Another game effort yields another galling Georgia Tech loss
Georgia Tech quarterback Tevin Washington with no particular place to go. (AP photo)
On its face, it wasn’t a terrible loss. Georgia Tech came within one unmade play of upsetting the Coastal Division favorite in a charged and daunting setting, and the Coastal favorite needed overtime to prevail. All of which made it …
A terrible loss.
With so much to gain on Labor Day night, Georgia Tech threw it away in the time it takes to say, “No way Virginia Tech can score in 44 seconds.” Had the Jackets won, they’d have stamped themselves as the new Coastal favorite. Had they won, they’d have been ranked in the Top 25. Had they won, we’d have no real reason to wonder if the best days of Paul Johnson have come and gone. But they lost, and now we do.
This isn’t to suggest Johnson coached a terrible game. His team was positioned to win with 13 seconds left in regulation, but the Hokies converted on fourth-and-4, same as Utah had converted on fourth-and-14 in the Sun Bowl. Two games running, Georgia Tech has been one play from victory. Two games running, it has lost in OT.
Here we return to concept of plays, made and unmade. Georgia Tech has come to have too few of the former, too many of the latter. It’s not so much a question of scheme as manpower. Johnson and Al Groh can draw pretty X’s and O’s until the cows come home, but if their men don’t block and tackle and throw and catch, it matters not one whit.
“I’m proud of the defense,” said cornerback Rod Sweeting, beaten on a fourth-quarter touchdown. “We’ve got to finish.”
But that’s what all narrow losers say. The lot of the gallant foil is to make most every play but the winning one.
Of the third-down play that became the killing overtime interception, Johnson said: “It was the same pattern we scored on [in the final minute of regulation]. I didn’t see anybody open.”
Of Tevin Washington’s 10 completions, not one was taken by a Tech wide receiver. The Jackets managed only 288 yards on offense, and those yards came grudgingly. Their longest gain was a 22-yard Washington scramble. The longest run by a B-back, supposedly the star position in Johnson’s offense, was eight yards. The longest run by an A-back was 13 yards.
After Tennessee beat North Carolina State last weekend, Vols coach Derek Dooley noted that the biggest determinants of a game’s outcome are turnovers and big plays. Georgia Tech made only one turnover against a good defense (and that in overtime). Still it lost because a defense that played mostly well didn’t force a single turnover and because Johnson’s offense — at least against those opponents who are both skilled and drilled — has lost the capacity to hit home runs.
The offense hasn’t changed from the high times of 2008 and 2009, but the players have. We note yet again: There’s no B-back as good as Jonathan Dwyer, no wide receiver as good as Demaryius Thomas, no quarterback — unless Vad Lee pans out — as good as Joshua Nesbitt. Neither is there a defensive force to match Derrick Morgan. And no, none of those big-timers was signed by this coach.
Asked what he said to Washington after the overtime interception, Johnson said: “Nothing.” Then: “What do you want me to say?”
Oh, maybe that Washington tries very hard and very nearly won a huge game, but in the end he tried to throw the ball away and threw it to the wrong team? That Washington is an OK college quarterback but no Nesbitt? That Tech has become a team of great ambition but modest upside? That Johnson’s program will be stuck on eight, maybe nine, wins until it recruits better?
As rousing as this effort was, the result was even more sobering. Georgia Tech had every chance to take a giant step forward but tripped over its limitations. Yes, there’s still a chance the Jackets can win their division, but that will require much luck. (Virginia Tech has to lose two ACC games, and Georgia Tech would have to run the league table.) And to be frank, GT’s luck seems to have taken a hike.
There was a time when this team and this coach won these games — at Georgia in 2008, at Florida State in 2009, against Clemson twice in ‘09. The spirit is still willing, but the flesh is demonstrably weaker.
“There’s absolutely nothing we can do [now] except play football,” defensive end Izaan Cross said late Monday night, but the feeling persisted that Georgia Tech can play its best football and it won’t be good enough to claim another ACC title.
