AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > October > 02 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWill Tech need Nesbitt to beat Duke?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Five burning questions as we head into the weekend:
1. Will Georgia Tech need Josh Nesbitt to beat Duke?: Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has announced that freshman Jaybo Shaw will start at quarterback against Duke on Saturday. Shaw can run the offense well and technically he is very sound. Shaw will get the ball to the right man at the right time. But if things get tight at Bobby Dodd Stadium will we see Josh Nesbitt, who suffered a pulled hamstring on Sept. 20, come off the bench to help win the game? With Nesbitt the Yellow Jackets have another home run hitter (along with Jonathan Dwyer) out of the option offense. And the home run is the thing that the improving Duke defense (No. 5 in the ACC at 16.3 ppg) fears the most in this game. With Gardner-Webb coming up next week, I’m sure coach Paul Johnson would love to get through this game and not have to use Nesbitt. Then he should be in good shape for the trip to Clemson on Oct. 18.
2. Can Nick Stephens make any difference in the Tennessee offense? There is clearly a lack of communication between Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton and new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson. Either Clawson is not coaching him up or Crompton is not listening. Based on what I have seen in four games, it’s probably both. Crompton continues to make fundamental mistakes that a fourth-year quarterback should not make. So Crompton needs to sit down and let Stephens, a redshirt sophomore from Flower Mound, Tex., take a shot. Tennessee can afford to shake things up against a Northern Illinois team that will be without its starting quarterback, Chandler Harnish, who continues to be sidelined with a foot injury. If Stephens can’t get it done, at least Crompton has had the benefit of watching for a while and will feel a sense of urgency. Remember last season when some Tennessee fans were so critical of Erik Ainge? They sure miss him now. They also miss OC David Cutcliffe, who really knows how to coach quarterbacks from the neck up, which is where Crompton’s issues appear to be.
3. What will the Auburn offense look like?: Coach Tommy Tuberville is stepping in and exerting some influence on the Auburn offense, which is struggling in the spread formation of new OC Tony Franklin. Tuberville reminded reporters this week that the Tigers are running “The Auburn offense, not Tony Franklin’s offense.” Translation: Auburn is going to go back to the power running attack using a fullback and a tight end. Tuberville realizes after five games that he just doesn’t have the personnel to do what Franklin wants to do and, quite honestly, the jury is still out on whether or not this offense will work against the faster, deeper defenses in the SEC. Auburn is going against a good defensive team in Vanderbilt and cannot afford turnovers. This offense also puts a lot on the quarterback and neither Chris Todd nor Kodi Burns is setting the woods on fire. It will be interesting to see what Auburn’s offense does against the Commodores.
4. Will Florida put a big number on Arkansas?: After losing to Ole Miss in The Swamp, Florida has dropped out of the Top 10. Tim Tebow has apologized to the world. Fans are questioning the play calling. The look on Urban Meyer’s face has gotten a little sterner, if such a thing is possible. In short, Arkansas has picked the wrong week to play the Gators. Arkansas has given up 101 points in its last two games against Alabama and Texas. And given all the weapons Florida has, the Gators could roll up a lot of points as well. Florida needs a boost to its psyche and the Arkansas defense is so bad that Meyer will have to substitute liberally just to hold the score down. I don’t think he’ll choose to do that. I think he and Gators take out their frustrations on the Hogs. It could be ugly.
5. Will Kenny McKinley go the distance against Ole Miss?: South Carolina has the nation’s No. 1 defense but the offense is 89th, averaging 21.4 points per game. A big part of the problem has been play at quarterback so expect Stephen Garcia to get significant snaps even if he doesn’t start. But the Gamecocks have also missed Kenny McKinley of Mableton, their big-play wide receiver. McKinley, who has a chance to be South Carolina’s all-time leading receiver, has been out for a month with a bad hamstring. Without McKinley, South Carolina has not been able to stretch opposing defenses. With 162 career catches, McKinley needs eight more plus 299 receiving yards to pass Sterling Sharpe on South Carolina’s all-time list. He has practiced the past two days and will suit up for the game in Oxford. He will play but will the hamstring allow him to go the distance?
Comments
By USC Gamecock
October 2, 2008 8:30 AM | Link to this
USC will beat the rebs in Oxford; vandy will lose to aubarn; and we all wish the gators would get beat by the hogs…
GO C0CKS! beat ole miss in oxford on GAMECOCK Saturday…..
USC will be 4-2, 1-2 SEC after Saturday.
By RAMBLE ON!!!
October 2, 2008 8:45 AM | Link to this
Nesbitt rest for the entire game.
Tenneessee is the worst team in the SEC East.
Auburn goes down against Vandy.
Who can’t put up big numbers against Ark.?
