Outmanned Tech fights to the end but can’t finish the drill
One guy coached a winning game. The other coach won. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
Athens – Give Paul Johnson a couple of months and he could take the remaining Rolling Stones and have those geezers rushing for 300 yards a game. Say what you will about the man, but he can coach the heck out of what he has. At issue Saturday night was whether he had enough.
There aren’t many coaches who can outdraw Johnson with the X’s and O’s, but the game, as we’re constantly reminded, isn’t played on a whiteboard. It’s played by real-life players. And Johnson’s Jackets lost to Georgia here Saturday not because they didn’t play hard or well but because in the end they just weren’t as skilled. Try as they might, and they tried mightily, they could never take the lead.
If anything, Saturday’s game showed us how clever Johnson is. He bled 512 yards out of an offense missing its best player. Tech held the ball for 38 minutes and 14 seconds, ran 92 plays to Georgia’s 48. And even at the end, when the Bulldogs appeared to have scored the clinching touchdown, they looked up and realized the old fox on the far sideline had one-upped them again.
As Johnson said, allowing Georgia to score was “the only way we could win the game.” And rather than alert its players to the possibility and advise them to get a first down and then fall on the ball, the Bulldog staff was caught unawares.
“We didn’t coach very good there,” Mark Richt said, speaking of Washaun Ealey’s 20-yard touchdown run with 1:29 remaining that put Georgia up eight points. “We got outcoached right there. It was good strategy by Coach Johnson. I thought when it happened, ‘He got us there. He got me.’ ”
It was that kind of night. Georgia won the game but left the distinct impression that it had gotten away with one. Johnson’s Jackets messed up early and often and still were one drive from winning the thing. (And then, one possession later, one drive from forcing overtime.)
Tech fizzled twice early — getting stopped on fourth-and-2 at the Georgia 19 after recovering a fumble on the opening kickoff, fumbling inside the 10 not five minutes later. And here came the Bulldogs, seizing a 14-point lead that at the game’s outset seemed like twice that much. But back came Tech, back on the strength of those two Johnson staples: A running game and a sheer stubbornness.
Even the hardiest of Jacket backers were dreading this strange game, in which the team with the lesser record entered favored by two touchdowns. Georgia clearly has better players than Tech, and without quarterback Joshua Nesbitt there are moments when it seems Tech has nothing at all. And yet the visitors kept fighting after falling behind by those two touchdowns, and soon it was apparent that the team lacking its best player wasn’t lacking in guts.
It was 14-all with one minute left in the first half, 21-all with a minute left in the third quarter. And this wasn’t because Tech was playing letter-perfect football; on the contrary, it had taken three Georgia turnovers and gotten nothing from them. And still the game was tied, the underdog having become the aggressor, the Bulldogs looking as confused as they had all season. (Which, given how the season had gone for Georgia, was saying something.)
Late in the third quarter Tech was driving to take the lead when Roddy Jones fumbled. Georgia nosed ahead on Washaun Ealey’s touchdown burst on fourth-and-goal. Then Tech fumbled again, quarterback Tevin Washington pitching to Jones as the Tech back was about to get splattered, and the resulting loose ball was taken for a touchdown by Georgia linebacker Justin Houston.
Another two-TD lead for the home side, this with barely a quarter to go. Surely there was no responding from this, not with the redoubtable Nesbitt a spectator with his broken arm. But doggone — no pun intended — if the Jackets didn’t surge to one touchdown and then, beggaring belief, another. With 4:56 remaining, the Jackets were within a point of even.
And Scott Blair, who hadn’t missed an extra point all season, missed the extra point. And surely that was that. But no. Georgia didn’t lose six times by its ability to deliver under pressure. The Bulldogs moved within field-goal range, chose to go for it on fourth-and-1 and saw Aaron Murray fumble the snap. At last Tech had its chance to take the lead.
And it couldn’t manage a first down. Tevin Washington was dropped for losses on first and second down, threw incomplete on third and fourth, and the Jackets had to be done, didn’t they? But Johnson pulled his let-’em-score trick and still his Jackets kept coming, flying across midfield with 45 seconds left. And then finally it was done, Washington delivering an interception.
Georgia had won and rendered itself bowl-eligible, but the lasting memory of this game won’t be of the Bulldogs and their escape: It will be of Johnson and his Jackets and how close they’d come with all their fumbling and without their No. 1 quarterback. It will be of the coach with the lesser players forcing the Bulldogs to the brink. If Paul Johnson can ever recruit similar talent on a consistent basis — admittedly, it’s a big if — Tech won’t wind up 6-6 again anytime soon.
“I wish I could have found a way to help them win the game,” Johnson said, speaking of his players, but he’d done all any coach could do. He’d put them in position. His undermanned team just couldn’t finish the drill.