A championship team would have beaten Virginia Tech. The Jackets could only come excruciatingly close. It is, sad to say, what they’ve come to do.
By Mark Bradley
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236 comments Add your comment
RICHARD
September 4th, 2012
4:38 pm
4 STAR RECRUIT AND PLAYED 6 A FOOTBALL AND BEAT HOOVER TWICE BOTTOM LINE IS PLAY HIM
ramblingbuzz
September 4th, 2012
4:39 pm
You’re right, we aren’t Alabama. We’re not even VT, FSU or Clemson. We are not even competetive in terms of wins against the upper third of the ACC. We can’t even win a bowl game against also ran teams.
RICHARD
September 4th, 2012
4:40 pm
PLAY UR BEST TALENT
wes
September 4th, 2012
4:40 pm
Mark, you’re just mad that we ruined your prognostication!
nate
September 4th, 2012
4:41 pm
bob 4-7 in the acc IS terrible.
Nativebird
September 4th, 2012
4:41 pm
My fellow jacket fans, take off the blinders….It’s not the players…it’s the coach and the system. He’s a jerk that’s trying to prove he’s a genius. Well, he’s not. Once again last night…he blamed the players for “not executing”. What an arrogant idiot. The said fact is this: this Prima dona football coach would be just as happy coaching highschool right now in some Podunk south Georgia 2A school running rough shod over every little kid and parent in his program about how brilliant his system is.
Time to change.
RICHARD
September 4th, 2012
4:42 pm
HELL BRING IN BOBBY PATRENO.JUST WIN .
GTBob
September 4th, 2012
4:42 pm
Maybe your defintion of terrible and mine are different. A .363 winning percentage is pretty bad.
What would be an acceptable winning percentage against ranked teams?
BravesFan79
September 4th, 2012
4:44 pm
Well at least the defense is alot better. I wonder how many of these quality offensive linemen will be around when we might actually have a top level QB next year?
RICHARD
September 4th, 2012
4:45 pm
THE ONLY TOPPED RANKED COACH JOHNSON HAS BEAT WAS BOBBY BOWDEN,,AND OH THE FUMBLED IN OUR END ZONE.PAUL JOHNSON AND HIS BUDDY AL GROH JUST LEAVE DO US A FAVOR JUST LEAVE
Sammy the Nerd
September 4th, 2012
4:45 pm
The Petrino comment was funny. You think he’d even come near Atlanta again? I’d say he be fearing for his life if he did. Good coach, no morals.
Redbull
September 4th, 2012
4:47 pm
Where’s that idiot supersize who guaranteed a win?
collegeballfan
September 4th, 2012
4:51 pm
“We have no dominant running back,…”
No. What “we” do not have is a dominant offensive line. This is the same line we had last year that ended in a 8 – 5 record.
GTBob
September 4th, 2012
4:51 pm
bob 4-7 in the acc IS terrible.
Hur hur. ACC is terrible. Hur hur hur. Thanks for your insight.
Ted M
September 4th, 2012
4:53 pm
Good blog Mark…you’re no longer calling CPJ a genius (no way a college football genius would blow off recruiting as if it didn’t matter, which CPJ does, making him the greatest fool whoever lived).
But this “That Washington is an OK college quarterback but no Nesbitt?”…omg he is quite possibly the very worst QB starting in ALL of college football… sure this game, that he lost, was his best game of all-time but he lost, he made THE stupid game deciding play and did nothing else that even approached average.
Mark, please don’t ever call CPJ a genius again.
macrotech
September 4th, 2012
4:54 pm
Redbull, more than likely, Supersize is on his way home from the game….I assure you that he’s not afraid to come back on here to support Tech…not ONLY is he a fan, but he’s an alumni that enjoyed his degree so much that he was able to retire early and enjoy the freedom that comes from such a great education.
yearofthedawg
September 4th, 2012
4:56 pm
I think Johnson is a good coach who will win more than he loses and take his teams to bowl games. Is there an expectation of more than that?
