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
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
236 comments Add your comment
Daddy D
September 4th, 2012
9:23 pm
Paul Johnson will never will big at GT. The best talent available for “big time” college football wants to play in the NFL and playing in a triple-option offense is not the best way to showcase that talent. End of story.
John
September 4th, 2012
9:25 pm
Well, if you can’t beat them just punch them in the nose.
AZED
September 4th, 2012
9:31 pm
the prevent defense or prevent win defense gives teams plenty of room
to move the football. the yellow jackets defense did ok for all but the last 44 seconds.
good old prevent win defense. the coaches call for this.
Paul in NH
September 4th, 2012
9:33 pm
TexGT
September 4th, 2012
8:06 pm
No, but beating a 7-5 FSU?
—-
FSU finished 9-4 in 2008 even with a loss to GT – meaning if they had won they would have finished 10-3. One of FSU’s other losses was to the Tebow-lead UF National Champion team. Yes – FSU was really down when GT beat them.
Burgess
September 4th, 2012
9:40 pm
There is no doubt that Paul Johnson’s best days have come and gone. His best days were coaching players that Chan Gailey recruited. Of course, Tech had to vacate that ACC championship because of Johnson’s arrogance (lying and refusing to cooperate with NCAA). There is no way that high school offense is going to win big. Hey Paul, tell us again how good you were at Georgia Southern.
Paul in NH
September 4th, 2012
9:42 pm
Ramblingbuzz
September 4th, 2012
8:53 pm
The great Paul Johnson experiment will end not this year but next after consecutive 7-6 seasons with 2 losses each to VT, Miami, Clemson, UVA, UGa and upsets by either NC, NC St or Duke.
—-
I’ll bet you as much money as you care to wager that GT will not lose a single game to NCSU in the next 2 years. Heck I’ll give you as many points as you care to require on that result.
Another game effort yields another galling Georgia Tech loss | Mark … « Feeds « Local News
September 4th, 2012
9:50 pm
[...] More from original source- Another game effort yields another galling Georgia Tech loss | Mark … Sponsor- Bob Burg- The Art of Persuasion- from Destiny Image Books- How to master the art of [...]
Ken
September 4th, 2012
9:51 pm
Anyone talking of wanting Coach Johnson to resign or get fired, you should be careful what you wish for. ask yourself the following question.
Coaching changes don’t always get you to the next level. I remember a time when UVA won 7-8 games a year (back when they only played 11) and was consistently in the hunt for the ACC title. Alumni got tired of a consistent winner, fired George Welsh and have basically been toiling in obscurity since. The same can be said for coaches like Ken Hatfield (Clemson), David Cutcliffe (Ole Miss), Bob Davie and Earle Bruce (tOSU). The list could grow, but the point is simply that changing coaches doesn’t guarantee a better outcome. In most cases it actually stunts the growth of the team people stability is the lifeblood of a program.
Just look at the team our Yellow Jackets played last night. Coach Beamer, considered one of the best in game today, was nearly run out of Blacksburg. Fans got tired of winning 6, 7, 8 games a year. He’s been at VPI for 26 seasons. How long did it take for him to build a consistent winner? The Hokies reached the national spoptlight in the late nineties then took off when they got Michael Vick 14 seasons after Frank Beamer took the job.
Fans also need to level set their expectations. If anyone believes the Yellow Jackets will ever compete year over year for national titles, they need to see a head shrink. The school is too limited and difficult to have such lofty expectations. If coach Johnson averages 8 wins, with the occasional 10 win season and competes for Coastal titles each year, is there really much more to expect? What I know is that his kids play hard, represent the school well and win a lot more than they lose. As an alumni, that is what I expect.
Sure I’d like a few more wins,especially against UGA/VPI/Bowl Games, but I also feel that Coach Johnson has forgotten more football than most of us have ever known and with support and stability, his kids can make us proud on and more importantly off of the football field.
Mike S.
