Give Tech 66 points and 768 yards. Give Tech’s coach 5 stars
This is how it began. There'd be much more. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
The first three touchdown drives required a total of 10 plays, which by Georgia Tech standards was positively ponderous. To score its next three touchdowns, the Jackets needed only six plays, and right about then you could hear the Jackets’ demanding coach grunting to himself: “That’s more like it.”
Six touchdowns. Sixteen plays, total. Think about that.
Think about the high-school offense that will never work in big-time college football — except when it stacks 66 points and 768 yards on a team from another BCS league, a team that not incidentally beat Tech a year ago. Think about what Paul Johnson has done with no Joshua Nesbitt, no Jonathan Dwyer, no Demaryius Thomas, no Anthony Allen. In three games, here’s what his spread option has wrought:
An average of 59.3 points and 675.3 yards. Think about that.
No, Tech hasn’t played the world’s most arduous schedule, but still … those numbers against air would be impressive. These have been compiled against opponents who come equipped with scholarship players and scouting reports, and it hasn’t mattered. When Tech takes the ball, it scores. Sometimes it scores so fast you’d swear you were watching a highlight tape and not a real game in real time.
Said Tevin Washington, the quarterback: “Sometimes we amaze ourselves.”
We’ve all seen Johnson and his offense at work. Even so, these three games have been astonishing. Three weeks running Tech has arrayed itself for the first snap, and three weeks running the first snap has yielded a touchdown: A 5-yard toss sweep against Western Carolina, a 59-yard pass against Middle Tennessee and now a 95-yard counter against Kansas. (Johnson: “We knew from last year that [the Jayhawks] would cheat to the motion.”)
In three games, Tech has scored 10 touchdowns on plays from beyond midfield. This is not the triple option as Darrell Royal and Barry Switzer knew the triple option. This is the triple option as reconstructed by a shrewd man who has taken a scheme and dragged it into the 21st century.
You can say what you will about Johnson, and much of it would be correct: He’s cocky, and he doesn’t care much about conventional wisdom or recruiting rankings, and he hasn’t yet won a bowl game at Tech, but … give the man his due. He’s a great play-designer, a great play-caller, a great play-tweaker. One PJ wrinkle, and somebody’s running for miles.
What transpired Saturday wasn’t quite perfection, but it was close. Tech had the ball 12 times. It allowed the clock to expire at game’s end. Of the 11 times it tried to score, it succeeded all but once. Of those 11 drives, the shortest netted 43 yards — and that was the one that ended with a punt.
Two backs broke 100 yards rushing. (Orwin Smith, who’d gone for 95 on the game’s first play, did it on his second carry, which represents the minimum number of attempts for breaking 100.) Two more went for 70-plus yards. Yet another had 68. Washington threw only seven passes, but averaged 41 yards per pass completion.
These were crazy numbers, and in the third quarter the whole thing got certifiably insane. Tech scored on its first snap of the second half, Embry Peeples swooping 63 yards. The Jackets needed four plays to go 74 yards the next time, Smith catching a play-action pass from Washington. Next possession: One play, one pass, one Roddy Jones touchdown. Up 24-17 at the half, Tech led 45-17 with barely half the quarter gone.
“As for us being a high-school offense … we just put up 700 yards,” Washington said. “If it works on this level, it works on any level.”
The 768 total yards? A school record. The 604 yards rushing? Ditto. But the goofiest number was this: Tech had the ball for 27 minutes and 37 seconds. It lost, if that’s the proper word, the time of possession and outgained its opponent by 406 yards.
Said Johnson, coming as close to gushing as he ever has or will: “We played fairly well the whole game on offense.”
Fairly well. Apt description.
I don’t know how good this Tech team is, and you don’t, either. (We’ll learn more when North Carolina arrives next weekend.) I don’t know if Johnson will win another ACC championship, and you don’t, either. But I do know this: The guy in charge can run an offense like nobody I’ve ever seen, and there’s not a five-star recruit in this mix. Just a five-star football coach.
By Mark Bradley
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381 comments Add your comment
Ol'JacketFan
September 18th, 2011
12:23 am
How could you not have fun playing like they’re playing! LOL! The best test comes if and when the numbers are not quite as explosive but, to date, I see no signs of the discord that seemed to be evident last year. When CPJ commented earlier about not reaching last years team it confirmed what I saw on and off the field. What I am so impressed with is how the teams handles itself being as young as it is. The future is very bright I have faith in this staff that they will continue to recruit quality young men with high football iq.