This offense will lose 2 games per year no matter the talent level because it will fall behind and isn’t built for catching up. And that assumes you get the athletes to run it, which is a so-far insurmountable challenge.
RICHARD
September 4th, 2012
4:56 pm
THE ONLY TEAMS JOHNSON BEATS IS CLEMSON,DUKE ,WAKE FOREST NORTH CAROLINA,HE CANT BEAT MIAMI,VIRGINIA GEORGIA,NC STATE ,VA TECH OH LSU,AIR FORCE,UTAH,IOWA.TAKE YOUR HIGH SCHOOL OFFENCE BACK TO GA SOUTHERN
GTBob
September 4th, 2012
4:58 pm
Maybe your defintion of terrible and mine are different. A .363 winning percentage is pretty bad.
Just to put this into further perspective, here are some other coaches in the same time period against ranked teams:
Mark Richt: 1-11 (.083)
Frank Beamer: 4-7 (.363)
Mack Brown: 3-8 (.272)
Bob Stoops: 5-9 (.357)
Jimbo Fisher: 2-5 (.285)
Should all of these coaches be fired?
RICHARD
September 4th, 2012
4:59 pm
BOTTOM LINE TO EVERYONE ON HERE.AND U HAVE TO ADMITT IT.VERY VERY WEAK TALENT.WASHINGTON COULD NOT START FOR ONE TEAM IN THE SEC.NO MATTER WHAT OFFENSE THEY RUN
Dooley
September 4th, 2012
5:02 pm
The TO experiment has been tried long enough and we can now say it is a failure at D1 college football. The TO works well in smaller schools but it has been shown that it cannot work against fast defensive linemen and linebackers.
Also, the QB situation at Tech is terrible. GT has not had a good QB since Goose. I do not understand why we cannot develop a QB. TW has not progressed whatsoever. It is the same pile of crap with the same flies on it!
DRad needs to send CPJ to closest Remax office so that we all can just move-on. This is getting ridiculous….
Keith C
September 4th, 2012
5:04 pm
Big Tech fan and alum here … I am sick of this coach. He continues to live in ‘08 and ‘09. Sure, dawgfan, the competition wasn’t the cream of the crop in those successful years, but the fact of the matter is the first two years were CPJ’s hey-day as Tech coach. 19-5 to start his Tech career. 14-16 since then. And now to dawgfan’s point, he has a pathetic showing in his biggest games. Why is he not on the hot seat? (Let’s not forget 0-1 in the ACC CG. Yes, I know what happened on the field. I still say we’re ACC champs of ‘09. But I am anti-CPJ, so for this argument, I go with his official record.)
The turning point came when, down 30-24 to UGA in 2009 and on the UGA 40-ish yard line with 1:30 to go, he passes 4 straight times. 4 straight incompletions. UGA fans remember it well, and I do too. Since then, we’ve seen nothing but this same kind of panic from CPJ countless times. Down 4 to VT with 7:30 left – we go to the air? When exactly ZERO receivers had caught a pass all night? 7:30 isn’t PLENTY of time to do what you say nobody can stop? Overtime – you go to the air with no clock working against you? RIDICULOUS! Let me guess, CPJ, you’re still too stubborn to see that the only person who stops your offense is you!
Isn’t Vad Lee supposed to be the ideal man for this offense? WHY IS HE ON THE BENCH?!?!?!?!
CPJ – you’re too stupid to realize this, but maybe if you play Lee the rest of the season, then that will buy you one more year because he is a freshman will need to take his lumps this year. If you stick with Tevin, you’ll win 7 games, you’ll waste Lee’s freshman year, he’ll struggle next year, and by that time, we’ll have another coach, another system, and Vad Lee will have transferred. I don’t care if he wants to be at Tech. Tech fans need to Rise Up (thus paying more attention to the Falcons) and put pressure on D-Rad to can this clown.
Defense – hats off to you. I’ll take 17 points given up to VT any day. An offense that “no one can stop” can easily score 18.