September 4th, 2012
9:55 pm
I said this from day one…Johnson would have success with Gailey’s players, but never be able to recruit the same level of talent. Dwyer and Nesbitt were on record that, although they stayed, they would never have signed with Johnson out of college. They would have been at UGA or FSU or some other school Gailey out-recruited to get them.
Gailey was Tech’s Jim Donnan, a great recruiter who couldn’t necessarily coach them up. They needed to find their Richt who could get more out of the talent, not rip things up with a high school offense. This was a short-sighted hire to get a desperate win over UGA. Well, you got one, and it only cost you all the recruiting momentum Gailey built up. Dwyer and Nesbitt were part of a top 15 recruiting class from Gailey The 2008 class was projected top 15 until Gailey got fired and several left the class. Johnson has been lucky just to crack the top 30 if that.
Cdpridg
September 4th, 2012
9:56 pm
Those unis….absolutely wretched….
Mike S.
September 4th, 2012
9:58 pm
Also, even if Johnson had recruited better, he might win a couple more games a year at best. Teams would start to catch on to defending the option. His early success was partly due to the fact no one knew how to play him. Even so, a 7-win UGA team beat the 2009 team, and they got wiped out by Miami. Those two teams caught on quick, and others have followed suit.
Mike S.
September 4th, 2012
10:00 pm
Lets not forget Tech got utterly demolished in 2008 by a 7 win LSU team in the bowl game, then shut down by Iowa in the Orange Bowl the next year. Even with Dwyer and Nesbitt, Johnson’s offense struggled against teams that had more than a week to prepare for him.
Dubious
September 4th, 2012
10:02 pm
Just good enough to get you beat! Unbelievable that Tech’s coaches found a way to lose the game. A lot of arm tackles when squaring up was needed. Feels a lot like the 2006 ACC “Championship Game”– what might have been.
TechRon
September 4th, 2012
10:04 pm
Mark, you are 100% correct. PJ gets way too much credit for being “brilliant.” I don’t think he is brilliant at all. He is not smart enough to realize that his offense will not work against teams that are as big and strong as we are. If they are, they shut down the run. If they shut down the run, you must pass. If you must pass, you have to have a QB that can do that, and he does not have one. No one’s fault but his.
The Tech defense is bad and has been since he arrived. 0-4 in bowls should have gotten him fired, but the idiots in charge of the program give him a free pass. He is almost exactly what Chan Gailey was: Inadequate and uninspiring. Tech is no fun to watch and it is no wonder they don’t fill the seats. Somebody do something. We should have taken Oleary back when he was available.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose
September 4th, 2012
10:05 pm
Reading today’s blog posts I had a bad attack of deja vu
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/09/18/how-will-techs-johnson-handle-the-post-miami-scrutiny/
Mike S.
September 4th, 2012
10:07 pm
I have to honestly say, i think Paul Johnson is a quality person and overall a solid head coach in that he runs a clean program that will get you to a bowl game and properly prepare young men for life. He should be well respected for that part. He unfortunately runs a system that makes it difficult to win the games that will take the team to a level many Tech fans want to see it at.
I personally was upset because I knew Gailey was recruiting very well, and Tenuta was an excellent DC. It had nothing to do with Johnson himself. I wanted to see Tech get a pro-style guy who could recruit just as well and was better at the X’s and O’s than Gailey and his staff.
GB's Hamburgers
September 4th, 2012
10:14 pm
I’m a UGA fan but I’m thinking the glass is half full here instead of half empty. They had a good team beaten but *@#& happens and it did Monday night. I don’t think it’s a systemic problem … just an unfortunate aberration.
flagboy?
September 4th, 2012
10:20 pm
Va tech didn’t look that sharp. The big QB wasn’t on either. And what the heck Va tech was doing in that 2 minute offense with those 2 throws to the sideline before the 4th and 4?? If Va tech loses that game, their coaching staff has some SERIOUS questions to answer.
With that said. . . tech lost. The defense played well enough to win. you give up 17 points, you figure you should win.