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:25 am
no way gt puts up 30 on the dogs this year..no nesbit or dwyer or bey bey…a bunch of div 1aa all stars and that wont cut it.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:27 am
Boise State’s bunch of div 1aa all stars sure cut it, didn’t they? They should have put to rest once and for all that the number of stars a HS player has by his name doesn’t mean squat
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:29 am
should have proved, that is……should have put to rest that the number of stars means anything
George Godsey
September 18th, 2011
12:30 am
atl xmen – appreciate the red panties that you apparently wear (you should facebook search Damon Evans) but you are on some SERIOUS DRUGS if you don’t think Tech can (and will) beat they’re next 4 opponents. I realize you are traumatized at the realistic thoughts of losing to Miss St, TN, FLA, and AUB prior to GT but as an old man who survived the Bill Lewis era here, you will get through it as well.
Ol'JacketFan
September 18th, 2011
12:31 am
I have no idea if Tech will put up 30 on the dogs other than to say they’ve put up more than that the last 3 years. What I do know if they block as a team like they’ve done for the last 3 weeks they can put 30 up on anybody.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:31 am
any decent offense will put up at least 30 points against “choke” Grantham’s pitiful defense.
George Godsey
September 18th, 2011
12:32 am
their rather
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:34 am
tech will most likely be the underdogs in all remaining games except for the virginia game and duke game…not good folks
joey1
September 18th, 2011
12:35 am
atl xmen gt didnt have any of them last yeat and put up 35 remember nesbitt hurt tevins 3rd start god you dont know your football that well must be a mutt…
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:35 am
OJF, what I like more than anything is that we have an arsenal of weapons now…..we are not limited to just a QB, one good, B-back, and one good A-back. And we showed today that those backs can not only run, they can catch passes too…..and BLOCK. OMG, did you see the way Hill blocked today? AWESOME !!!
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:36 am
joey1, more likely he is just a kid who has never even seen a real football game in person
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:36 am
yea key word beong decent..tech offense is not with nesbit and dwyer gone. all they have left are bunch of div 1aa guys and orwin smith who the dogs crushed last year.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:37 am
obviously somebody doesn’t think 766 yards of total offense against a BCS team is decent. What a fool
The Truth This Year
September 18th, 2011
12:37 am
GT = Mayweather
UGA = Ortiz
joey1
September 18th, 2011
12:38 am
yeah gt hasnt played any teams with great defenses but will see next week , i know if we block the way we have the lasy 3 games we will beat almost every team on our schedule. gt beats nc 35-21
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:39 am
UNC hasn’t beat Tech in Atlanta since 1997. And we had some pretty bad teams during those years. No reason for that stat to change next week.
Ol'JacketFan
September 18th, 2011
12:40 am
I know better than to respond to trolls but when I see such nonsense posted I sometimes can’t help myself. Sort of like dealing with my son at time lol!!!
Supersize, esperienced 4 deep at A back, 3 deep at B back. Wideouts blocking like linemen and the o line working as a unit. Yep, lots to enjoy!
Seeing signs with the D that as the season goes along they should be better. I don’t say they’ll be a top 20-25 defense but I’m not sure we need them to be other than to enjoy the thought of a top 10 defense to go aleong with a top 10 offense!
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:41 am
OJF, whom do we play who does have a good D, other than maybe VT? The mutts sure don’t have anything resembling a good D.
Hulk Hogan
September 18th, 2011
12:41 am
all my Hulkamaniacs know that tech NEVER loses to the tar heels at grady stadium x 10
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:43 am
Tech seldom loses to the Heels anywhere lately (although that wasn’t the case in the 80s to mid-90s). I think Tech has beat the Heels 8 out of the last 10, including all in Atlanta.
Danny Sheridan
September 18th, 2011
12:44 am
the true question is: Who wins by more this week? GT over Carolina or Georgia at Ole Miss?
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:45 am
Just think, if Ole Miss hadn’t wisely dropped Tech, it would have been them out there today taking that butt-whipping. The only reason we played Kansas last year and this was because Houston Nutt was afraid to play us.
Alan
September 18th, 2011
12:45 am
Mark
Great article. How about this stat. Tech had NO 3rd down in the entire second half…I;ve never seen that!! And I dont know why we didnt go for it on 4th and 1 at the end of the first half. Easy TD. This team reminds me of the 90’s Neb Huckers and that’s not just cause we played a Big 12 team. I put 1500 on them this week and I can’t wait for Vegas to throw a 8 point game this week. I laughed during the Aub Clem game when the announcer said watch out for Clemson on Unc’s schedule!! Ignoring us when we were up by 47 points! Yes we tripled a 14 point line!! How’s that for a stat! I say it’s great to be a Yellow Jacket!!
GT 45
Unc 28
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:45 am
yea.. i watched the game last year and uga defense wasnt decent last year it was just ok. which is normal for a first year coord and new defense. uga defense is way better up front and at the linebacker spot this year as well. year 2 of the 3-4 is looking great. ga tech will not score 30..they will run out of time. they might score 21…
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:47 am
no way UGA’s defense is any better this year than last year. They didn’t stop Boise State or an apparently overrated SC team.
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:49 am
kansas is the ga tech of the big 12..they are not very good and nothing to get all worked up about when a teams beats them.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:49 am
I’m going to bed. Keep drinking that CMR and TG Kool Aid, xmen.