List Mama » Austin Peay-Virginia Tech Preview – Yahoo! Sports
September 4th, 2012
5:04 pm
[...] Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog) [...]
5150 UOAD
September 4th, 2012
5:09 pm
To HELL with you 1/2 Azz Tech fans calling out the players and coaches.
Domonique Noble
the crazy thing about last night is knowing how hard we’ve worked since last January.. putting in the extra work and effort to prepare for one game. going outside of our comfort zone to be able to handle any adversity we’ll be faced with. but this only why we fight so hard… so that whenever we get knocked down, we’re strong enough to get back up and fight some more. i wouldn’t wanna do this with anyone else other than the brothers on my team! #gtech
Just Stop
September 4th, 2012
5:14 pm
The season pretty much ended last night. Now they’re just playing for a bowl game, and probably not a decent bowl game at that.
Might as well sit Washington and go with the next in line. Better find a B back too.
Ugghhhhhhhhhhh. It’s tough being a Tech fan.
Mark
September 4th, 2012
5:15 pm
Sweeting woke up the sleeping Hokies with his stupid unsportsmanlike penalty in the 4th, just like we did last year with the punch to Logan’s head. We had both games in hand, had the momentum and the Hokies were lifeless. Then our defender wakes them up with a UGA-type play – stupid and juvenile. To make matters worse, then the same defender gets beat like a drum on a long pass – can’t back up the talk.
I was a big, big Johnson fan, but am quickly losing faith. He’s not putting the best players on the field and Washington’s inability to make the reads makes the offense impotent!
909
September 4th, 2012
5:18 pm
I think Paul Johnson should punch Mark Bradley in the face.
Moobs Johnson
September 4th, 2012
5:18 pm
Better get my bags packed….I feel a change coming!
Pitbull
September 4th, 2012
5:24 pm
A note to all of you Yellow Jackets out there:
I am now president of the Athens chapter of the Paul Johnson Fan Club.
You would not believe how the club is growing. We had to move the meetings from the IHOP to the Western Sizzlin because of the crowds.
We love Paul Johson in Athens. Don’t you guys ever fire him.
Ignor the fact that he cannot recruit at the 1A level. I mean face it, ever since Chan Gaileys players left, the only decent guys you have had are the ones that transferred in because they wanted to be closer to home – or were run off by their origional schools.
Yep, Paul Johnson will soon have Tech as the strongest 1AA team in America. You might even venture to schedule Georgia Southern without the fear of being beat.
We sort of look at Paul Johnson as the coaching equivalent of Reggie Ball at Tech. And you know how much we revere Reggie.
Reggie!!! Reggie!! Reggie!!
So you guys take good care of Paul Johnson because we want him in Atlanta for a loooong time.
Sincerely, your fellow Paul Johnson fans in Athens.
PS: Please do not refer to him as Paula Johnson. When he came to speak at our last club function we found him to be a very pleasant individual.
PSS: We have organized a fundraiser to pay for liposuction to get rid of those unsightly man boobs and may have enough money left over for a tummy tuck.
dawgfan
September 4th, 2012
5:33 pm
“Sounds like you are just butthurt because some GT fan trash talked you after the 2008 game. Take it like a man next time.”
I’ve actually had Tech fans talk trash to me after a LOSS. I remember walking to my car after the 2007 game through your little fraternity houses and a bunch of drunk dorks screaming “LSU!! LSU!!! LSU!!!” at me. It was by far and away the most pathetic and desperate thing I have ever seen out of any fan base in my entire life. Tech fans are an absolute disgrace.
Coach Hewitt...
September 4th, 2012
5:35 pm
2 – 6 in our last 8 games…2 – 7 vs division rivals VT & Miami…1 – 3 (soon to be 1-4) vs UGA…0 – 4 in low level bowl games… Oh yeah, we beat #5Clemson who WVU laid 70 on… Sheesh, SMMFH…
Coach Hewitt...