DawgNole
September 4th, 2012
10:30 pm
GTBob
September 4th, 2012
4:17 pm
Paul Johnson is 1-3 against UGA. Just saying!
What should he be vs UGA?
_____________________
0-4
Goober
September 4th, 2012
10:37 pm
CPJ can take yor’n and beat hissn’, but he can’t take hissn’ and beat yor’n. Therein lies the problem.
At best, Tech is laden with 2 stars… but probably mostly 1 stars. That’s not going to work. CPJ didn’t have to play against Top 30 teams at the Academy… now he does, but he either can’t or won’t recruit. Radokovich has a tough decision to make.
BS Patrol
September 4th, 2012
10:37 pm
And what’s that coming out of the woodwork? Could it be…….DOGGIES?
Buzz2011
September 4th, 2012
10:55 pm
Another ” galling” and rather stupid Bradley report.’GT went to Charlotteville and lead the
#16 ranked team with less than a minute left tp play. GT has many more games and regardless of what Bradley may lead you to believe the Jackets are far from done. Had Bradley researched, he would have noted that Va Tech has a much tougher schedule than GT for the balance of the season. You will hear more from the Jackets this year. I had rather hear nothing else from Bradley.. Secondly, if CPJ needs your input he will call you Bradley..
George Castanza
September 4th, 2012
11:03 pm
If Tech can step up the recruiting a bit they will be fine
Rick James
September 4th, 2012
11:18 pm
I think that a lot of Georgia fans would agree with me that Tech needs to extend Paul Johnson’s contract.
Chan
September 4th, 2012
11:20 pm
At least I brought in the talent before you ran me off for this podunk offense. Just wait until Duke puts up 28 on you all and Virginia lays another 37 points on an average defense.This 6-6 season was on the horizon the last two years with GT’s average recruiting.
LakeDawg
September 4th, 2012
11:22 pm
Recruiting is killing Tech. They can’t compete with the likes of UF, UGA, BAMA, et al. But they don’t need to in the ACC. They are getting nobody! Except 3 or 4 decent 3 stars for D that can be developed. The O is getting 2 star and low 3 star players. The occasional good O player they get is a talented athlete that played QB in HS and Tech is the only team that will let them play QB on the collegiate level. Even Vandy is out recruiting them. They’ve fallen to the level of a good Conference USA team in recruiting.
GTBob
September 5th, 2012
12:00 am
Actually 4-7 record against top 25 teams IS terrible.
Then most college coaches are terrible.
GTBob
September 5th, 2012
12:01 am
0-4
Exactly. You proved my point.
GTBob
September 5th, 2012
12:12 am
GT Bob, that means you are fine with mediocrity.
I am not fine with mediocrity, I am fine with letting a coach attempt to build something. GT traditionally is not a powerhouse football school. Expecting them to turn into one just all of the sudden is madness.
GTBob
September 5th, 2012
12:13 am
They’ve fallen to the level of a good Conference USA team in recruiting.
We have fallen there? GT has always been that bad.
fan
September 5th, 2012
12:17 am
the chop blockers are now using their fist on the quarterback when they tackle…very typical for the blowflys.
KJ
September 5th, 2012
1:02 am
“We should have taken Oleary back when he was available.”
He’s had a few years to work on his resume; I’ll bet it looks fantastic by now.
Blip7
September 5th, 2012
2:46 am
Tech wins 8, gets blown out by Ga, loses another minor bowl somewhere in the west. It never changes.
BudGT
September 5th, 2012
5:05 am
I am a die hard GT fan and have been for more then 30 years….I have to agree with dawgfan and several others here. CPJ is 8-14 against the schools that matter VT, UGA, UM, Clem., UVA and he is 0-4 in bowl games. All I hear is how great CPJ is and that in his first four years he is the winningest coach in GT history well yeah when you have two wins against SCS, MTSU, to only mention a couple. I have thought from day 1 that this was a bad hire and his record against the mentioned teams shows it.
