed observation: “Funny how that happened near the goal line.”
Not that it made a difference.
By Jeff Schultz
EARLIER: 3 thoughts on Georgia Tech’s win over Virginia
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215 comments Add your comment
Paul in NH
September 16th, 2012
2:27 pm
Justin
I am taking the under. Steve reminds me of my daughter when she was 11. The studies show that girls mature a little earlier than boys – I have him pegged as 13.
macrotech
September 16th, 2012
2:30 pm
Steve is giving grade schoolers all across the nation a bad name….bless his heart! Haha, pointing to uf, ut and uga’s rankings as proof that the sec isn’t top heavy is a joke….none of them have done anything to earn those rankings….preseason rankings are a joke. espn has had a crush on the sec for a while, hence the preseason lovin’. Of course, in their defense….espn HAS to look out for it’s investment!
Gotta admit, Tech looked really good yesterday! Looking forward to the Miami game…SHOULD be a good one! GO TECH!!!
5150 UOAD
September 16th, 2012
3:03 pm
Schultz it looks like you have competition for the Live Tech game blogs
http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/091412aab.html#
Roddy Jones’ Live Blog Returns For Saturday’s Football Game
Join the former Yellow Jacket reunning back tomorrow
Sept. 14, 2012
Want in-game insight from one of the all-time favorite Yellow Jacket football players? Don’t miss Roddy Jones’ live blog on Saturday during Georgia Tech’s game versus Virginia.
Jones will be posted up in the press box, giving fans his views of the action and offering comments and answering your questions on the 2012 edition of the Yellow Jackets.
His live chat begins tomorrow at 3:15 p.m. as the Yellow Jackets host the Cavaliers at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:10 pm
Drexel Gal
September 16th, 2012
1:01 am
Did any of you morons notice that GT and the University [sic] Of Georgia won by identical scores of 56-20? Identical scores for two in-state schools may not be such a big deal, if they were 17-10 or 21 -14 … but, 56-20? What are the odds? (Tech grads only, since U [sic] GA have no clue about what “odds” are.)
___________________
Odds are, based on past performance, that UGA will beat G Tech in November. We do have a clue about those odds.
1 4 GT
September 16th, 2012
3:12 pm
What Steve didn’t mention is that he claimed & the article he linked backed him up….the strength of schedule for 2012 contains “all” football teams….if you think about it….that has to be true….Sagarin knows that FBS schools play lower conference teams for “practice” = cupcakes….as of yesterday’s Sagarin S O S rankings….he knowingly told a LIE….he did claim to read the rankings….Steve said Georgie’s S O S rank was 73 & GT’s S O S was 145….I looked at the link Steve provided….without being asked for proof of his fraudulent claim….Sagarin has several columns of numbers beside each school with what each column means at the top….under rank….Georgie….as of yesterday when he made his lieing claim….was number 138….GT….as of yesterday when he made his lieing claim….was number 116….I read the blog this was posted on after I got home but did not post anything until about 1:00 PM today….since he made his fraudulent claim on the Schultz live blog @ 3:24 PM….before GT/UVa KO….& I read it very early….after midnight….I doubt the “poll” was updated that quick….west coast games were still ongoing & winding down….Steve posted the Sagarin “poll” link @ 3:36 PM yesterday shortly after KO….draw your own conclusions….mine is Steve is a liar that even had the nerve to post a link proving himself to be a liar….Selah
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:14 pm
GTBob
September 16th, 2012
2:21 pm
Hmmm I believe UF, UT, and UGA #6
Sorry, but no one actually thinks anyone of those three teams are any good.
________________________
Don’t think you can say that about UF, GTBob. No one detests the gators more than Dawg and Nole fans, so I hate to say it but they looked pretty impressive last night in a hostile environment. Jury’s still out on UGA, given the soft schedule so far.
GTBob
September 16th, 2012
3:14 pm
Odds are, based on past performance, that UGA will beat G Tech in November. We do have a clue about those odds.
I hope you know that you just proved his point about not knowing what odds are.
GTBob
September 16th, 2012
3:16 pm
Don’t think you can say that about UF, GTBob.
I watched their game against Bowling Green. Therefore I am fairly certain about it. Tennessee is not good. Im not sure why people think they are.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:19 pm
1 4 GT
September 16th, 2012
3:12 pm
draw your own conclusions….mine is Steve is a liar that even had the nerve to post a link proving himself to be a liar….Selah
_______________________
Your conclusion is pretty well borne out by the fact that Steve has fled the blog–having been confronted with the facts.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:26 pm
GTBob
September 16th, 2012
3:14 pm
Odds are, based on past performance, that UGA will beat G Tech in November. We do have a clue about those odds.