September 4th, 2012
5:37 pm
And yeah…the Orange Bowl is a lower level Bowl…FML…
Ramblingbuzz
September 4th, 2012
5:39 pm
Gtbob…….let me put it another way, if you want GT to be a midlevel ACC team, then Johnson is your man. However, if you want them to be a consistent top 25 team then they have to beat top 25 teams on a consistent basis. Of the other coaches you mention, how many of them does Johnson have a winning record against?
Stinger#1
September 4th, 2012
5:41 pm
Mark, Chan only had one recruiting class that was better than all of Paul Johnson’s according to Rivals. Tech is a better team than in the past, its just Virginia Tech was better by one play. And I know V Tech’s recruiting class was way better than GT’s and GT played up there with them. It looks like GT is heading in the right direction to me. Its just one game that to me showed a lot of improvement from last year. I think they were impressive Monday Night.
GTBob
September 4th, 2012
5:42 pm
It was by far and away the most pathetic and desperate thing I have ever seen out of any fan base in my entire life. Tech fans are an absolute disgrace.
And then you went over and showed them who’s boss, right? If you are going to make up stories at least make them interesting. Sounds like they trash talked you and you ran away. That doesn’t seem like a manly bulldog thing to do.
nick black
September 4th, 2012
5:47 pm
solid, if rather crushing, writeup, mark. well done.
go jackets! get it back.
GTBob
September 4th, 2012
5:49 pm
Gtbob…….let me put it another way, if you want GT to be a midlevel ACC team, then Johnson is your man.
What exactly do you expect out of a GT coach? If you expect to beat UGA every year, beat 75% of the ranked teams we play, and contend for BCS titles all the time then you are going to be pretty disappointed pretty much all of the time. Try to be a little realistic.
Pitbull
September 4th, 2012
5:50 pm
I think that if Georgia Tech gets a new coach it should be a Georgia Tech alumnus like Legendary Bill Curry.
Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Paul in NH
September 4th, 2012
5:54 pm
Could GT use better players? Who couldn’t but there seems to be a great deal of vitriol over 1 loss. I seem to recall the same kind of posts after GT lost to Miami in 2009. CPJ isn’t going anywhere.
One of the coaches last night inherited a team that went 10-1-1 with a Bowl victory under his predecessor and proceeded to go 2-9, 3-8, 6-4-1, 6-5, 5-6 and 2-8-1 before finally having a good season and playing in a bowl. His administration gave him time to turn things around and it seems to have worked out well.
BobbyDodd21/20
September 4th, 2012
5:55 pm
Repeating…you can NOT win most college games unless your total combined yardage is over 350….certainly 200 is not acceptable nor going to give many wins…ok, lets go beat up the church school…
UGA = Yawn
September 4th, 2012
5:57 pm
So well written Mark and I agree completely. We should have won 2 years ago at VT also – but, alas, lost. I wrote earlier that I wish I went to Duke – that way, the losses would be expected and we all wouldn’t get down. But I think coach has only 1 win versus VT and UGA since he came here …and no wins in bowls. Mediocre at best. How do you play so well the entire game then relax and let them go the length of the field in 44 seconds!? They never went that far in so short of time during the game – not even close. Just sad. GT is like the ‘born losers’ of college football or the ‘Rodney Dangerfield’ – always under achieving. What does DRAD use as a gage for success from a coach? Wins versus your #1 rival – can’t be that. Wins against your #1 ACC rival – can’t be that. Wins in bowl games – can’t be that. Someone, hopefully, DRAD, can tell us all so we can become enlightened.
GTBob
September 4th, 2012
6:08 pm
I wish I went to Duke – that way, the losses would be expected and we all wouldn’t get down.
You can just go root for Duke now. We won’t miss you. Its amazing seeing so many crybabies on here after a tough loss to a good team.
1990_Champs_GT
September 4th, 2012
6:09 pm
ACC Championship hopes? Lost. BCS Bowl hopes? Lost. Hopes of gaining some respect back this year? Lost.
