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
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
534 comments Add your comment
attaochu
November 11th, 2011
12:05 am
is a 20 year old kid that made a mistake and should be given a game suspension for an unsportsmanlike play but even after the penalty VT was still about 70 yards from a TD, also VT got 2 personal fouls, they are a part of the game at every level, and who gave up the 70 yard TD pass just before the half and who went for it on 4th at our own 30. The team wins and the team loses. Sometimes I get so tired of all this personal vitriol being aimed at 18-22 year olds playing a game. It is this type of win or get ridden out of town mentality that led to the environment at Penn State which encouraged people to turn their backs on the abuse of a child for the sake of the all important football program which allows “on line warriors’ to live vicariously through the efforts of these players, who give all they have each week, and risk serious personal injury only to be trashed on these blogs when they fail to live up to every one’s expectations of glory.
The Tech and VT players gave their all tonight and for that I applaud them.
To the rest of you, get a life.
Remember when we won in the '50's
November 11th, 2011
12:06 am
Johnson 14-12 last 26 games. 13-13 if you include vacated win against Clemson for probation on rules violations. Losing record against Georgia. Did I mention they’re on probation?
Mike
November 11th, 2011
12:06 am
Seriously bad article, Mark. Im surprised you would lump this loss on Attaochu and his PF. If you want to dump on Attaochu, you had better add all his defensive team mates to the mix instead of calling him out alone. Va Tech rushed all over the D from the 2nd quarter on. 250 yards rushing is bad news and a big reason the Hokies won. The other was the 5 times the Jackets had the ball and couldnt move anywhere. The 2nd and 4th quarters were all Hokie, and they basically played even in the 1st and 3rd. That’s how you lose a ball game and it was far more than one punch.
That’s also ignoring the fact that Va tech had given several gifts themselves (two PFs, a fumble inside the Ga Tech redzone, and an offsides on 4th down that gave the Jackets a first on their first TD drive).
Really, in a loss like this, its totally inappropriate to call out one kid and lump it on him. This was a team loss that could have easily been worse than what it was.
around town
November 11th, 2011
12:06 am
What happened to #14 in this game? I thought he was great against Clemson — 2 INT’s (one in GT’s endzone) and a caused fumble when Clemson was apparently driving for a score in the first half. Did he even make a tackle tonight? I only saw him once or twice, in between plays.
Baby Ruth
November 11th, 2011
12:06 am
Hey you stupid Tech fan….The reason CPJ went for it on 4th and 1 from the 30 was because that God awful defense was getting gash!!! UGA will run our butts into the ground! get rid of Al Groh.
Perspective
November 11th, 2011
12:07 am
Attaochu is a 20 year old kid that made a mistake and should be given a game suspension for an unsportsmanlike play but even after the penalty VT was still about 70 yards from a TD, also VT got 2 personal fouls, they are a part of the game at every level, and who gave up the 70 yard TD pass just before the half and who went for it on 4th at our own 30. The team wins and the team loses. Sometimes I get so tired of all this personal vitriol being aimed at 18-22 year olds playing a game. It is this type of win or get ridden out of town mentality that led to the environment at Penn State which encouraged people to turn their backs on the abuse of a child for the sake of the all important football program which allows “on line warriors’ to live vicariously through the efforts of these players, who give all they have each week, and risk serious personal injury only to be trashed on these blogs when they fail to live up to every one’s expectations of glory.
The Tech and VT players gave their all tonight and for that I applaud them.
Why don’t all the rest of you go to hades
CPJ Stinks
November 11th, 2011
12:07 am
How on earth could you blame the GT defense? … they on field for most all of game. CPJ’s offense and his decisions cost us the game. Get the ax out NOW
Gravy Train
November 11th, 2011
12:08 am
Yeah, Tech players are so smart they throw the ball out of bounds on 4th down. They satnd and watch a back up tight end catch a TD right in their faces. If a player chooses to go to Tech he is automatically an academic genius. If the same kind chooses to go somewhere else to at least have a shot at playing pro, then he is an illiterate thug.