I hope you know that you just proved his point about not knowing what odds are.
______________________
Is Drexel Gal a him?
Oh, I know what odds are; don’t fret about that, GTBob. And it really doesn’t matter what “his” point is. “Odds” still are that Tech will fall on Nov 24. That’s a fairly obvious conclusion to draw–based on the past decade or so alone.
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
3:27 pm
@DawgNole, I watched the UT/FL game and I was impressed with how FL ran the ball and how they turned up their play in the 2nd house. It they can find a way to play at that level for a full4 quarters they are a dangerous team. Folks here in TN are starting to get a bit annoyed with D.Dooley as it seems as if he or his staff cannot make adjustments at halftime. UT plays well for a half and then goes in the tank. If Jame Franklin keeps pulling in the players at Vandy like he’s doing the UT folks growl is going to become and full throated bark (apologies to Smokie) !
macrotech
September 16th, 2012
3:29 pm
DawgNole, I didn’t see much of the uf vs ut game….just some highlights. To hear a UGA fan speak well of uf, did you think they played that well or was it ut not measuring up to the hype? Just curious.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:31 pm
GTBob
September 16th, 2012
3:16 pm
I watched their game against Bowling Green. Therefore I am fairly certain about it. Tennessee is not good. Im not sure why people think they are.
___________________
Based on their shaky win against BG, they didn’t look so good. But they’ve won two since on the road before big, noisy crowds, so I’m loathe to admit it, but they appear to be poised for a return to prominence. We’ll find out soon enough.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:36 pm
macrotech
September 16th, 2012
3:29 pm
DawgNole, I didn’t see much of the uf vs ut game….just some highlights. To hear a UGA fan speak well of uf, did you think they played that well or was it ut not measuring up to the hype? Just curious.
_______________________
It was a combination of both. Tenn played well early and then wore down. I agree with GTBob that the Vols just aren’t there yet.
And I’m only speaking well of fla based on what I’ve seen since that season-opening BG game. It’s tough to win in those environs (College Station & Knoxville), but they managed to pull it off.
As far as the team, school, tradition (of arrogance), fanbase (with rare exceptions), etc., I can’t stand ‘em. And I’m pretty sure I have a lot of company.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:41 pm
Ol’JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
3:27 pm
@DawgNole, I watched the UT/FL game and I was impressed with how FL ran the ball and how they turned up their play in the 2nd house. It they can find a way to play at that level for a full4 quarters they are a dangerous team. Folks here in TN are starting to get a bit annoyed with D.Dooley as it seems as if he or his staff cannot make adjustments at halftime. UT plays well for a half and then goes in the tank. If Jame Franklin keeps pulling in the players at Vandy like he’s doing the UT folks growl is going to become and full throated bark (apologies to Smokie) !
_____________________
I can imagine that Derek’s seat got a little hotter last night. I saw that game as bigger for Tenn than for fla., and I thought with that crowd that they might take. Wrong. Looks like they’ve still got quite a ways to go.
GTBob
September 16th, 2012
3:41 pm
they appear to be poised for a return to prominence
They have beaten one cupcake and two unranked and below average teams. They struggled in all three games. Therefore I would have to disagree with you. We will find our in three weeks when they play their first real game.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
3:54 pm
GTBob
September 16th, 2012
3:41 pm
They have beaten one cupcake and two unranked and below average teams. They struggled in all three games. Therefore I would have to disagree with you. We will find our in three weeks when they play their first real game.
__________________
Too early to assess the quality of their opponents as well (although BG should never have given them fits). I hope my fears of their re-emergence are unfounded, simply because I’ve despised them my entire teen/adult life–and that’s a lot longer than I care to admit. I just don’t think you can discount those two wins on the road. But as is the case with all of our teams, we’ll learn a lot more about ‘em in the weeks ahead.
1 4 GT
September 16th, 2012
3:55 pm
Football related….Ain’ts & hear no, see no, speak no evil “Windy” losing to Carolina be 15….WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
macrotech
September 16th, 2012
4:00 pm
DawgNole, thank you for responding….I concur on winning in certain environments. Best wishes to you, sir.
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
4:02 pm
DawgNole, UT has some serious talent over on Rocky Top and one of the most experienced O lines in SEC. With Bray and the WRs they have folks just can’t figure out why they fall apart in the 2nd half.
Steve
September 16th, 2012
4:02 pm
Ha ha. Love this obsession about the link I posted. Here it is AGAIN. This was BEFORE it was updated on 9/16 http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm
17 Georgia A = 83.63 2 0 65.56( 73)
54 Georgia Tech A = 73.63 1 1 56.02( 145)
jj
September 16th, 2012
4:03 pm
Oh NO! The college football landscape in the state of Georgia has changed again. PJ is back baby, Jackets are flying high. Oh wait, no they’re not. Dawgs will slaughter this team in November.