But the hope that Johnson will be forced to use one of those straight-up-the-middle-drive-plays-that-go-nowhere out the door and back to the bush leagues will grow all season in the hearts of Tech fans.
Cdpridg
September 4th, 2012
6:13 pm
The fact that Gt was even in the game was and is a testament that there are no quality football programs in the ACC
Bill Lewis
September 4th, 2012
6:17 pm
Hi. My name is Bill Lewis.
I understand that you may be in the market for a new football coach.
GT Jackets
September 4th, 2012
6:20 pm
I am a Tech fan and I saw a few things that I liked about the offensive passing game last night. The slants and crossing routes were successful although the WR screens were ineffective. The D played well last night. They missed a few plays but who doesn’t in a game. As for my dislike of CPJ let’s try something different like develop a passing game that will ease up the running lanes. Coach the WR’s to run the routes hard and stay with them. Run the pitch to the wide side of the field and let some athletic ability kick in instead of the short side where when the holes close it turns into a loss. This was a loss that can be tagged on CPJ. The 2nd down play should’ve been a roll out or designed draw after the 1st down play that was ineffective. Washington was placed in a bad position on 3rd down with Bud Foster bringing the house, although he should have thrown it away.
Now UGA fans. We know that we have far less talent on our team and a high school offense and a “Smarter Than You” coach. So why is it that most of the games between GT and UGA are even close. Every year during CMR tenure you have had a Top 15 Recruiting class but very few Top 10 Finishes? You were a 38 pt favorite against Buffalo and only won by 22 points. Thanks for the change I made some cash but to blast GT when your season is young and untested is foolish. UGA should beat Tech 85% to 100% of the time based on recruiting but it does not happen that way. With the logic of UGA fans the game should be over after the 1st quarter but it almost always comes down to the end of the game.
Here are the results
November 29, 2003 Atlanta, GA Georgia 34–17
November 27, 2004 Athens, GA Georgia 19–13
November 26, 2005 Atlanta, GA Georgia 14–7
November 25, 2006 Athens, GA Georgia 15–12
November 24, 2007 Atlanta, GA Georgia 31–17
November 29, 2008 Athens, GA Georgia Tech 45–42
November 28, 2009 Atlanta, GA Georgia 30–24
November 27, 2010 Athens, GA Georgia 42–34
November 26, 2011 Atlanta, GA Georgia 31–17
Not really blowouts based on Recruiting stats
Year/UGA Ranking/GT Ranking
2012/12/56
2011/5/41
2010/15/43
2009/6/49
2008/7/49
2007/9/18
2006/4/57
2005/10/62
2004/9/79
2003/6/50
Based on Rankings and results GT is doing pretty good. Go Dawgs and live up to your high pre-season expectations and settle for the end results. And crow about how Great you are when you under-achieve at the end of the season. Wins are Wins and Losses are Losses but what if GT had your talent and UGA had the talent that GT has had? Who would be the victorous team then. For all of you who want to say UGA beats Tech then you are right. But if you look at the results based on talent then maybe you wont Crow as hard.
GT Lost to VT. UGA beat Buffalo. The results speak for themselves.
Brad in NY
September 4th, 2012
6:32 pm
Dooley is wrong. The biggest determinant of a game’s outcome is talent.
superDawg
September 4th, 2012
6:40 pm
gtbob dawgfan is correct about tek fans and if I were you I would be a little more humble and see the truth for what it is.However you are a tek fan so I understand!
westcoast techie
September 4th, 2012
6:46 pm
Looking at the glass half full, the one good thing about the game last night is that we didn’t expose our offensive game book. We really stayed vanilla in our in our play calling. I guess we didn’t want to show Presbyterian too much. Kidding aside, even the TV analyst said several times that Washington made some bad option reads in handing the ball to the B-back. For the most part, VT’s D-line just ate our O-lines lunch.
Honeycomb Uniforms
September 4th, 2012
6:49 pm
Those uni’s were indictative of the futility of playing like a winner…..