Tech secures a bowl but doesn’t exactly leave UGA cowering
With this swoop, Mario Butler takes Tech from behind to ahead. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
The goal, cornerback Mario Butler said, was to keep from becoming the first Georgia Tech team since 1996 to be bowl-ineligible, and that mission was accomplished. And if the Jackets entered Saturday’s game with the ancillary aim of rendering Georgia overconfident for next week’s collision … well, they managed that, too.
Upcoming in Athens: The most impressive 5-6 team in the land — that’d be Georgia — will face the least imposing 6-5 aggregation. Tech won Saturday for the first time since Oct. 16 and needed all the aid and comfort Duke could supply, which was a lot. Some will point to this tepid regular season as a massive comedown from the high of the 2009 ACC championship, and in its way it has been. But this comedown could well have been a nosedive.
The Jackets didn’t have much except Joshua Nesbitt when this season commenced, and now that the indomitable quarterback has been lost they have next to nothing. Their offense mustered but two touchdowns — one of them coming on a pass completion, of which Tech likewise had two — against Duke, which ranked last in the ACC in total defense. The Tech defense, meanwhile, yielded 443 yards to an opponent conspicuously lacking a talent on the order of, say, A.J. Green.
The first half was vintage Tech 2010: A touchdown run overridden on a penalty; a fumbled Duke kickoff uncovered; a fumble lost inside the Duke 10; a failed fourth-down bid that led to a Duke field goal three seconds before halftime. “We had a chance to bury them early one,” said Paul Johnson, the Tech coach, “but we couldn’t get out of our own way.”
Tech trailed 13-6 at the half. It drove smartly enough on its first possession of the third quarter but was held to a field goal, whereupon Duke drove smartly and was within 14 yards of establishing an 11-point lead, whereupon Butler made two plays. The first resulted in a 6-yard loss. The second netted seven points. Butler broke on the only pass thrown by Brandon Connette, who is Duke’s running quarterback for a reason, and took it 85 yards to score.
“I just jumped it,” Butler said, speaking of the pass route. Then: “When I cut across [the field on his lung-bursting return], my hamstrings were about gone.”
Tech would build a 10-point lead. Being Tech, it came close to handing it back. Duke missed a tying field goal with 9:20 left. Three snaps later, Stephen Hill outfought a defender to snatch a Tevin Washington pass from the air. The 79-yard touchdown was the sort play of the departed Demaryius Thomas authored weekly last season but that Hill, considered the heir apparent, has seldom made.
“Coach Johnson wants playmaking receivers,” Hill said. “[I've] had a bad little year. But the year’s not over with.”
Said Johnson: “We didn’t accomplish a lot of the goals we set as a team, but our players know they’re going to play two more games.”
Tech’s next game will be of great local interest, and it’s hard to imagine a team that needed 3 1/2 quarters to put away Duke at Bobby Dodd Stadium going to Athens and actually winning. But say this about these Jackets: They’ve somehow won more than they’ve lost, the key word being “somehow.”
Jonathan Dwyer gained 1,395 yards and scored 14 rushing touchdowns in 2009; Anthony Allen, the new feature back, surpassed 1,000 yards with Saturday’s grinding performance but has scored only five times. Derrick Morgan had 12 1/2 sacks in 2009; the 2010 Tech team has 16. The aforementioned Thomas caught 46 passes for 1,154 yards and eight touchdowns in 2009; Hill’s numbers this season — 13 catches, 244 yards and three touchdowns.
When Nesbitt suffered a broken arm against Virginia Tech 2 1/2 weeks ago, the fear among Tech fans was that their team wouldn’t win again. On Saturday it won, if haltingly, and now the Jackets will play in a bowl, albeit an off-brand one. That’s actually pretty good value for a team almost devoid of playmakers, and you Jacket backers should try to hold that thought. Because what happens in Sanford Stadium might not be pleasant for the ol’ White and Gold.