Too bad Tech wont be playing for King of the Cupcakes this year.
Perspective
November 11th, 2011
12:08 am
Enter your comments here
Javaris Crittendon's Murder Weapon
November 11th, 2011
12:08 am
GT is very weak at B-Back…..David Sims is not a threat…..
Mike
November 11th, 2011
12:09 am
Va Tech outrushed Johnson and the option on his own field tonight, Mark. How do you lump that on one kid’s PF?
ARdawg
November 11th, 2011
12:09 am
GT Bob
All you need is an excuse huh? Not maybe a decent coach or possibly a team?
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 11th, 2011
12:11 am
perspective- good point and makes sense, considering the circumstances at penn state.
Baby Ruth
November 11th, 2011
12:12 am
All Cup Cake conference….Your program is the cesspool! Thugs galore buddy! drugs. arrest! lack of discipline! mediocre fb team!!! loser! oh i forgot..you have all those road scholars!
GTBob
November 11th, 2011
12:13 am
Harvey Middleton. You are right. We just lost a close game to a top 10 team, a week after beating a top 5 team. We should certainly fire our coach. That is just unacceptable.
Vegas
November 11th, 2011
12:13 am
I see that welcher “headley lamar” is on posting as his later ego “All Cupcake Conference”. Hey headley – when are you going to pay off on these 2…
Headley Lamar
September 4th, 2010
6:40 pm
Richt is 7-2 vs USC
UGA wins
AND
headley lamar
August 26th, 2011
5:05 pm
Las Vegas has the over under of Tech wins at 6
Mike
November 11th, 2011
12:14 am
@Perspective – I agree totally. How do you call out one kid when the Hokies came in here and out rushed Johnson’s offense on his own field? The D didnt play well, and the offense did little to help them out aside from a few big plays. Its just poor to call out that kid like this.
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 11th, 2011
12:14 am
so classy baby ruth, you certainly madam, are a poster child of gt!!! throw crap around when your own school has their own issues. classic!!!
Arena Football League Legend Donnie Davis
November 11th, 2011
12:15 am
November 26, 2011, Bobby Dodd Stadium
1st possession – Murray to Mitchell – 65 yard TD completion
2nd possession – Crowell – 45 yard TD run
3rd possession – Murray to Conley – 37 yard TD completion
4th possession – Crowell – 55 yard TD run
5th possession – Murray to Charles – 25 yard TD completion
6th possession – Butler 43 yard punt
7th possession – Harton 35 yard TD run
8th possession – Karempelis – 7 yard TD run
9th possession – Welch – 1 yard TD run
If do right, no can defense
November 11th, 2011
12:15 am
@Javaris: It’s only his first year, give him a break. Plus he’s not the typical fullback in the mold of Dwyer or Allen, he’s more of the Josh Nesbitt type build.
Here’s the prognosis: If uga wins against Auburn, the rivalry game should be close. Otherwise, we have yet another doggie loss on our hands. Washington is good career back-up QB: composed, assured, soft-spoken: good for keeping the composure of a team which has just lost its starter. Not a great starter: he lacks the ability to lead his team from behind to victory.
Dwayne C
November 11th, 2011
12:16 am
GA Tech will not win another game this year. They’ll lose on the road at Duke, lose to Georgia here and then be defeated in a bowl game few people will know anything about, finishing 7-6 including their bowl loss.
Jomps
November 11th, 2011
12:16 am
I am sure Paul Johnson is going to blame the loss on other people..the punch, the big play etc…. He always makes an excuse that it’s not coaching or my system…fact is, we get in a 3rd and long and we are dead. VT did a better job of adjustments and thats the bottom line. Looks like another crappy bowl game after we lose to Georgia.
Harvey Middleton's Jock Strap
November 11th, 2011
12:19 am
GT Bob….I never said anything about firing CPJ……just pointing out the fact that there is still a chance for 2 more losses…..I think CPJ is still a good fit for GT…..it just is not going to be like a lot of Tech fans thought it would be…..namely, beat UGA every other year and compete for national championships.