Yes, he has won some games against good teams but look at that season and see what kind of team they had at the time. The 3O is a joke to run on a regular basis and it is being proven time and time again. No excuse what so ever for GT to have lost that game with VT having an offense that bad on the field. The blame for this game goes square on this vaunted offense because the defense had to play with a short field almost all night.
Mike
September 5th, 2012
5:32 am
Those of you criticizing the triple option do not know what you are talking about. GT had a worse record when we ran Gailey’s pro style offense. The offense is far better now. It is only the first game. Just relax.
ramblingbuzz
September 5th, 2012
7:32 am
Paul in NH…………….”I’ll bet you as much money as you care to wager that GT will not lose a single game to NCSU in the next 2 years. Heck I’ll give you as many points as you care to require on that result.”
Hey Buddy, I think you missed my point. I predicted 7-6 seasons this year and next, and you don’t argue with that. You want to qubble over who GT will lose to. NC St. is not as bad as they looked aginst UT Glennon will pick apart Tech’s secondary like a Thanksgiving turkey with a few bombs thrown in for good measure. UT will surprise a few teams this year. The Dwags better not take them lightly.
Mr. Phoenix
September 5th, 2012
7:42 am
I, for one, thought the Jackets did pretty darn good against the #16 ranked team. All the talk of throwing CPJ under the bus is coming mostly from the haters.
The defence, I thought did a good job keeping their QB off balance. You know there was another team playing against GT, it wasn’t like GT was playing a scrub team. VT is hard to beat in Blacksburg.
Bradley’s just looking to stir the pot. He knows he can always rely on the UGA fan base to come through for him.
dirty dawg
September 5th, 2012
7:44 am
The VT loss hurt for sure. But the loss was not PJ’s. I thought the team looked pretty good in such a hostile place. For all of you wanting to sack Johnson-you don’t know the first thing about football. That tech has lesser rated players is a fact but not due to the triple option. The simple fact is that there are not that many great players out there wanting to take on Tech’s academic program. We either lower the bar or we can expect to see repeat 7 and 8 win seasons. i say keep the standards high and stick with Johnson-no one know football any better than him.
Reality
September 5th, 2012
7:48 am
VT was GT’s most difficult opponent. We can still go 11-1 this year, but 10-2 is more realistic with a loss to Miami or Clemson. Go Jackets!!
dick whiskey
September 5th, 2012
7:58 am
paul “mr personality”johnsons triple option sure has created a buzz for the upcoming season aint it,sure the stands will be packed for the thriller against the mighty blue hose’s this sat.,reminds me of the old tech football joke, guy calls tech ticket office on sat morn says needs 200 ticket’s for todays game for company outing, guys tells ticket agent no chance right,ticket agent says got you covered no problem,guy says great what time does game start, ticket agent says well what time can you be here
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR
September 5th, 2012
8:38 am
I think the only thing saving CPJ this year is IF he beats UGAG. After watching the game, this team has 7-5, 6-6 written all over it with another mediocre bowl loss.
Ken
September 5th, 2012
9:01 am
Unbelievable!
It boggles the brain to see how so many folks would dump on Coach Johnson so quickly.
To those who question coach Johnson’s recruiting, please keep the following in mind. Recruiting classes are ranked based on total stars, not averages, so, if your class has only 15-18 kids, the chances of being a top 20 class is small. Coach Johnson red-shirts a good number of kids which means he doesn’t have as many scholarships available which means he would need a class full of 4-5 star kids to make the top 20. That won’t ever happen, and why??? Basic numbers. How many 4-5 Star guys are there? Not too many and rarely will they go to Tech, regardless of the coach. But if you are worried about Coach Johnson’s recruiting take a look at the last two classes and the one he is putting together now. highly ranked kids along both lines of scrimmage, 2 different 4 star quarterbacks and a stable of fast play makers at linebacker. Chan Gailey didn’t start recruiting well until his sixth class (how were those classes from 2002-2006) and even the vaunted class of 2007 only had 4 top ranked kids, with the quarterback, Josh Nesbit really only finding success in the option offense.