5150 UOAD
September 16th, 2012
4:06 pm
Two things happened last night about the same time. Thank God somebody invented Call Waiting.
Kentucky loses and Bobby Patrino’s phone was ringing and then the beep in for another call and it was from the Vols AD.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
4:12 pm
macrotech
September 16th, 2012
4:00 pm
DawgNole, thank you for responding….I concur on winning in certain environments. Best wishes to you, sir.
___________________
And to you.
My Dawg buddies think I’m a traitor, but I ALWAYS pull for Tech unless they’re playing UGA or FSU. I think it’s amazing what Johnson’s been able to do with that offense. Y’all just need a more credible passing game and a stouter defense. If you ever get that, look out!
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
4:14 pm
How bout them 0-2 Aints. Love that bunch’s fanbase about as much as the gators.
DawgNole
September 16th, 2012
4:17 pm
Ol’JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
4:02 pm
DawgNole, UT has some serious talent over on Rocky Top and one of the most experienced O lines in SEC. With Bray and the WRs they have folks just can’t figure out why they fall apart in the 2nd half.
_______________________
I agree. Being a longtime UGA fan and grad, I pull for Dooley, but I just don’t know if he can get it done up there. That would’ve been a signature win for him last night.
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
4:25 pm
DawgNole, I understand what you’re saying. He’s getting his share of talent but is he ready to take the next step as a HC. I don’t know, but he certainly has a good pedigree
both familial and coaches he has worked with/for.
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
4:28 pm
LOL@5150, I just can’t stomach Petrino despite his abilities, he is a complete scumbag!!!!!
5150 UOAD
September 16th, 2012
4:36 pm
OJF very true but we are talking about the SEC and they will eat their young to get a coach that can bring a Crystal Football to the school.
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
4:46 pm
LOL@ 5150, you might have a point there after all!
fgt
September 16th, 2012
4:53 pm
They were impressive against Va tech
TrishaDishaWarEagle
September 16th, 2012
4:56 pm
Ok who cares about GT it’s sunday..Who dat startin 0-2..dem aint’s, dem aint’s
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
4:57 pm
LOL@ Trisha, that is kinda sweet to see! But I still care about the Jackets
TrishaDishaWarEagle
September 16th, 2012
4:59 pm
Then again, When Arizona beats the mighty Bradychick, maybe the Mayans were right about december 21st..whoever is leading the division when the world ends wins!
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
5:08 pm
The world can’t end on the 12/21, we wouldn’t have a MNC crowned yet!!!!!!
5150 UOAD
September 16th, 2012
5:25 pm
Mayans didn’t use Leap years so the world already ended and some of us were not invited to the party.
Ol'JacketFan
September 16th, 2012
5:35 pm
So 5150 those of us not invited are here in purgatory having to never see any MNCs but SEC teams forever? Oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!
OldGold1964
September 16th, 2012
6:04 pm
Simple terms: it’s called (1) come prepared, (2) execute smartly, (3) reduce or eliminate penalties. That combined, and good results can be obtained. From here, we celebrate short term. Put it in perspective and remember, one game at a time – don’t look too far into future schedule but in another 4, 5, 6 weeks, you can look back and see what was accomplished.
UGA = Yawn
September 16th, 2012
6:39 pm
Tech fans. Just ignore the asinine post of UGA fans. If you respond this blog turns into a waste of time and space. If you are a GT fan, come in here and write your comments and respond to other GT fans. Ignore the UGA fan comments. I know it is tough – but if you do it, these blogs will be so much better.
Bobo
September 16th, 2012
7:18 pm
As a die-hard Tech fan, I was impressed with our win, but I won’t get carried away. Saturday told me nothing new, other than our defense (particularly the linebacking corps) might be better than I had originally thought. I’m still not a fan of the 3-4, but I can live with results if they’re like Saturday.
However, what Saturday also told me was that Virginia is really, really bad.
big gt fan
September 16th, 2012
7:39 pm
I have to give tw credit he played well yesterday keep it up ,Miami is going to be tough team beat. TW your going have be able throw it to losen up the defensive.
Thomas Brown
September 17th, 2012
12:04 am
Georgie tek, recipients of 3 consecutive blogs by Jeff Schultz, remains an unranked team while The Georgia Bulldogs passed Oklahoma in the rankings and Southern California when Matt Barkley threw 2 interceptions losing to Stanford to put UGA # 5 in the nation.
Our next 2 opponents are both unranked, like Georgie tek, with Vandie then the vols coming up. Vandie had not won a game all season then beat Presbyterian college last weekend, whom Georgie tek beat earlier this season by a similar score.