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497 comments Add your comment
Football Fan
November 20th, 2010
11:42 pm
Huge Tech fan but realist- GA Bulldogs will be in beat down mood and will likely hang 50 plus on GT. It is what it is and talent is the difference. GT simply does not have the speed or size or strength to compete with Georgia. Even with Josh it would be tough but without the defense will spend a lot of time watching AJ Green in the end zone. And I fear they know the odds and will enter game with no confidence at all. I will be pulling for the Jackets and hoping for a miracle but this team is not in the miracle business
ARdawg
November 20th, 2010
11:44 pm
Mark
The Nerds are ruthless. Fuggin ruthless I say. One would think they’d be in a better mood winning that hard fought squeaker and all. Tell me Mark, does GTech need better players?
THWG!!
November 20th, 2010
11:45 pm
If they dont have the confidance, its because of people like you football fan!
THWG!!
November 20th, 2010
11:47 pm
Squeaker win Vs. Duke > Loss to COLORADO!!!!!
Paul in RDU
November 20th, 2010
11:47 pm
Mark – If you think Texas isn’t a better 5-6 team than UGA, how about Cal? Before today, they were top 20 caliber at home – let’s not talk about the road record though
Very disappointed in AJC blogs
November 20th, 2010
11:48 pm
@Plain Unvarnished Truth about UGA – Provide documentation about this claim, jackass. You think just because someone posts on a blog they are telling the truth? You really are stupid!!! Even the sports writers don’t always post proven documentation. Right, Mark???
Whopper Dawg
November 20th, 2010
11:50 pm
Insects and saint simons, don’t worry, paul johnson is a genesis. He says so himself. At least we know we have a coaching problem.,
BreakingNews
November 20th, 2010
11:50 pm
Hahahaha – I can’t believer you Tech losers actually think you have a shot at beating a 5-6 UGA team. The Dawgs are going to DESTROY the little yellow bees! You barely had a chance WITH Nesbitt, now you have absolutely NO CHANCE.
What’s even funnier is that some of you losers are already saying “we don’t really care about UGA or what Mark says about UGA”, yet you’re all trolling the UGA boards on a daily basis!
sdb92
November 20th, 2010
11:51 pm
Um, didn’t tech lose to Kansas?
ARdawg
November 20th, 2010
11:52 pm
@THWG
Oh Jeeze. Yeah I forgot, The Nerds only lose to POWERHOUSES like Kansas, NCST and Miami. Silly me. I should hush my Bulldog mouth huh?
Why did we leave the SEC?
November 20th, 2010
11:54 pm
annouced attendance? My football Pick’em game needs the over/under 30,000 figure.
Simple Techster
November 20th, 2010
11:55 pm
Ummm…didn’t Georgia lose to Colorado?
THWG!!
November 20th, 2010
11:55 pm
NCST, MIAMI in top 3 of their respected divisions….
THWG!!
November 20th, 2010
11:56 pm
Kansas FIRST GAME OF THE YEAR…….COLORADO……7th!!!!!
Simple Techster
November 20th, 2010
11:57 pm
hey Breaking news…..
We won 2 years ago with Nesbitt. We were a dropped pass from a now NFL first rounder from doing it again last year. Tech has SHOWN nothing for the bulldogs to tremble over…..and UGA has SHOWN nothing for the jackets to tremble over.
ARdawg
November 20th, 2010
11:58 pm
Respected divisions?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
you so funny. Respected Division? You mean there is a respected Division in the ACC?
Get outta town. Forget a Bowl game Nerd. Maybe you can still make the Georgia High school playoffs.
Go Tech
November 20th, 2010
11:59 pm
Ga’s new fight song:
We are the champions………
We are the champions………
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
of the…………..5 and 6 teams
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:02 am
And even IF the dawgs throw up and down the field and run at will, like last year, which so many of you are so fond of reminding us techies……just remember we were still in it in the final minute with a chance to win. I believe this game will go to the wire. There is not going to be a tail whipping from either side.