I remember not too long ago there were a couple of teams, both currently in the ACC, that were mulling over whether or not to bring in a new head coach. One of them fired a guy who consistently won 7-8 games per year (back when they only played 11 w/o a championship game) and they are still struggling to find consistent success. The other decided to stay the course and now they are a perennial 10 win team. Both teams were from Virginia. UVA fired George Welsh and VPI stuck with Frank Beamer. Which team is better off today?
A prediction
September 5th, 2012
9:02 am
Boone will be the next address (when, don’t know but the mountaineer coach is getting old) for PJ.
"Give me the damn ball" - Orwin Smith
September 5th, 2012
9:24 am
I wish old jowels would explain to Tech fans why his best athelete on offense and possibly defense only carried the ball 4 times…. It’s amazing to me that Orwin wasn’t given more opportunities on the ground in this game.. there was plenty of time before his shoulder to give him more carries. Al Groh had the defense cooking and where was that powerful offense…. Tevin should be benched he doesn’t have enough speed for the option… not to mention that god for saken last offensive play Tech had… It was the next worst thing to throwing the ball out of bounds on fourth down “Tevin Reggie Washington Ball” ladies and gentlemen…. Is Vad Lee rotting on the bench or what???
robodawg
September 5th, 2012
9:38 am
Yeah, Va Tech was a tough draw to open the season, but it’s too soon to jump ship. They could still lose 2 and GT could very well run their ACC table. The Jacket defense was undermanned and still looked like the best it’s been under CPJ. And Bud Foster’s defense was one of the best you’ll face all year.
Ken
September 5th, 2012
9:46 am
For all of the folks clamoring for Vad Lee, let me ask a simple question…
How many quarterbacks at ANY program, start their first game as a Freshman, red-shirt or otherwise?
Answer: Not many. And when they do, it’s typically because NOONE on the team has any experience due to a coaching change, kids leaving early for the NFL, etc. Matt Stafford didn’t start his first game, neither did Tim Tebow or even Peyton Manning. Expect to see Days and Lee play some this week and based on those performances, we will probably see some more time sans-Washington moving forward.
Throwing a youngster into Lane Stadium, on National TV is not putting him in the best situation for success.
ToeMeetsLeather
September 5th, 2012
9:55 am
Thanks for the classy post “robo”. Bottom line, we win both this game and the Utah bowl game if Louis Young doesn’t sell his UGA tickets and has to sit out. Then everyone is singing CPJ’s praises. I do find it ironic that we sit a player for selling tickets and Beamer runs a felon out their to kick the ball for the tie and the win. I have no respect for the Hokie program and never will.
George
September 5th, 2012
10:01 am
George Welch retired after a long distinguished career. Al Groh was fired. Virginia’s program is on the upswing and after the 2013 recruiting class is finalized they will be almost equal to VT in talent. They are way ahead of GT in QB talent.
If GT had hired Cutcliffe rather than Johnson, they would be a Top 20 team right now. Most 3&4 star high school players don’t want to play in the podunk triple option.
Wake up techies
September 5th, 2012
10:15 am
Bradley is right – GT needs more better players.
The game was close because of what VT did and didn’t do more so than what GT did or didn’t do.
GT scored because the VT freshman punter let the ball go between his hand – all VT not GT
VT kicker missed a 38 yard FG – all VT not GT
VT OB had a terrible night – all VT not GT.
GT will now go on a run against the likes of Presbyterian and all the nerds will be shouting from the roof tops – we ran for 5,000 yards – nobody can stop us.
GT was lucky that VT was not clicking least the entire nation would have witnessed a complete domination over the Trade School.
GTBob
September 5th, 2012
10:17 am
NC St. is not as bad as they looked aginst UT Glennon will pick apart Tech’s secondary like a Thanksgiving turkey with a few bombs thrown in for good measure.
I don’t think you fully understood the meaning behind Paul in NHs comment.