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
T Man
October 16th, 2011
5:37 pm
Hey TVfan
Tech defence may not play for another acc team but it could sure play for UGA. they shined against
Vandy one more play and uga yeh they would have lost.
gtyj
October 16th, 2011
5:56 pm
No one is more disappointed in this loss than I am. From the kickoff to VA and to see them drive the ball down our throats, you could see it coming. The defense had no character or hustle about them all day. The tackling was as sorry as you can get, they never played off blocks and half the time they didn’t know where they were. Same for the offense, sorry play execution, no blocking whatsoever on plays and you can’t go 2 for 8 with 2 picks and expect to win on pure running. I believe QB was changing to many plays at line, and no one was getting on edge to block or run. What can you say about special teams? Nothing, as Tech has no decent punter, placekicker or return team worth mentioning. If this team has any character about them at all, they will shake this loss off, put it behind them and go on. The rest of the season does not get any easier. If this doesn’t happen, they won’t win another game this year, as right now, I don’t think they can beat Duke.
I am still not convinced the so called 3-4 is what they should be running, but then again, I am just like everyone else that comments, I am just an arm chair qb.
The coaches can coach, make everyone aware of what the job is, but in the final analysis, it is the players that have to execute.
THE BIG R
October 16th, 2011
6:18 pm
POOR COACHING, PREPERATION, DIDN’T SHOW UP, EMBARRASING, 6-0 COULD TURN 8-4 REAL FAST. GOT TO LOOK IN MIRROR AND REGROUP
chi jacket
October 16th, 2011
6:29 pm
It never ceases to amaze me the arrogance of a fat ass reporter sitting in his office talking about 20 year old kids playing football. Bradley, why don’t you go crawl back into the hole you slithered out of.
SansWorld
October 16th, 2011
6:34 pm
Tough loss. but who here thought Tech would be 7-0 at the beginning of the season. Who here thought Tech was playing like a top 12 team the previous 2 games? Likely no one.
I think that most thought 8 wins would be good target at the beginning of the season; now it is a fraud? I suspect that tech will beat Duke, and split the four other games. Still might contend for a division championship. This is what I have said all year long.
This game is probably a good wake up call for the team. Still a lot that can be achieve by this young team. Sting em
Ramblin Recluse Road
October 16th, 2011
6:34 pm
no passes to Hill; no passes to rbs, only repetitive laterals to them that were expected eventually; only one long downfield qb draw that was a scramble; a leaky roof defense, without Ted Roof as defensive coordinator- Virginia ran through the leaky line with holes a mile wide open for them, and basic off tackle holes at that, close to the guard and center, play after play; Washington is coming unglued, and Days is waiting, along with Lee; like to see qb change for Miami, either who will get the most yardage for Tech; Miami Heat has Lebron James, the former hs basketball phenom, and Vad Lee was hs phenom, maybe start him against the ‘canes
Ramblin Recluse Road
October 16th, 2011
6:38 pm
“like to see qb change for Miami…game(more)”
Ramblin Recluse Road
October 16th, 2011
6:47 pm
Groh’s 3-4 met Virginia’s 4 man line, and was outplayed on defense; Tech’s 3 man line was relegated to dancing with the Virginia line on pass rushes, with no blitzes hardly at all to make up for the shag dancing; Groh should have called many blitzes, but instead depended on his LBs and dbs to cover receivers, which they did not at all; this proves blitzes and/or a four man rush were needed by Tech
Ramblin Recluse Road
October 16th, 2011
6:52 pm
this kind of 3 man dancing with the offensive line rush w/o blitzes is what the last Tech defensive coordinator used to do, and what Ted Roof as defensive coordinator loved to do, always assuming receivers would be covered, but they never were, thus leaks in the roof
Ramblin Recluse Road
October 16th, 2011
6:56 pm
that last Tech defensive coordinator that Groh replaced, forgot his name, used to have the dls do spinner 360s to try to rush the qb, and they came across looking like they were doing shag dancing when double teamed by the offensive line, w/o any blitzes to help them out
Ramblin Recluse Road
October 16th, 2011
6:59 pm
dls= defensive linemen, I meant singular dl, not plural dls
UGA OWNS gtu
October 16th, 2011
7:16 pm
The beating that gtu took yesterday at the hands of Virginia was fantastic. I’m ready for November 26th to get here so us DAWGS can give gtu their annual a$$-whooping.