THWG
November 21st, 2010
12:02 am
6-5…..5-6…..WHO’s playing for a bowl??
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:04 am
@Simple
You’re dreaming there friend. But, that’s okay. Everyone needs aspirations
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:04 am
Yup….respected division. Full of VERY good teams, but no dominant team, unlike the SEC of late with Florida and Alabama.
I cannot wait for you morons to play BSU next year.
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:06 am
Simple
Heh Heh. To dream the impossible dream. Very good teams? Really? Who?
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:07 am
ARdawg….GEORGIA hasn’t shown ANYTHING this year to make a single word I said untrue. Our worst enemy this year has been our own stupidity and dumb mistakes, not the other team. I CANNOT WAIT FOR NEXT WEEK!!!!! Isn’t it HILARIOUS folks…….guess which team is fighting for bowl eligibility?????
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:07 am
In fact, name one, I’ll wait
Castle Pines Canine
November 21st, 2010
12:08 am
Two fine teams for sure! Nothing impressive for me to talk about. Poor planning, poor practicing, poor execution. We do both have freshman quarterbacks. Here is what I see: Johnson has his own players now, how is that working out for him? I guess from Columbia, to Athens, to Gainesville, it will be ACC/SEC
Castle Pines Canine
November 21st, 2010
12:09 am
Hey Techster! I guess they do not teach spelling, to you guys anymore!
Go Tech
November 21st, 2010
12:10 am
oh for the good old days of football GLORY
oh for the good old days of football GLORY
you know we use to be good in football TOO
but now losing has become the same old same OLD
but hey, of those 5 and 6, the best is our team GEORGIA
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:10 am
Simple
The sad fact is we both su<k. Tech and Georgia are nothing but big steamy turds in the college football landscape. Our only claim to fan over you Nerds is that we were beaten by better team than you and oh yeah, that red headed step child whipping you'll get next week
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:13 am
Virgina Tech. Took one of the top 3 teams in the BCS down to the wire, and then got caught looking and napping the following week to JMU. Hasnt lost a game since. North Carolina, missing what, 13 starters, took the SEC’s second highest team(LSU) down to the wire. Miami, who definitely has the talent, yet needs a coaching change to take it to the next level. FSU, currently ranked in the top 25, fighting the injury bug. I’m sure you dawg fans remember ol Ralph Freigden, Techs old OC who used to wipe the field with you, has won 7 games with a team that only won 2 last year. NCSU, with a QB almost as dynamic as ol’ Cam Newton, just not the exposure.
Go Tech
November 21st, 2010
12:18 am
and simple, any of those teams would beat ga any day of the week.
Go Tech
November 21st, 2010
12:19 am
and with that said,,,to all a good night………..and THE HELL WITH GEORGIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:19 am
No Nerd Simpleton
I said name one good ACC team. Apparently you can’t because you didn’t. VT? Are you serious? Just because they beat you Nerds doesn’t make them good. Are you going to tell me how Good James Madison is now? Georgia will spank you next week just like we always do. Does that mean Georgia is a good team too?!?!? NO!! we’re awful just, not as awful as you
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:22 am
Down to the “wire”. Gawd you funny Simpleton. Hee heh. I don’t recollect much wire in that game. I don’t recollect much in the James Madison game either. By the way, who is James madison U? Did you know VT will win your conference?!?!?!?
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:23 am
And it all comes down to this……we don’t have to make you cower. I’m sure Bill Curry didn’t have his team cowering today as they played the Crimson Tide. We don’t have to make you worried, we don’t have to hope you are afraid. We sure as hell aren’t cowering or afraid. Bottom line is this….UGA HAS to beat us to be able to play in a bowl. We are going to have a hard time stopping UGA from running at will. Maybe even passing at will. UGA is NOT going to stop us from running for our average 300 yards. So, we’ll see who is left standing. To those who think this is going to be some sort of butt whooping, see you at the game next weekend and on the blogs later on.