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
859 comments Add your comment
WE STILL OWN TECH
November 28th, 2010
12:12 am
PAUL WILL ALWAYS SUCK BIG JOHNSON. AND HE WILL NEVER WIN A BOWL GAME
Dr J
November 28th, 2010
12:12 am
Mark…you are not even close…UGA has pathetic coaching but tech is worse.That program was destined for below avg mediocrity the day Johnson was hired…it will only get worse for Annapolis South. Tech will always be UGA’s little brother. UGA is a coaching black hole…Spurrier was right
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:12 am
Fact: georgia won 9 of the last 13
Fact: UGA handed a victory by a freshman backup QB
Fact: UGA doesn’t cover against tech’s worst team in 15 years
GT23
November 28th, 2010
12:12 am
UGA won the game! Richt is a good coach and his team was more prepared.
Tech played well with a back up QB! I’m still pissed about the missed PAT!
I congratulate the classy “Dawg” fans that can post comments with some degree of intelligence.
I will now go to bed with my UGA cheerleader wife.
The game was foreplay for me!
I win!
say what, God is good
November 28th, 2010
12:12 am
unreal Mark, even when they lose you and jeff cannot stop praising PJ and bashing MR. you both must be afraid PJ will punch you in the mouth. Tech has had some great coaches GS, BC, BR they were great coaches PJ is not. he had an ok year last year won acc (but still lost to ga.) i just get sick of hearing how great he is.
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:13 am
2 plays. 500 yards.
Grantham for HC!
RO GA Dawg
November 28th, 2010
12:13 am
To HT’s earlier comment – why in the world would you score with just over a minute left and give GT a chance to tie the game and force OT when you can take a knee and run out the game after a first down. This and the Auburn FG has convinced me that Richt is not the coach we need for the future. Hate to say it but the guy just doesn’t understand.
Cobb Dawg
November 28th, 2010
12:13 am
We played a SEC schedule and Tech played an ACC, patsy one. You can’t compare wins and losses in that scenrario. It’s like comparing HS and college.
Jimbo
November 28th, 2010
12:13 am
Hey Bradley, does the truth hurt so much that you continue to block me? Tech should have won this game. The three pointer at the first of the game that Johnson screwed up, and the fumble inside the ten yard line also in the first quarter would have won the game without these mistakes. I hope I don’t have to be subjected to your biased reporting in the future.
GA SUX
November 28th, 2010
12:14 am
Lucky Lucky lucky. You nad lickers sold your souls to the devil
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:14 am
hey cobb dawg, i think your 5 previous wins were against teams that were 13-33. Your wins were garbage…
Edwardo
November 28th, 2010
12:15 am
If Tech’s program is dead, then Georgia is the new Vanderbilt of the SEC. Really weird game and maybe it means Richt gets one more chance. I’d rather see good tackling and blocking than the sorry football his teams have been serving up for the last three years. Would Ga have come back like Tech did? Georgia did a few more things right so Richt has his chance but time to earn that coin.
UGAgrad
November 28th, 2010
12:15 am
Tech fans: Stop making excuses. The only reason you play the game is to win… and we won. There is nothing you can say to top that. Absolutely nothing.
WE STILL OWN TECH
November 28th, 2010
12:15 am
HEY ATLTIGER15 HOW DOES IT FEEL TO CHEER FOR A TEAM THAT WILL ALWAYS BE LOSER? GO DAWGS … TECH SUCKS
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:15 am
UGA just proved that they belong in the ACC… more your level of competition…
col foot
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
42-34….SWEET!!!!
Rod
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
Looks like UGA is going to have draw up a new long term contract if they want to keep the best coach UGA has ever had in Athens.
yellow fuzz
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
GA SUX we beat the hell out of a really good team.
.puck you!
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
no excuses, congrats on beating our worst team in 15 years
Miami Beach
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
UGA BEWARE******
Randy Shannon out at the U of Miami.
Mama is calling Coach Mark Richt Home!
Is that a good thing for Miami?
Is that a good thing for UGA?
Is that a bad thing for Miami?
Is that a bad thing for UGA?
But Miami will make the call.
DantheDawgFan
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
FACT: saint simon is an idiot
still a dawg fan
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
Hey Navigator,
They did let us score but we should have been smart enough to know that we did not need to score.All we had to do was take a knee & run out the clock,but apparently our coaches are not smart enough to do that.We pay them a ton of money to make smart choices & scoring that last TD was a dumb choice. All we did was give GT a chance to tie the game. What a COACHING BLUNDER.
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
BBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHAAAAA
SHREVEPORT
BBBBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHAA
42-34 ALL YEAR LONG
61-39-5
Keep talking trash and making excuses losers
I laugh at your tears
BBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA
UGAgrad
November 28th, 2010
12:16 am
But we won.
Rod
November 28th, 2010
12:17 am
Mark Richt will win multiple national championships if takes the Miami job.
Akita Dawg
November 28th, 2010
12:17 am
So Bradley you think Johnson is a better game coach than Richt? Well the better game coach is batting 333, while the so called inferior coach is at 667. Richt, if i recall is in the top 10 for most wins in his his first 10 seasons coaching, he may be in the top 5. He’s won two SEC championships and played for a one another one. One of his teams finished at Number 3 in the nation, another at number 2, yet he is subordinate to Johnson. Your a fool Bradley.
