In this Tech-Tech slugfest, the Jackets are undone by a punch
Georgia Tech's Tevin Washington scored three touchdowns. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Technically speaking, this wasn’t the ACC championship game, but you can’t go wrong assuming the winner between the Techs will play for the conference title. It has happened every year the league has staged a championship game, and it figures to happen in 2011, too.
But which Tech might it be this time? The one that was ranked in preseason and is ranked still, or the one that began play unranked, worked its way to No. 12 in the polls, fell out after two ugly road losses but wedged its way back after upsetting No. 5 Clemson? The former is officially known as the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, the latter as the Georgia Institute of Technology. For purposes of space, we’ll call them Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech.
For a series only in its ninth installment, this has become a corker. The past three meetings — those since Paul Johnson arrived here — had been decided by a total of 15 points. What transpired Thursday night at a not-quite-full Bobby Dodd Stadium was more of the same. One Tech got ahead. Then the other Tech did. Then the first Tech scored 16 consecutive points to retake the lead. Wild, wacky stuff.
Details? Sure. Georgia Tech led 7-0. Then Virginia Tech went ahead 14-7. Then Georgia Tech kicked a field goal to draw within four points. Then — shades of the Miami game — the Jackets allowed a touchdown inside the half’s final minute. The Hokies led 21-10 and seemed to have taken control. But no.
Georgia Tech drove 61 yards in 44 seconds to a catalytic field goal as the half expired. Then the Jackets, aided by a Virginia Tech personal foul, opened the second half with a drive to one touchdown. The Hokies’ lead was two points. Virginia Tech moved inside the GT 20, at which point Julian Burnett smacked the ball from David Wilson’s grasp. Soon Georgia Tech was ahead by five points and poised to throw a hammerlock on the proceedings, whereupon linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu threw a punch.
The Jackets had stopped Virginia Tech. Attaochu was about to complete a third-down sack of quarterback Logan Thomas. But Thomas, who weighs 254 pounds — 31 more than Attaochu — didn’t go down, and Hokies linemen rushed to his aid, and Attaochu wound up taking a swing at an opponent. He was flagged for a personal foul; he was lucky he wasn’t ejected, and he might yet face a suspension.
To his credit, Attaochu didn’t t dabble in denial afterward. “It was an overdose of adrenaline,” he said. “There’s no excuse for it.”
Said Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech’s coach: “The big penalty kind of changed the game.”
Handed its mulligan, Virginia Tech did what a good team is supposed to do. It fashioned a drive that changed the careening game yet again. The massive Thomas scored on, of all things, a 12-yard quarterback sneak, and the Hokies were back ahead. Then Paul Johnson did the Paul Johnson thing and went for it on fourth down on the wrong side of midfield — at the Tech 31, to be exact — and Tevin Washington was halted.
“Maybe we could have called a better play,” Johnson said. “But we didn’t execute the play that was called very well, either.”
Why had he gone for it? “I felt like we needed to score. From the second possession of the game, we couldn’t stop them.”
Again the Hokies took their windfall and cashed it in. A Thomas touchdown pass made it an eight-point game. Washington slipped and fell trying to pass on third down, and Georgia Tech had to punt. By now Virginia Tech’s offensive line was pushing the Jackets’ defense backward, just as had happened over the final 10 minutes of the first half, and a field goal with 3:02 to play pushed the Hokie lead to 37-26.
And that was that. A crackling game had, at least for the home side, fizzled at the end. The winning Tech is again in playing-for-a-championship mode, while the losing Tech has been eliminated from the division race. To be blunt, Virginia Tech seemed the more talented team for much of the game, but Georgia Tech will long wonder what would have happened had Jeremiah Attaochu kept his hands to himself.
By Mark Bradley
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534 comments Add your comment
Lay'em Down Smack'em Yack'em
November 10th, 2011
11:42 pm
While I’m on the topic, why don’t the falcons cut Bosher?
NG Dawg
November 10th, 2011
11:42 pm
I can’t say much about Shreveport gcs, we were just there 2 years ago LOL
around town
November 10th, 2011
11:45 pm
GT’s punter gave VT a short field all night long. Isn’t there some kid in the school who can kick a football?