THWG
November 21st, 2010
12:26 am
ALWAYS do? did you “Spank us” in 2008? who “Good” has ANYONE in the SEC beaten??
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:26 am
Go Tech
you think so? Your guys won’t and I don’t think the others would either. If there was any justice in the world, your conference champ should have to play Georgia in the Poinsetta Bowl. If your whole conference played out side the conference all year, you wouldn’t have a 6-6 team among you
joeygt
November 21st, 2010
12:27 am
i can tell you one thing tech if we lose to ga it will not be a blowout it will be close, ga bulldogs defense is just as bad as ours
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:27 am
No, IDIOT…..
VT played Boise State in the first game of the season. They lost by 3. Since you don’t think that holds any water, when Boise State BLOWS you out of the Georgia Dome next August, come back and whine. James Madison, for those who don’t know, is one of the top FCS teams in the country, and VT got caught napping in a classic trap game. Pure and simple.
THWG
November 21st, 2010
12:29 am
I do beleive ole miss who ALSO lost not a division II school is in YOUR confrence. Every team has their bad weeks my friend
THWG
November 21st, 2010
12:29 am
lost to a division II
outsider
November 21st, 2010
12:30 am
ARdawg, read your idiot comments all night, just who in the Hades did UGA beat this year worthy of your trash mouth talk. About rankings where are your bulldogs in your division? I think close to the bottom.
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:31 am
2008? Is that all you have to cling too in your sad pathetic excuse of a life and a football team? Why not pick 1959? or 1963? Maybe 2007 or 2009 or 2006, maybe 2005 or 04? Oh I forgot, you didn’t win those years. I see, I see your pattern now. You pick years that you’ve actually beaten Georgia. Geeze, that don’t leave you many years, does it?
THWG
November 21st, 2010
12:32 am
and if UGA DID play outside their confr=ence they might not have a losing record….we get it. SEC is a dominant confrance…..is there a point?? bottom line…youre still sub 500 and need to beat us to be bowl elidgable
TECH LOSES AGAIN!
November 21st, 2010
12:33 am
GET OUT THE RAID AND FLYSWATTERS TECH GOES DOWN TO GEORGIA AGAIN 42-21
joeygt
November 21st, 2010
12:33 am
all you idiot bull dog fans there no way yall kill us this will be a typical close game whoever has it at the end will win the game i know that
ARdawg
November 21st, 2010
12:34 am
IDIOT?
Oh too bad, now you’ve resorted to name calling. First sign of surrender. Night Nerds. Hey enjoy that magnanomous win today. ***SNICKER**
joeygt
November 21st, 2010
12:35 am
yes we lost to sorry kansas but yall lost to sorry colorado who kansas even beat them so mark bradley what a ga homer, this will be a typical old fashion hate game very close game i think ga wins even though im a tech fan but hey i though for sure we gt would have beat yall lasy year, crazier things have happened
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:36 am
And if there was ANY justice in this world, Georgia would have to bench half of their players next week for charging the field during a fight against Auburn. Auburn should have whatever player it was who flattened Murray last week arrested for assault, if not suspended for the season.CMR shouldn’t have a job because he has no control over his team. How many arrests this year? Auburn is going to end up forfeiting every game this year for having an ineligible QB trying to sell his services. The NCAA should death penalty half the teams in the SEC for their recruiting practices. Welcome to the real world, puppies
THWG
November 21st, 2010
12:37 am
“Georgia will spank you next week just like we always do” Just pointing out your flase statement there buddy. Speaking of clinging…..you know I was ONE the last time UGA won a national championship….yet yall still talk about it like it was yesterday……
Simple Techster
November 21st, 2010
12:39 am
And the Ole Miss team that lost to an FCS team just about took LSU out on a road game today. But I guess Ole Miss completely SUCKS because they lost to an lower division school?