Baby Ruth
November 11th, 2011
12:19 am
DR Kenneth..are you serious??? UGA fans are the most classless people in the world! that’s why everyone outside of your program hates your drunken, redneck, obnoxious fan base!!! You guys come on here talking garbage all the time!
GTBob
November 11th, 2011
12:21 am
Looks like another crappy bowl game after we lose to Georgia.
There are no good bowl games outside of the BCS bowls which we can’t reach now. The season is pretty much over. We should just use the games we have left this year to prepare for next year. We can’t even play spoiler for anyone.
Perspective
November 11th, 2011
12:22 am
I am a Tech fan and wanted them to win tonight, but to see how quickly “fans” can turn on our own team’s players after being on here just a couple of weeks ago singing their praises for beating Clemson is not right.
Baby Ruth
November 11th, 2011
12:22 am
Dr. kenneth..you sir are the classless program! your fans are hated by everyone but your own school!
Ben
November 11th, 2011
12:23 am
Mark’s right; Attaochu’s frenzied punch gave momentum back to VT, which showed that it was a good team that could capitalize on terrible judgement. Johnson’s 4th down call was weird, but I guess he knew by then that his D probably would not stop VT. I like the offense; GT still needs better athletes & defenders who know when to stop. More players need to be thrown out of games; right now they know only the most egregious fouls, like the AK hit on the Vandy punt returner, will get an ejection. Witness AU’s Fairley last year, MSU driving UM’s QB Robinson into the ground twice, and GT’s Attochu tonight. Let’s crack down on this and all the late hits that are common now, even when players are on the ground.
Hey Donnie, wanna give me Tech and 56?
November 11th, 2011
12:25 am
Enter your comments here
TechMom77
November 11th, 2011
12:25 am
I’m with you TechFanatic – if Vad Lee isn’t behind center next year and able to put the ball in the air some then we’re gonna see a lot of empty seats in BD I’m afraid. Tired of watching Tevin right, Tevin left.
Technically Correct
November 11th, 2011
12:26 am
I am reminded of a book title by Lewis Grizzard, the late, great UGA alumnus and fanatic: They Tore Out My Heart And Stomped That Sucker Flat. Those of us who are life long Tech fans know and appreciate the feeling…
St. Simons - where are you?
November 11th, 2011
12:26 am
Hokie Hokie Hit ‘Em Get ‘Em, Hokie Hokie High….Hokie Hokie Hit ‘Em Get ‘Em VPI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GTBob
November 11th, 2011
12:27 am
Harvey Middleton, there is no coach in the history of college football that could come into GT right now and turn them into a consistent national championship contender. If any GT fan was expecting that then they need their heads checked.
GT23
November 11th, 2011
12:27 am
I tag this one to CPJ. Bad decision to go for the 2 point conversion. Bad play on a “stop” from the LB. We cannot take a penalty on a stop. Most of all, Special teams play! Hire a Special teams coach! We cannot continue to be at a disadvantage in this area! Spend a scholarship on a kicker! 30 yard punts don’t help us win! We continue to take our chances on 4th down because we don’t have good special teams play! It continues to costs us games.
bobby
November 11th, 2011
12:28 am
TECH WAS WELL ON THEIR WAY TO BEATING VIRGINA TECH BUT THE STUPID PENALTY BY #45 TURNED THE GAME COMPLETLY AROUND THAT WAS BY FAR THE TURNING POINT IN THE GAME.
Technically Correct
November 11th, 2011
12:29 am
I figured I just saved a ton of money that I am not going to spend going to some POS bowl game again this year!
Attachou's Psychiatrist
November 11th, 2011
12:29 am
we need another session of anger management…..find your happy place Jeremy……
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
November 11th, 2011
12:30 am
baby ruth, past your bedtime, go to bed now please. you trying to put uga after a gt loss is plain horses**t. throwing mud at uga will not make up for a gt loss after a bonehead play. get a life tool!!