CPJ Stinks
November 10th, 2011
11:45 pm
Repeat after me … CPJ is NOT a winner and has IQ of a raquetball .. only reason he did well forst 2 years was Gailey’s players .. PERIOD .. he a loser. Alumin; it’s time to take him out
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 10th, 2011
11:45 pm
agreed, tech fans will call out uga’s kwame geathers for throwing a punch and being a so-called “thug”…pot meet kettle. and to supersize, afraid of trolls??? moron, take a look at your blog name..you bring it yourself dumba$$$$$. i’ve said it for years, get rid of cpj and this horrible offense!!!
GT Joe
November 10th, 2011
11:46 pm
CPJ Stinks is clearly a mutt fan. tell tale sign: can’t spell.
GT Joe
November 10th, 2011
11:47 pm
noisewater, you should love CPJ if he’s so bad, right?
attaochu is an idiot, cost us the game
GTBob
November 10th, 2011
11:48 pm
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater, I have no problem calling Attaochu a thug and hoping he get a nice suspension. Feel better?
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 10th, 2011
11:48 pm
what ever happen to the infamous quote “thank god for greyhound, gailey is gone”???
Baby Ruth
November 10th, 2011
11:48 pm
So much for Mark Fox being such a great recruiter! LMAO DOGGIES!!!
All Cupcake Conference
November 10th, 2011
11:48 pm
Probation’s. Lax drug policy ( If Crowell had played at Tech he wouldn’t have missed a game ) Players throwing punches.
What is going on at Tech?
Attachou's Corner Man
November 10th, 2011
11:49 pm
Washington seems like a good kid, but he cannot throw a pass to a receiver who is covered…..he just throws it up like an 8th grader……that last incompletion out of bounds was embarrassing….why can’t CPJ recruit a QB who can pass?
Concerned
November 10th, 2011
11:49 pm
Simple…
You can have Chan, who will recruit very good players, underachieve, and win 7-9 games…
or…You can Paul, who can’t get anyone decent to come to campus, overachieve, and win 7-9 games.
Pick your poison.
GTJohn
November 10th, 2011
11:50 pm
2 plays cost us the game – the TD by VT just before the half and the stupid play by Attauchu. He changed the entire momentum for every player on both sided os the field.
He should be off the team – at east for the rest of the year.
If he gets to the NFL, he will be trouble.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 10th, 2011
11:50 pm
i agree, attaochu is an idiot…had no right throwing a punch, most definetly put gt in a bad position. i find it ironic though now the situation is reversed, at least geathers had a reason to throw a punch.
GaTech fan in Kentucky
November 10th, 2011
11:50 pm
is it too early 2 say…Fire CPJ?
around town
November 10th, 2011
11:51 pm
VT may be a better team. GT certainly has no one like Wilson, and the VT QB was outstanding. So were several of their receivers. But if #45 had not become the village idiot there was a good chance that GT was going to win the game. They had all the momentum, their O was clicking (as it does some of the time), so, without the punch, they would have had a real chance to go ahead by 2 td’s. But alas, #45 struck. Will there be repercussions?
GTBob
November 10th, 2011
11:51 pm
Lax drug policy ( If Crowell had played at Tech he wouldn’t have missed a game )
Crowell would have never qualified academically at GT and if by some miracle somebody let him in he wouldnt last a semester. He wouldn’t have even had time to get caught smoking.
GaTech fan in Kentucky
November 10th, 2011
11:51 pm
Enter your comments here
Hokie-in-ATL
November 10th, 2011
11:52 pm
tried to post a long good game post. didnt’ take. that i can see.
so good game jackets. could have gone either way honestly. good luck against duke and UGA.
They Serve Gruel in Prison
November 10th, 2011
11:52 pm
The arrogance of the PE Major from Western Carolina cost Tech the game today…..4th and 1 on your 30 at that time of the game was a bad decision……
All Cupcake Conference
November 10th, 2011
11:52 pm
Crowell would have never qualified academically at GT
Reuben Houston did.