SUSPENDED PLAYERS, we only have 3 for the Vandie game, and then will be down for the vols game only Kolton Houston, whom the NCAA suspended.
We started slowly for the South Atlantic Florida game Saturday, amid all the sell-out disguised by empty seats and witnessed for the 2nd time in as many games our own fans booing our own team, again.
Our back-up QB is not ready. Duh. He hasn’t played in 2 years and did not practice as back-up all Spring and all Fall.
That must really burn those who actually think Oklahoma did something wrong, or we so much better this 2012 season to-date to move us up ahead of Oklahoma in the AP Poll as they have only played 2 games to our 3 now.
Coaches’ Poll finds UGA still worse-ranked than Oklahoma.
Southern California dropped 11 places to # 13 in the AP Poll and 9 spots in the Coaches’ Poll to # 12.
Vandie cannot pass the football, nor stop the run – thus unranked while the vols cannot run the football nor stop the run as I pointed-out all week last week to you.
There are 6 SEC teams ranked. 4 of the Top 7.
ACC has 2 ranked football teams. Nice. No wonder you sold-out to Notre Dame to not allow them to join the ACC in Football – the sport they’re most relevant in.
Georgie tek # 113 passing high school offense. Now, that’s old man football.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 17th, 2012
12:12 am
Who cares how we are ranked in passing, as long as we connect on enough passes to open up the running game. And the running game is #3 in the country and figures to stay that high throughout the rest of the season.
Thomas Brown
September 17th, 2012
12:18 am
Who cares how you are ranked in passing ?
You’re on NCAA PROBATION in FOOTBALL back-to-back, are UNRANKED 2012, were not ranked in 2011 and not ranked in 2010.
You cannot recruit.
You have 1 win in 11 tries against our football coach.
And, you have LOST 7 BOWL GAMES in a ROW.
Who cares what you’re ranked in Passing ? You’re the # 36 national university. Go brag about that.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 17th, 2012
12:46 am
Troll hard, Thomas Brown……You have historically one of the most screwed up athletic programs in the country, so if it gets you off trashing Tech for two minor probations, then enjoy it. You apparently care more about what goes on at Tech than any of us care about what goes on in cowtown. Sure, we would like more wins against the dwags, but it is what it is. I’m sure you would like more against Florida and Spurrier too. And look for Spurrier to win again when you go to Columbia next month. And who knows, Florida might do it again too.
Thomas Brown
September 17th, 2012
1:46 am
You have not won a Major Bowl game after 1955.
57 years.
Typical for a Georgie tek fan to :
(1) call MAJOR INFRACTIONS DATABASE 2 minor infractions. You’re on PROBATION in FOOTBALL today.
(2) Talk up some team we play as OUR problem, when you’ve beat our current coach 1 times out of 11 tries. You’re a Georgie tek fan in here constantly bragging on YOUR team. You’re on Probation in Football Major Infractions Database, have lost 10 of the 11 games against our coach, haven’t won a major bowl game in 57 years not after 1955, and have lost 7 bowl games in a row while you remain an unranked football team 2012, were unranked 2011, and unranked 2010; yet, here you are in the state which only 2 others have more high school recruits who go on to the NFL and cannot recruit to save your soul.
That’s not trolling; it’s directly answering your posts.
Tokyo jacket
September 17th, 2012
8:48 am
Great game, lots of home runs, great execution, and generally a nasty attitude in the trenches. I really hope the team can use that as a launch pad for success throughout the season.
We only play one team with more than a week to prepare that has a chance at beating us: UNC. Even if we lose to Clemson (maybe a Game Day game if Clemson can beat FSU and we beat Miami), we should still be playing UGA @ 9-2 if we can take care of business in Chapel Hill. Not a bad record. The bad news is that they scheduled GA State to see our offense in live game action the week before COFH.
Lady Sting
September 17th, 2012
8:50 am
Thomas Brown….get a life and get off the GT blog.
Tokyo jacket
September 17th, 2012
8:50 am
13th in total offense and 18th in total defense. Great place to be after three games. If we’re still there after six games, we’re 5-1.
DawgNole
September 17th, 2012
9:00 am
Tokyo jacket
September 17th, 2012
8:48 am
We only play one team with more than a week to prepare that has a chance at beating us: UNC. Even if we lose to Clemson (maybe a Game Day game if Clemson can beat FSU and we beat Miami), we should still be playing UGA @ 9-2 if we can take care of business in Chapel Hill. Not a bad record. The bad news is that they scheduled GA State to see our offense in live game action the week before COFH.
___________________
COFH?
Please translate.