A fat and sassy Georgia Tech gets handed its comeuppance
Virginia's Mike London had his men primed. His opponent was less than prime. (AP photo)
Charlottesville, Va. – Even if the polls suggested otherwise, Georgia Tech was never the nation’s 12th-best team. It was a good team with a clever scheme and a bunch of guys who’d worked hard and coalesced to make the whole greater than the talent on hand. And then, in the season’s seventh game, the workers worked less hard and got what they deserved, which was beaten by an opponent that had won one ACC game since 2009.
Surely Mike London and his Virginia staff saw what was coming to Scott Stadium: A team that could win any track meet but not many wrestling matches. The Cavaliers, who’d lost to Southern Miss and beaten Idaho by a point in overtime, treated this as their game of arrival and, when Tech got done fiddling and flailing, it was. The No. 12 team got beat and deserved to get beat.
“It’s been coming,” said Paul Johnson, Tech’s obviously irked coach. “When you play with fire long enough, you get burned.”
Tech couldn’t put North Carolina State away in Raleigh two weeks ago and had stopped scoring against Maryland last week, and those were troubling signs. But collegiate players can be tough sells: If you’re winning, what difference does it make? For Tech, the winning stopped Saturday. A pedestrian offense amassed 407 yards against a unit supposedly coordinated by Al Groh, who recruited some of these Cavs. Tech’s own sleek offense couldn’t override a 10-point halftime deficit against an opponent that didn’t score again.
“We talked about it repeatedly,” Johnson said. “[Virginia's] backs were against the wall. We were going to get everything they’ve got.”
Message unheeded. The Jackets trailed 7-0 after six minutes and 14-0 with 6:20 gone. They’d been staggered, and they never fully recovered. Whenever Virginia needed to move, it shoved the Jackets backward. The Cavs rushed for the same number of yards (272) as Tech, and they did it with power. Said Johnson, speaking of Virginia’s repeated sorties around the flanks: “We never set the edge.”
Remember when, back over the summer, we suggested Tech might not have enough prime-time players to win the ACC Coastal? Here was a tutorial in the difference between big/strong and smallish/skilled.
Said linebacker Julian Burnett: “When they run the ball right at you and you can’t stop them, it’s frustrating.”
Say what you will about Johnson, but he’s far better with a lean and hungry team than with a bunch of fat cats. Heck, his whole system is built on wrong-footing bigger guys. He said he tried to impart both a warning and a challenge — “We talked in the pregame meeting about what an opportunity we had” — but this time his urgings moved no one.
Johnson again: “Sometimes you just get blocked and can’t block the other team.”
Some try to make every Tech loss a referendum on Johnson’s spread option, but this was no such thing. It was a pounding by a desperate team that hit harder and fought longer. LSU or Alabama or Oklahoma could have laughed off an early flurry by the likes of Virginia, but Tech is not LSU or Alabama or Oklahoma. On talent, Tech is scarcely better than Virginia.
The Jackets aren’t good enough to win, at least not repeatedly, at half-capacity. They’re a good team when doing the things they do well, but if you force them into a different game they’re far less. Virginia hogged the ball — it punted only twice — and nursed its lead, and with 5:58 the Jackets completed a fizzled series by punting to the Cavs, who wouldn’t give it back.
Johnson: “That’s the way everyone is going to play us … They were able to get ahead and in the end in worked.”
Burnett: “I wasn’t surprised [that Virginia sought to be the aggressor]. We just didn’t match it.”
If we’re going to criticize anything about Johnson’s Method after such a loss, it’s more a matter of philosophy: Johnson wants to do it his way — with a roster of middling recruits who’ll fight to the finish — but we saw Saturday what can happen if the middling recruits don’t fight as hard as they might. They get exposed as … middling.
Yes, that’s a bit harsh. Playing hard and well, Tech is a tough opponent for anybody anywhere, and the Jackets will have the chance to beat some big names over the next six weeks. But a sluggish Georgia Tech is just another team, and Saturday it was a loser to a program so starved for victory that its students swarmed the field.