I think he would have made it in fine. In the ahem ” Management ” program 98 percent of the football players are majoring in.
Remember when we won in the '50's
November 10th, 2011
11:53 pm
Johnson won with the old coach’s players. He can’t recruit or coach, make game time adjustments or make sound down and distance decisions.
Hokie Hi
November 10th, 2011
11:53 pm
I’ve gotta say, Attaochu and GT looks more like THUGS than Miami. Also you have the most arrogant coach this side of Lane Kiffin.
SO proud of my Hokies and shame on your classless players & coaches GT!
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 10th, 2011
11:53 pm
gt- now is your time to go after jim tressel or houston nutt- bring a decent coach into your program. who cares what cpj did for a div 2 school or navy? either crap or get off the pot!!!
Stephon Marbury's Tutor
November 10th, 2011
11:54 pm
Yeah, you tell ‘em GT Bob……Crowell is no scholar like Stephon Marbury or Kenny Anderson……Kenny was so smart he used to fill out the scantron sheets before the tests were passed out……he was that smart at Tech…….We don’t cheat at Tech.
GTJohn
November 10th, 2011
11:56 pm
Thank you MB fro writing what everyone in the stadium and watching on TV saw and thought.
What a bonehead play. Attauchu cost GT a great season.
I personally would not mind if he never played a down at GT again.
I guarantee you Bobby Dodd would not have put up with that and the NCAA should not either.
All Cupcake Conference
November 10th, 2011
11:56 pm
While we are on the subject GT graduation rates are a joke as well.
Worst in the ACC.
Remember when we won in the '50's
November 10th, 2011
11:56 pm
Hot seat check
Richt- nice and cool
Johnson- I’m starting to see smoke
Pago Pago DAWG
November 10th, 2011
11:56 pm
Half of the ACC hopes Johnson stays …..
Gravy Train
November 10th, 2011
11:56 pm
4th down on the last drive and Washington throws the ball out of bounds over throwing a wide open man! Is Reggie Ball coaching the QB’s at the Trade School these days?
Also, if Turkey Neck is such a coaching genius, why can’t he get a passing offense when he really needs one. How do you win games with a suspect defense, no special teams, and two passing plays? I don’t know. But, Turkey Neck is bound and dstermined to find a way.
CPJ Stinks
November 10th, 2011
11:56 pm
How could ANY sane fellow GT fan defend “Huckleberry’ CPJ? … he lacks the brainpower to EVER beat a Frank Beamer on a consistent basis .. remind me, what is CPJ’s Bowl record? .. LOSER
jimbob
November 10th, 2011
11:56 pm
Chan trotted Reggie Ball out as starting qb 4 years in a row. There’s little CPJ could do (save harboring a pedophile) that would be as bad as that.
Technically Correct
November 10th, 2011
11:57 pm
Once again, Georgia Tech proves that it doesn’t know how to win. Players who throw punches in critical situations don’t know how to win. Coaches who call running plays on 4th and 1 at their own 31 yard line with 11 minutes to play don’t know how to win. On this night, Georgia Tech had just enough talent and just enough intensity to win, if it played and coached with “smarts.” It didn’t and it didn’t. I hope the players an coaches learn from these mistakes, so the cycle can be broken.
Wide Dumper
November 10th, 2011
11:58 pm
Hokie Hi has it right…..there is one school on probation in this state and it is the North Avenue Trade School……they imitate the redneck, no control, emotional, hyper sensitive, coach on the sidelines……
If do right, no can defense
November 10th, 2011
11:58 pm
The 4th down decision to go for it was correct… if we had punted, VT would simply have driven down the field and burned more time off the clock. The play called for the conversion was terrible: qb sneak. seriously? can’t you be more imaginative than that?
Fact is, our D just didn’t get enough stops: VT was 10/16 on 3rd downs (a bunch of them were 10+ yards) and 2/2 on 4th downs. We were 5/10 for 3rd downs and 0/2 on 4th downs.
gt97
November 10th, 2011
11:58 pm
Would it hurt to put just a little wringle into the offensive game plan, like a shotgun formation? It is not that hard, believe me, we installed it in the middle of a high school game one time, then I caught 4 passes. Woo Hoo, most ever for me in a high school game with a knucklehead coach.