CPJ we'll keep!
November 11th, 2011
12:31 am
What an ass!! Bench him for the remainder of the season as it is over anyway.
Jacketattack
November 11th, 2011
12:32 am
Frankly I thought gt looked okay… The d just couldn’t get it done! Face it GT is mediocre program and always will be….doesn’t matter who is coach. However I think this style of offense is more suited to division iii football. gt will lose the next 3 games let me know when we get a real football team..10 years maybe.
quiturbitchin
November 11th, 2011
12:32 am
We are the only institute of technology with D1 athletics and yall want to complain about 7-3? Christ. Maybe if we could sell out a 55,000 seat stadium our athletes would be more motivated. And then you want to compain about having thugs for athletes. It’s the 21st century; we can’t have top notch athletes who are also angels. Also, if someone needs to be fired, its the special teams coach, and maybe defensive coordinator after that. Don’t blame failed 3rd and 2/4th and 1 on the coach, blame it on the players. How does the wishbone not pick up one yard. As for graduation rates, Tech is hard; non- athletes don’t even make it.
Free Cokes and Hot Dogs - please buy our tickets!!!!!
November 11th, 2011
12:32 am
I am surprised more teams do not use the Triple Option….fans love to watch it….dives to the B-Backs….pitches to the A-Backs….5 forward passes a game……why not incorporate the Flying V- Wedge????
wreckbone
November 11th, 2011
12:33 am
You guys are full of it. CPJ must go. His mentality is if he can’t get a couple yards then the team doesn’t deserve to win. Just like that Wake game in overtime in ‘09. That punch was the biggest momentum changer I ahve ever seen. I thought it changed the game and am glad the article was written as such.
Hey, this team has lots of upside. We are losing almost nobody. We will get a good rushing recruit. Chalrie may be good enough to play next year. Might as well put him in now. Get his feet wet and get used to hanging onto the rock. With no power B back I am amazed at what this team has done. The losses were a testament to the fact that CPJ was calling pass plays at critical situations. Then they didn’t work. Then, we are mainly running again.
At least we signed a 5 star basketball recruit today. Didn’t think we’d win the ACC this year. next three years though I expect us to be in the hunt.
Jacketattack
November 11th, 2011
12:34 am
Beamer and richt > johnson
St. Simons- here I am
November 11th, 2011
12:35 am
@St. Simons- where are you. Nice to hear from somebody from the island. Not so nice to hear you’re a VT fan.
GT Fan...
November 11th, 2011
12:35 am
Looks like everyone forgot the FIRST killer blunder by the Jackets ……
1st half … up 7-0 … 3rd & 10 … O. Smith DROPS first down pass …. followed by ANOTHER crappy punt.
KILLING 3rd down D tonight …….
3rd & 7 from 20, VT completes pass to 1yd line
3rd & goal from 10, VT TD pass
3rd & 7 from 14, VT TD pass
then the killer 3rd PUNCH by Attouchu!
CPJ must go!!
November 11th, 2011
12:37 am
I said the same thing after that GT bonehead went for a bouncing ball kickoff against Miami that ended up in a Miami TD. Check his and Attachou’s SAT scores and entrance exam papers. Both probably are dumb as rocks. Get out of my school and out of my city you idiot!!!
Coaches With Turkey Necks on both sidelines.....Thanksgiving is soon
November 11th, 2011
12:37 am
How many passes do the receivers and A-Backs catch in practice…..they were horrible in that game.
Jacketattack
November 11th, 2011
12:37 am
Wreck bone one 5 star bball player is not 10 that unc and duke get….gt will never when the aac in hoops again
CPJ - the next Chan Gailey??
November 11th, 2011
12:39 am
Can’t beat VT. Can’t beat UGA. Do we really need to go through this again next year??? Give someone else a chance. Worst they can do is lose to them too. Johnson has had his chance. Time to move on.