UGA OWNS gtu
Always have, always will.
GT FAN
October 16th, 2011
8:39 pm
First off, this is a year where expectation were low and noboy gave GT a chance. After the 7th game we are setting at 6-1 most if not all of us would have been ecstatic. This team is young and starting to come into it’s own. WHo cares if we go 8-4 that is way better than the vegas line of 5 games. Just sit back and chill out. We are not Alabama or LSU.
FOr all UGA fans on here why the hell would you want GT to lose before we played you? Are you that stupid? Wouldn’t you want to play us when or record is better than yours? If not I am not surprised. Most of you claiming to be UGA fans are also the one’s calling for Richts job, WHo the hell would you replace him with? UGA is not a dream job by any means.
Robert L. Dodd
October 16th, 2011
9:04 pm
I understand Tech lost to Virginia. What’s her last name…for the record?
TECHREDNECK
October 16th, 2011
9:52 pm
I love my Jackets, but I’m a realist. I knew it was just a matter of time. They play hard and don’t quit. But I don’t see em beating Miami or Clemson. Its not the same talent level.
TECHREDNECK
October 16th, 2011
9:55 pm
And right on GT fan. Those jawja’s don’t seem to remember some good sucessful coaches turned that job down before CMR took it.
role model
October 16th, 2011
10:15 pm
The Vandy offense had 77 total yards in a 21-3 loss to South Carolina.
Vanderbilt’s pedestrian offense amassed 443 yards against an UGA defense supposedly coordinated by Todd Grantham, who started a post game skirmish.
Grantham screamed and pointed his finger at Vanderbilt coach James Franklin, before being separated by law enforcement. Grantham incited a controversy last year by flashing a ‘choke’ sign at Florida kicker Chas Henry.
Georgia coach Mark Richt stated ” We are grown men and we all need to act that way”.
The Dawgs were handsomely rewarded with a #24 AP ranking.
Return to Glory
October 16th, 2011
10:29 pm
That flapping noise coming from Atlanta is all the Tech fans rolling up their little yellow car flags and putting them back in storage…and you really thought you were the 12th best team…lol, at least 3 more losses coming your way.
GT66
October 16th, 2011
11:07 pm
Mark, I thought your comments were correct and I have been impressed with much of what CPJ has done. However, doesn’t he have primary responsibility when the team appears not ready to play? I usually associate not being ready and penalties with coaching– am I wrong? On the recruiting front does it seem he did better with Gailey’s players than his own and could that mean that it is hard to recruit with his offense? I know that we were way overated at 12 and can not understand how we moved up after a lackluster win over Maryland. I would appreciate your comments on my questions.
JM
October 17th, 2011
10:00 am
GT’s lines are getting tired. This team needs a week off.
Slip, slip, slipping away
October 17th, 2011
10:09 am
GT is in the meat of their schedule and each loss will once again expose that triple option thing as a middle school thing. VaTech, Miami, and UGA will slow GT down with losses and GT will be looking for a bowl trip to the Toilet Bowl at 7-5 or worse.
CPJ is sending his resume all over the state trying to land a head coach job in some Georgia county. He knows that his hire of AL GROH WAS A BONE HEAD MOVE.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA,AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA
IS GT um, in The Top 25 Now??
October 17th, 2011
10:12 am
I have not looked yet. Is GT still in the Top 25? If they are, they as the year winds down will continue to drop and UGA will continue to rise. THIS is the point of my August comments that “it matters where you finish, not where you are at Labor Day”. Now you know.
Go Virginia Cadavers.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
SoCal_GT_Fan
October 17th, 2011
11:28 am
Definitely a disppointing loss but if you didn’t “expect” this to happen, you obviously haven’t been watching the games. We have been regressing (or has the competition been getting better?) and it shows.
The biggest problem I think we have is that teams have figured out how to contain the triple-option by letting the QB keep the ball. Tevin Washington seems to be able to do most of his damage as the distributor, not as a ball carrier and it seems that the other teams are now going to force Tevin to become the ballcarrier or at least make his reads difficult to the point where he will keep the ball.
Although Tevin has played great earlier in the year, its obvious that he needs to step up his game because his inability to run or be able to properly distribute the ball is inhibiting this offense from blossoming into what CPJ would have envisioned. When he was able to distribute the ball like he did earlier in the season, this offense was chugging on all cylinders.