By Mark Bradley
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332 comments Add your comment
swd311
October 16th, 2011
12:27 am
I didn’t think TW played that badly really…He through one bad int and the other was like a punt…its when the pass plays get called and the offensive line (if that is what you want to call these losers). These guys should be playing at Villanova or Presbyterian. They flat out suck!
Drive-by Truckers
October 16th, 2011
12:28 am
Now Sheriff Buford Pusser’s gotten too big for his britches
With his book reviews and movie deals
Down at the car lot making public appearances
For breaking up our homes and stills
I know he likes to brag how he wrestled a bear
But I knew him from the funeral home
Ask him for a warrant, he’ll say “I keep it in my shoe”
That son of a bitch has got to go
That son of a bitch has got to go
jimmy
October 16th, 2011
12:30 am
Enter your comments here
swd311
October 16th, 2011
12:31 am
Thanks Roscoe, I will take the job! Its the Fanta Orange that is keeping me up I think. Not to mention I am a little pissed at this GT staff right now. You can’t blame the kids, they are young. Their dreams of playing in the NFL are pretty much over and they are just now realizing it! Hopefully they will earn their degrees and become succesful men in the process.
Kevin Battle
October 16th, 2011
12:33 am
Virginia……seriously??……Virginia???
19
October 16th, 2011
12:35 am
The only people to “own” me were my mother and father. When I reached eighteen I was on my own, but never owned. I’ve been on my own ever since.
Go Jackets!!!
TheFAN
October 16th, 2011
12:39 am
AWAAAaaaaaa MAN…..losing sucks.
Fred
October 16th, 2011
12:39 am
I wonder now how many of you trolling Gt asshats will be frequenting the Dawgs blogs this next week. Probably the same number of ill blooded people such as the ones who read that disgruntled Jeff Schultz and all his negativity.
Mark Bradley: Quite a scathing article. Have you turned to the dark side like Jeff and become his neophyte? I didn’t see it as all bad as you described. Face facts. Running a mickey mouse offense like Johnson does, he’s not going to attract many skilled players who dream of going to the NFL. the triple option was debunked 30 years ago, he may as well be selling buggy whips. But then he IS in the ACC which isn’t exactly know for it’s football prowess. Florida State won a couple of “national championships’ just BECAUSE they were in the ACC. They played no one all year and then only had to perform in a bowl game. VT and Miami had it even better, they were in the big easy and neither one was worth a crap when the other was “good.” Although Clemson looks like the real deal for a change. Hard to tell given their history. They usually fade in the stretch………
Ed Odom
October 16th, 2011
12:45 am
The Tech offense (or lack of offense) lost this game. Three separate possessions down by only 3 points and they didn’t win it, or even kick a tying field goal.
TechieBoy
October 16th, 2011
12:45 am
Does this mean we are not going to play for the NC?
swd311
October 16th, 2011
12:49 am
They didn’t “own” you either. They were responsible for you so they had to make sure you made the right decisions. The wrong ones could have gotten them into trouble as well as you.
Clydus
October 16th, 2011
12:50 am
Good teams lose all the time. How many NFL teams that win the Super Bowl have a perfect record? Teams lose because they aren’t ready for the other team. Virginia had two weeks to prepare and Tech had exams to clutter their brains all week. No one can predict how the game will go down next week.
swd311
October 16th, 2011
12:58 am
Fred…trust me when I tell you that no real GT fans blog on the UGA blog…why? no one cares about UGA but you and the other fools with their cheap walmart UGA hats and sunglasses with flowers on the rim….the only pleasure I get is looking at all the dumb posts from people like you who support an irrelevant program in a conferenced owned by ESPN…..Yes GT is also irrelevant in athletics and is quickly becoming even more irrelevant but it never talks about winnin championships in sports before ever getting on the field…just in case you didn’t know this but GT has won a NC in football before most of its fanbase has died…what about UGA? Heck UGA has probably gone through 50 UGAS since they won a NC….I wouldn’t be surprised if they go through another 150 or so UGAS before they win another one too. By then they will have a whole football stadium of UGAS descendants! RIP UGA the 20020 before UGA wins another NC
swd311
October 16th, 2011
1:01 am
Clydus…the excuse card is getting old…..don’t be a moron! Paul Johnson isn’t that great a coach and these guys aren’t that great of football players…PERIOD. BTW Miami will beat GT by 4 tds at a minimum. GT will lose the last 5 games including Duke. Yes to Duke. That is reality not a prediction.