GA SUX
November 28th, 2010
12:18 am
Yes that tough SEC schedule. Vandy, Kentucky, Tennesse, Miss State, Fla? And oh yea your tough out of conf schedule
WE STILL OWN TECH
November 28th, 2010
12:18 am
HEY SAINT SIMON are you a tech fan or a 7 win gator fan?
Cobb Dawg
November 28th, 2010
12:18 am
saint simon {{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{42-34}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} was this win garbage?!?!?!?! We’re not proud of this margin. Are you?!?!? 9-1, not even close. We OWN this state.
yellow fuzz
November 28th, 2010
12:19 am
saint simon ….but we beat your best team in 20 years last year..and we LOVE it.
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:19 am
Hey Akita, Richt is a moron that gets carried by top 10 recruiting classes, otherwise he’d be at Troy State right now…
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
12:19 am
Hey Saint Simon
What about the other 60 times
BBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAA
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:19 am
9-4 cobb dawg…
Cobb Dawg
November 28th, 2010
12:19 am
{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{{9-1}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} Not a rivalry.
THE CATHOLIC HAMMER
November 28th, 2010
12:19 am
Tech is 6-6, having lost to Kansas.
UGA is 6-6, having lost to Colorado.
They played each other within a touchdown. Which is better?
Definitely not either the SEC or ACC…..
Akita Dawg
November 28th, 2010
12:19 am
Enter your comments here
tech licks turkey dicks
November 28th, 2010
12:20 am
9 outta 10 u sorry biggity smartass sickos!!! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
Athens
November 28th, 2010
12:20 am
Sorry Nerd Herd, we are too busy celebrating. Try not to get robbed or raped on your way back to campus.
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:20 am
wow, i never knew dog fans cared so much about the tech game… I’m starting to feel special?
WE STILL OWN TECH
November 28th, 2010
12:20 am
dawgs win the east next year! go f your self techies 9 out of ten go sell out a home game or maybe win a bowl game
Finchdawg
November 28th, 2010
12:20 am
What are we going to do with Todd Grantham? His scheme gave up 11 more points than Martinez’s last year, and Tech didn’t have Thomas or Nesbitt! Fire him? Then what? Get adjusted to another DC? Let him stay on? Then what? Give up tons of points over and over again? I think UGA needs a totally fresh start in the coaching department, but it’s not going to happen.
Moral HighGrounders
November 28th, 2010
12:20 am
Aiken Jacket on Stingtalk.com refers to Mark Richt as a feminine cleanser and hopes Richt’s daughter to be the victim of a violent $ekks-you-al assault — typical loser mentality. I love to hear the self-righteous GT people talk about how foul, etc Dawg fans are, etc. And then we hang the 61st loss on ‘em.
4 Jacks
November 28th, 2010
12:21 am
Well, ugag beat GT again and they are happy and proud…good for them. It has made their year now for what, the last 4 years. It is nice to see that all of their 4 and 5 “star” recruits can beat the Jackets and MAKE their year. Afterall they need something to hang their year and their whole self worth on. Congratulations dogs on your fine 6 & 6 year and beating my Jackets to MAKE your year. It is nice to know that we are that important for you, because without a victory over us you got nothing to hang your hat and your self worth on. Afterall, as much as it pains me, you guys are just as irrelevant in your conference as we are in ours this year…but hey you beat GT, now your year is complete, and you are happy. I wanted to win badly, but glad we could make your year guys. See you in Atlanta next year…maybe you guys will actually be 7 and 4 or so when we meet again. Maybe you guys will still be a little better than UT huh? Geez, what a bunch of people that need a life.
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:21 am
cobb dawg, i hope you dont think FLORIDA is your rival… 3-18 against them? LOL
Miami Beach
November 28th, 2010
12:21 am
UGA : “a good academic school” Yes, but that does not apply to the Football, and Basketball teams, If you are a football player at UGA and are getting an education you are not a very good football player, you are there to keep the team GPA numbers above the Mendoza line.
Why would any recruit with a brain want to go to Athens except to have to win the last game of the regular season to become bowl eligible? I hope UGA does not become another Auburn and start buying players like a woman shopping on Black FRIDAY.
Akita Dawg
November 28th, 2010
12:21 am
Morons don’t win 2 SEC championships. You tell me how a team that only runs 40 plays scores 42 points?
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:22 am
all the empty seats, can’t even sell out sanford and son stadium…lol
yellow fuzz
November 28th, 2010
12:22 am
THE CATHOLIC HAMMER we will still beat your team by 14….play the SEC and then you talk
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
12:22 am
Sorry we didn’t offer the free hotdogs and cokes you douc*h*e*s are used to at home
saint simon
November 28th, 2010
12:22 am
Hey Akita, Nick Saban takes UGA talent THIS YEAR and wins an NC. Richt? 6-6