On the defensive side, we obviously can not stop the run. The team is going to be in big trouble the next few games if it can’t stop the run. Where are our LB!?! If we don’t have good LBs, there’s no point in going with the 3-4 defense cause the playmakers are suppose to be LBs in a 3-4 defense! The D-line is suppose to keep the O-line at bay while the LBs blitz, fill gaps, and wreck havoc.
Win/loss record after extra week(s) to prepare?
October 17th, 2011
12:08 pm
Serious question, what is GT’s record under CPJ when teams have an extra week to prepare, including bowl games? I know CPJ gets defensive when he is asked this, but it seems that this offense has a much greater chance of success when opponents only have a single week to prepare. Do the numbers support this?
ATL XMAN
October 17th, 2011
12:11 pm
im just waiting for ramble84 and gtforever to admit i was right about pj recruiting players that should be playing on div 1aa teams. tech simply does not have the players to win week in and week out against the better teams the play in the acc. orwin smith should be moved to the qb position as he is your teams best option at qb now since tevin washington is nowwhere near as good as nesbit was at running teh ball. he cant break the tackles that nesbit broke to get the 5 yards for a first down.
just hope tech sticks to their contract agreement and keep paul johnson around long enough to have a losing record at tech.
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ATL XMAN
October 17th, 2011
12:18 pm
tech might be underdogs in the remaining 5 games and they still have a shot at going 6-6 and losing another bowl game for a season ending 6-7 record again…pj recruits could be 12-14 by the end of the year and not not getting any better
Chris-VA
October 17th, 2011
2:26 pm
Sorry about the loss on Saturday, but If you think Virginia is one of the worst teams in Div 1, you are sadly mistaken. True, UVA made some critical mistakes (3 Ints) in a loss to Southern Miss and self-destructed multiple times to barely beat Idaho and Indiana, but this team has some young talent. The remnants of Groh’s last couple recruiting years have left us some slow, marginally talented juniors and seniors, but London’s recruiting classes have been top 25 (last year and current 2012).
You DL was also dealing with 3 potential NFL O-Lineman. (Aboushi, Pastzor and Moses) They have been pushing everyone around. Our 3 RBs (2 freshmen and a junior all 4-5 star recruits) are much better than most think as well.
It has been frustrating watching this young UVA team beat themselves with TOs and penalties, but the kids are coming around. We are not as bad as you think. London is starting to focus recruiting in Virginia and that means we will be back inside the top 25 soon. Look at the past ACC championship teams from VT and their rosters are full of Virginia kids. That’s how we do it.
Stay classy and give an opponent some credit when you lose sometimes.
Good luck and I think GT gets 9 wins this season. The GT players aren’t as bad as you think….maybe Groh’s defense is…Ha!
LawDawg
October 17th, 2011
2:59 pm
Fat and Sassy = CPJ and Groh?
Anyway, that should stop some of the GT obnoxiousness on these blogs.
SoCal_GT_Fan
October 17th, 2011
3:33 pm
I don’t think recruiting is the issue…. Sure some of the recruits are guys that aren’t heavily recruited by other D1 schools but most of the guys that play are heavily recruited players. Its not like we specialize in 2-star recruits with a couple of 3-stars sprinkled in there.
Of course, we can’t seem to land as many 4 and 5 star players but that has to do more with the curriculum we offer (management is the “easiest” non-technical major available.), athletic dept budget and the scheme we play on offense (which will be used against us by rival schools for players recruited on the offensive side). But that doesn’t mean we don’t get ANY 4* players.
Even in our 2011 recruiting class, we had two players rated as 4* (from different recruiting services):
Jabari Hunt-Days
Vad Lee
The 2010 recruiting class had a slew of 4-star recruits (again, according to different recruiting services):
Denzel McCoy
Louis Young
Ryan Ayers
Barry Bostic
Anthony Williams
Shawn Green
We always hear about the ones that we’ve lost out on (and we’ve had our share of those!) but we’ve been able to sign a respectable number of talent too. As I noted above, I think our achilles heal is the QB position which like in any offensive scheme (especially the triple-option spread offense) is vital in how the offense chugs along.
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GT Grad
October 20th, 2011
12:59 pm
Who exactly are you calling “fat and sassy” on the team, Mark?