Buzz2011
October 16th, 2011
1:03 am
comeupance???? comeupance 6 – 1 … comeup and watch us win the ACC starting at the U
and you will Bark Madley too…………………
Clydus
October 16th, 2011
1:08 am
I’m not a moron dude. I’ve been reading these blogs with morons commenting on them for months. None of you know what is going through these players minds when they’re training, practicing, going to school and walking onto a football field to play a game. Tech was over ranked and weren’t prepared for a team that was prepared for them. Why does everybody predict what’s going to happen? Need to make yourselves feel that you have some special insight or knowledge about something you can’t control?
Buzz2011
October 16th, 2011
1:09 am
Virginia should have been beaten by 20 points. They are about as much of a powerhouse as Vanderbilt…
swd311
October 16th, 2011
1:15 am
Clydus…my apologiex….I shouldn’t have called you a moron..I am just pissed! The excuse card is numbing me. However, I called 75% of Techs offensive play calls today! I am not kidding!!! The problem is that if I can do it..so can those who see this game on a day to day basis. Paul Johnson is no savior,,,what has he done to make you believe he is one? He offense is outdated and if he could have won at this level he would not be at GT!
swd311
October 16th, 2011
1:17 am
Buzz Vandy is much better than UVA!!! UVA sucks and now so does GT.
Clydus
October 16th, 2011
1:28 am
I don’t think Paul Johnson is anything other than a football coach in charge of running a football program. If Georgia Tech had won today his praises would be sung. There are a hundred what-ifs that are attached to a game, that’s why I don’t bet. A coach has a vision in his head of every playing working perfectly, unfortunately he needs 22 players and the refs to go along with him on it.
TheAntiMe
October 16th, 2011
1:30 am
In spite of their record coming in to this game, Tech had never shown themselves to be a Steel Curtain defensively, by any means. This is nothing new as defense has been the biggest weakness of this year’s team. It’s just that the offense has here-to-fore been able to overcome that weakness. Not so today.
I disagree with you, MB, that this loss was due to a lack of effort. I would say that the Virginia defense played extremely well today and should be given their proper due, as such.
Coach Double Chin
October 16th, 2011
1:40 am
I am surprised your headline was not “Tech Loses to UVA but Paul Johnson Outcoaches Mark Richt”
No Mo T-O
October 16th, 2011
1:48 am
This was supposed to be the year the offense had CPJ’s players in place which should be running the TO to perfection…..it certainly looked that way against Western Carolina, MTSU and Kansas, but the ACC is turning out to be different…..what is disappointing is that the offense has struggled the last two weeks against two mediocre defenses in Maryland and Virginia…..not encouraging going into the tough part of the schedule……..is CPJ still “the smartest person in the room”?????
Jim
October 16th, 2011
1:59 am
The first cut is the deepest, la la la la la, the next cut will cut deeper, la la la la la
Coach Moobs
October 16th, 2011
2:08 am
What was the problem today??? The A-Backs or the B-Backs?
Columbus
October 16th, 2011
3:01 am
Miami beats UNC. Being In Miami looks like a VERY tough game. Clemson=loss, VT=loss, Duke=win, UGA-loss. UGA will likely go 2-3 rest of the way with 1-4 being very possible. Lost one and now the REAL season begins after playing JV teams all year. I hope GT enjoyed the ride because it is not over. They should squeek into a bowl game though, the toilet bowl….
swd311
October 16th, 2011
3:13 am
Columbus I have to agree with you on that assessment! I wish that GT would prove me wrong though! However, I am not usually wrong. GT loses ALL of its games from here on out. Yes even to Duke….by then the season will be over anyway. Ooops forgot to say GT will lose to South Florida in the annual PJ toilet bowl! Outcoached and outmanned as usual for GT.
London Jacket
October 16th, 2011
3:17 am
Enter your comments here
Ted M
October 16th, 2011
3:55 am
I believe in the triple option…but I don’t believe in Paul Johnson. He is arrogant about his offense, it does work, but its all he cares about. I don’t think CPJ inspires to be average on defense. CPJ does not inspire to be even below average on special teams, all he cares about is his offense.