Ol'JacketFan
September 18th, 2011
12:50 am
I watched the Miami, and UNC games and I don’t underestimate their defenses at all, But as I’ve said earlier as long as the team handles their assignments I don’t see this offense being stopped. As has been pointed out it is designed to set up mismatches and when each players handles their responsibility those mismatches occur as we’re seeing more and more of.
Sept is here
September 18th, 2011
12:51 am
Have you noticed all the UGA stuff that is for sale at Walmart. I think Walmart has figured out where most of UGA’s fan base hangs out. One other thing: I find it rather odd that you (or least I never had) don’t see rednecks that have never stepped in a college classroom with a GT tag on the front of their pick-up truck or GT flags flapping in the wind – it’s always a big G.
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:51 am
the held boise st all world qb to 200 yards passing and shut down their running back. held to just 57 yards. only gave up 17 points to south carolina. and both teams by the way have a way better offense than tech high school offense. techs offense is smoke and mirrors.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:51 am
And OJF, as we saw today, when the other team’s defense starts focusing on one aspect of the Tech offense, then CPJ just pulls out a different scheme and totally fools them
Ol'JacketFan
September 18th, 2011
12:52 am
Signing off for the night as well, see all tomorrow
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:53 am
right now tech has played teams where the actually had the better athletes ..this will not be the case from here on out.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:53 am
smoke and mirrors are the number one tool of a good magician. CPJ is a superior football “magician” and nobody other than Iowa has stopped it yet.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:54 am
UGA has better athletes than Boise State, and look what happened there.
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:55 am
fool them? you run the same 5 plays every game. how do you figured pj fooled anybody. kansas will be the last team tech plays that has no clue on how to tackle.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
12:55 am
Ahhh, I guess the dawgs had a couple of moral victories then, since the other teams’ stats were not all that great.
Clint Castleberry
September 18th, 2011
12:56 am
I wish they’d had that triple option gig in my day. I coulda come in FIRST in the Heisman.
ACC ACC
September 18th, 2011
12:56 am
Got no bashing this year huh sec fans. One of our mid teams crushed your strongest teams. Acc WILL have a nat champ team and another in the bcs. Watch out for gt. They will sneak up on you. They will kill ga this year.
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:57 am
lsu did..uga did..mia did..the list goes on and on..jax ville st did too..alll teams with good defensive linemen and better players on the line than tech offensive linemen
Deano
September 18th, 2011
12:58 am
Mr. Richard Alperv Let the jackets fans have their glory and by the way nice Win!!!
atl xmen
September 18th, 2011
12:58 am
haha..aub is not the strongest team this year in the sec..they are picked to finish next to last this year..yet your best team just got crushed by okl.
stiggywiggy
September 18th, 2011
12:59 am
atl xmen: How would Todd GrTell us what you think about the site
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antham like 650 yards of smoke and mirror crammed up his ass?
Blog man
September 18th, 2011
12:59 am
Haha uga is the toldeo equivalent. About the same score. Did you see what clemson did to allbarn? Miss st played them the weak, yes weak before cause the sec is WEAK this year. Even bama is weak! Look at Temple! Lsu barely squeaks by Miss st! Haha. Allbarn beat them. ACC ACC and with the cuse and pitt, we will dominate hoops! Next, sec losers. You are DONE
stiggywiggy
September 18th, 2011
1:00 am
Sorry about that. I guess there’s a little dawgbrain in all of us.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 18th, 2011
1:01 am
LSU did not stop Tech. They won that game because Tech didn’t play worth a darn, offensively or defensively. UGA hasn’t stopped Tech yet; 4 turnovers by Tech last year led to 2 TD’s by the mutts that Tech would have scored had they not turned the ball over. And those turnovers were all unforced turnovers too…..sloppy play and poor decisions by a QB starting only his 3rd game. They didn’t stop Tech in 2009 either. If Nesbitt had been the passer that Washington apparently is; it would have gone the other way, even though Nesbitt missed almost a full quarter of play. Not moral victories, but definitely not convincing wins by the mutts. Like I said, Iowa is the only team to have stopped Tech’s offense.
Ol'JacketFan
September 18th, 2011
1:01 am
28 of 34 for 261, 3 Tds, 1 interception. Yep TG;s defense did a great job on Kellen Moore, add approximately 140 yards rushing. Heck of a defensive job on Boise…………………Sheesh trolls and their lack of understanding…………………..night all
Soupy Sales
September 18th, 2011
1:02 am
As mentioned, GT is by no means an LSU defense, but LSU is by no means a GT offense! Go Jackets!
Big Nole
September 18th, 2011
1:03 am
So losing by 10 is getting crushed? I guess you go smacked and walloped by boise then loser dog fans. Nice win against Coastal. Too bad you didn;t plat them earlier. Losers
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