Baby Ruth
November 10th, 2011
11:58 pm
Hey Mr All Cupcake conference>>>your 3 players were tested positive before the FL game. Amazing how they wern’t made to sit out for that game. I guess it was a better lesson to sit out against NMS!
You’re an idiot!
Sad Yellow Jackets Fan
November 10th, 2011
11:58 pm
We were terribly coached tonight and deserved to lose. And we displayed zero class. I hate to say it, and I’m sure my fellow Jackets fans will scream and yell and accuse me of being a UGA troll, but I wish we had a coach like Mark Richt. Our team sucks.
around town
November 10th, 2011
11:59 pm
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned on here is that if Johnson had punted, VT would probably have gotten the ball around midfield anyway, given GT’s awful punting. So it might not have made such difference since VT’s ending up in the endzone on the short field seemed inevitable. It would be interesting to hear what his thinking was.
RedandBlackDawg
November 10th, 2011
11:59 pm
Some Hokie,
I think he will have to sit out some time for that stupid punch, after the NCAA reviews the play. It will be at least a half game suspension. And here the tech. fans have been telling us how smart they are. It must not apply to their football players, because that was a brainless, thing to do. On National TV, right in front of a ref. and the guy thinks he is in a MMA match.
All Cupcake Conference
November 11th, 2011
12:01 am
Hey Mr All Cupcake conference>>>your 3 players were tested positive before the FL game. Amazing how they wern’t made to sit out for that game. I guess it was a better lesson to sit out against NMS!
You’re an idiot!
They wouldn’t have had to sit out a game at all if they went to Tech.
Tech doesn’t suspend players for the first failed test.
UGA does.
Tech on probation.
UGA isnt.
Tech athletics are a cesspool.
GTBob
November 11th, 2011
12:01 am
How could ANY sane fellow GT fan defend “Huckleberry’ CPJ?
He is 7-3, beat a top 5 team, and was competitive tonight with another top 10 team. People seem to forget that most experts said we would be terrible this year. Vegas had our wins over/under at 6. We have significantly overachieved this year.
OldSchoolTechFanatic
November 11th, 2011
12:01 am
I don’t think I will be watching tevin ball anymore this year. I have been a tech fan since the 70’s and will remain a GT fan. reggie ball made me sick to my stomach by hogging the ball and I am not going to watch tevin ball run all the time either. Remeber when we beat UGA how Roddy Jones ran to the outside and down the field. What happened? Nesbit was a team player. He needed someone like Bay Bay last year but he was a team player. When does GT baseball start ?
No Mo TO
November 11th, 2011
12:02 am
We have got to incorporate the shotgun into 10% of the plays in order to attract a QB who can pass…..if TW is the best on campus then the future is not bright.
OldSchoolTechFanatic
November 11th, 2011
12:03 am
The ACC is almost as bad as the SEC east.
North Ave Killer Beez
November 11th, 2011
12:03 am
Last time I checked CPJ Didn’t have a helment and pads on. Pretty simple isn’t it. Defenes couldn’t stop the run and that’s that.
do you even know anything about football
November 11th, 2011
12:04 am
you ppl screaming to fire cpj are idiots…..know nothing about football……smh
If do right, no can defense
November 11th, 2011
12:04 am
Our defense gave up season highs in points and yards… they are inconsistent this year. Well, that’s an improvement from last year, when they were just plain bad. Hopefully, next year the defense will be consistently GOOD.
Tevin Washington, I beg of you… acquire some leadership skills, and try and win at least one game from behind when you’re trailing at halftime. You’re now 0-6 when trailing at halftime as starter. At least give us a modicum of hope that we can come back. CPJ, get your players ready to play when the opposing team comes off a bye week. Otherwise, everyone in the ACC is gonna start scheduling bye weeks before games with us.
Harvey Middleton's Jock Strap
November 11th, 2011
12:05 am
GT Bob…..if we lose to Duke and UGA then we will not have ‘overachieved’……..