Why would a defensive recruit come to GT when the head coach blows off ever other aspect of the game then his precious offense.
Scott hoo
October 16th, 2011
5:14 am
Keep your heads up jackets. This is just what not winning feels like, it sucks. Your 6-1, the team will bounce back. Go Jackets…
Zone3canE
October 16th, 2011
5:27 am
A-Backs, B-Backs, LOL!! A BS way to say Fullbacks and WINGBACKS.CPJ’s arrogance and CHICKEN WING-T offense is killing GT’s recuiting and on field production. My Tech buddies always tell me how smart CPJ is, that he doesn’t even need a play card like all the other big time coaches do because he can remember every play in that BIG BRAIN of his.LOL!!! Go watch any HIGH SCHOOL COACH in Ga. that runs the WING-T they don’t use play cards either because the offense only has about 5 to 6 plays, simple enough for an atheletically challenged 14yr old 9th grader from SOUTH GEORGIA or LOWER ALABAMA to understand. SIMPLE!!
Zone3canE
October 16th, 2011
5:35 am
recruiting…DOH! typo.
Stinger2
October 16th, 2011
5:47 am
Mark: Why the term “fat and sassy”? It has nothing to do with the way GT played against UVA. I agree they were bad on both sides of the ball and did not deserve to win.
However, I do not think the reason they lost was because they were “fat and sassy”. They lost because the other team dominated and played the game better.
Davis Mac
October 16th, 2011
6:01 am
“Fat and Sassy”….///? WTF..? Mark Bradley is such a P&^%( and sassy..!
OldSchoolTechFanatic
October 16th, 2011
6:06 am
I still think we will win 2 to 3 more games. I like the triple option but you have to pitch it more often. Orwin Smith may not be the best back in the country but he is a pretty darn good one and needs to get the ball more.
b call
October 16th, 2011
6:09 am
we need 3 things ,some talent on defense,a def. cor. that can coach and a punter
Dawg 1
October 16th, 2011
6:36 am
CPJ has been red shirting a lot the last couple of years. I felt that he was running a risk of not having enough depth and might have cost him a game or two, but admired the long term approach. With this said, that should be paying off now.
If you look at his history, he has always struggled on the defensive side of the ball. Granted, sometimes this has to do with scoring quickly and turning the ball back over to the other team – but his defense tend to struggle. (And before anyone points to the first couple of seasons – remember, that was CCG’S recruits, who had been together for a while.
Not knocking the guy. He’s a solid coach and a strong signal caller. But the bottom line is that Tech is going to have to score a lot, because they will always give up points.
And the fact of the matter is, he is having trouble recruiting top flight players on defense and at the receiver position (including tight end). CAG has the reputation of being able to recruit (which is why he was brought in). If he doesn’t start pulling in players soon – I do not believe he’ll last.
We have our own problems at UGA. CMR still needs to pretty much run the table to keep his position. I personally hope he does. He’s a good man. So is CPJ – with time, he should be able to recruit in more talent, but it just might mean changing up the offense and finding a DC that can recruit and coach.
Good luck for the rest of the regular season (except that last one).
bro
October 16th, 2011
6:48 am
SOME WRITERS JUST WRITER TO LET EVERYONE KNOW HOW GREAT THEY ARE. AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE WHO WRITE JUST TO SEE WHO THAY CAN HURT WITH THEIR HOGWASH. NOT MUCH OF A TALE OF THE GAME. MORE OF LET’S SEE HOW BAD WE CAN MAKE THESE YOUNG MEN FEEL AND TELL THEM HOW SORRY THEY ARE. GLAD YOU DIDN’T WRITE ABOUT HOW BAD A COACH JIM LEYLAND IS . DON’T TAKE THIS WEEKS CHECK.
Wait and see
October 16th, 2011
7:10 am
Tech and UGA will have the same record when they meet. Tech will prevail and finish 9-3.
Johnson is a good coach. He knows that he must continue to redshirt to build strength and depth.
Tech will be a Top 20 program in two years, and stay there.
lewisbuzzard
October 16th, 2011
7:13 am
Yeah no doubt we layed a big egg up in Charlottesville. We will be lucky to win another game .UGA sure looked all world today with the “Dream Team” up in Nashville. Did I read the stats correct???? Vandy outrushed the Dawgs and their celebrated freshman sensation Crowell!LOL
YellowJacket
October 16th, 2011
7:27 am
I’ll take 6 and 1.
Reality
October 16th, 2011
7:54 am
GT will lose 1 more game…..Clemson. They play Clemson again in the ACC Champ game and win the Orange Bowl.
OldTech
October 16th, 2011
8:02 am
Still believe that we can beat Miami, Va Tech & Duke. If we do that we will get to Charlotte, where anything can happen. Keep working Tech.
BuzztheKiller
October 16th, 2011
8:18 am
This was unexecusable but not a surprise. Penalties and missed tackles add up. Perfect storm of mistakes against a team that had nothing to lose. This was UVA’s bowl game, they were up for it, took the bye week to prepare,and won it. Tech is still in control of their own fate in terms of the ACC. Win out and they play for the championship, which is the goal. Got to shake it off. If they don’t, they tailspin and this just be another average season.
RambleOn84
October 16th, 2011
8:19 am
I thought it was a fair and accurate assessment…
I’ve said for the last couple of weeks that we were the worst undefeated team in the country and could lose to ANYONE on our schedule if we don’t play well.
UVA was a bad matchup for us as well.
Oh well, hopefully we win a few more before the season’s done.
GO JACKETS!
RambleOn84
October 16th, 2011
8:22 am
Everyone being so critical of Johnson or the team need to remember what we were expected to do this year…Tech’s best days are still ahead of us, as we have a lot of young talent.
Nativebird
October 16th, 2011
8:25 am
Not System? Has it not clicked with you Yet Mark? Again, Virginia had 2 weeks to prepare, not 1. yet another indicator that anyone, any team, with any time more than a week to prepare for this one-trick pony system has a very very likely chance of beating this team. Bad hire, bad system, wrong coach, wrong direction for my Jackets. I said it the day this ego-maniac was hired, and it is still true today. No, it’s not horrible, but it will never produce consistent shots at championships, because it can’t. 10-12 years from now, we’ll look back and shrug, and say about the post-Gailey period: Georgia Tech, not bottom dwellers, not consistent top-drawer leaders either.
romebuzz
October 16th, 2011
8:27 am
YOU HIT THE MARK, MARK ON THIS ONE
jfreak13713
October 16th, 2011
8:38 am
I love the spread option when it works but just doesn’t work all the time. This offense is probably good for 7 or 8 wins per year and a bowl bid but its NOT a system that can compete nationally. They won’t beat Virgina Tech, Clemson, or Georgia and neither of those teams are great so where does that put Tech?
GT79
October 16th, 2011
8:41 am
Good article Mark and its a little dose of reality for all the Tech fans, of which I have been one for 45 years now. I have seen this coming for the last few weeks with the lackluster performances against NC State and Maryland. I knew that we could not continue to put up Kansas type numbers and scores when we got into our confernce schedule, but there are some disturbing trends. Our defense is suseptible to a good running team and we definitely need to recruit some beef in the defensive line next year. But the way that our passing game has regressed the last few weeks is opening us up to other defenses playing the run and not respecting the pass and we are in trouble if Tevin does not play extremely well, which he has not lately, save some pretty good runs. This is a truly a turning point in the season – either we can suck it up and realize that one loss is not a catastrophe and prepare for Miami, VT and Clemson the right way and come out with fire or we could suffer some pretty bad defeats against these teams, which are a lot better quality than who we have played to date. I think Coach Johnson will do a good job getting the focus of the players and I look for a markedly better effort against Miami. Go Tech! And for all the dawg fans out there who are giddy with their 5 game winning streak – you better look at who you have played too….not exactly the cream of the SEC, but with Kentucky and New Mexico State still to come, it looks like you will be in a bowl even after your shaky start. But, Auburn and Florida will be much bigger tests for UGa. Beat them and you can brag. (and get off the Fire Coach Richt bandwagon, which I thought was ridiculous to begin with).