By ChattHills Jacket
October 2, 2008 8:55 AM | Link to this
By Ryno
October 2, 2008 9:05 AM | Link to this
Phire Phil now. Sit Crompton now. No, wait. Leaving Crompton in could be the thing that gets Phil phired. Look for only 75,000 in the stands for N. Illinois. That ought to get AD Mike Hamilton’s attention. Bring us Chris Petersen from Boise St. or Will Muschamp or Lane Kiffin or Butch Davis or Paul Johnson. Let’s get the names out there right now.
By joe
October 2, 2008 10:11 AM | Link to this
By all means UT needs a change at QB…with decent play back there, they would most likely be 3-1 instead of 1-3…
By CW
October 2, 2008 11:05 AM | Link to this
If Jonathan Dwyer and D Thomas play as well as they have to date, Jaybo Shaw will have a big day and Tech can rest Nesbitt. Shaw may not have quite the big play explosiveness that Nesbitt has and he may not be able to break tackles like Nesbitt, but he is more than capable of making sure that Tech exploits whatever Duke’s defense gives them. More important than what happens on the offensive side of the ball is can Tech’s defensive line contain and pressure Thaddeus Lewis to prevent him from carving up our pass defense. If he gets loose on the corners, it will be a long day for our D.
By Blue Fox
October 2, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this
Jaybo will pitchfork the Dukies, Nesbitt will be able to recuperate for the real test, Clemson at Death Valley. Duke has not faced a defense like ours, they won’t be able to ourscore Tech the way they did Navy.
By BigDaddy
October 2, 2008 12:19 PM | Link to this
As a Vandy fan I pray that Tubs stays with the spread at least one more week.
By Karl
October 2, 2008 12:20 PM | Link to this
[Q]uite honestly, the jury is still out on whether or not [Auburn’s new spread] offense will work against the faster, deeper defenses in the SEC.
Oh, please. Can we quit it with this canard?
Players win games, not schemes. We heard over and over this offseason about how Paul Johnson’s spread option offense wouldn’t work in the ACC, and yet it’s performed adequately despite the fact the QB and OL play hasn’t been all that great.
Auburn probably shouldn’t have changed from the power running game to a toss-it-around, spread scheme. But their problems aren’t because SEC defenses are too fast for the scheme to work. Instead, it’s all about players. They don’t have a QB who can make the reads quick enough to avoid getting sacked.
It would be as if Texas Tech dropped their current scheme and went to a power running game out of the “I”. Would it work? Probably not. Would the reason be becasue Big 12 defenses are too strong and too tough to run on? No, of course not. It would be because Texas Tech was built to throw the ball around. Just like the current Auburn team was built to run the ball. We can’t properly judge this scheme until Tuberville gets the proper personnel to run it.
But then again I’m sure Barnhart was one of those guys who thought Spurrier was nuts when he brought the Fun-n-Gun to Florida.
By Sting Attack
October 2, 2008 1:00 PM | Link to this
No, we won’t need Nesbitt for this game. Jaybo will continue to look very sharp with our offense becoming more and more explosive. Save Josh for Clemson.
By Tech beats Duke
October 2, 2008 1:11 PM | Link to this
NO, Ga.Tech does not need Nesbitt to beat Duke. If they protect the ball & stay healthy, lots of 2nd & 3rd teamers will see playing time b/c the Jackets will dominate Duke in all phases.
I’ve been saying before the season that the O runs better with Jaybo at QB! I only needed 1 practice, and 2 Sat. scrimmages to see that glaring truth. Yes, Josh Nesbitt is faster, and has a stronger arm; however, I believe Shaw is more accurate with his passes. He also makes better reads, fakes, and distribution of the ball.
Three weeks ago many people were saying Miss St. might have the best D the Jackets will have faced through their 1st 4 games — Jaybo did quite well in that game; 4 TD plays of 20+ yards.
Nugget the Jackets have 9 TDs this season of 20+ yards. Last year they 11 the entire season (in Gailey’s pro-style approach)!
Again, take care of the ball & stay healthy, and I believe the Jackets tie or break the 20+ yard TD plays from last season in the first half.
By David
October 2, 2008 1:25 PM | Link to this
Cutcliffe coached Crompton for the last 2 years. I think the problem lies with the QB, not the QB coach.
By Dweyer Isnt hurt?
October 2, 2008 2:15 PM | Link to this
Dweyer is out? Says who?
By OldGold
October 2, 2008 2:25 PM | Link to this
GO Jackets!
By AUtiger
October 2, 2008 4:05 PM | Link to this
No comments today? Really?
By Don
October 2, 2008 4:13 PM | Link to this
C’mon Tony, Jaybo is just as good as a QB as Nesbitt, if not better!
By TrueCrimson
October 2, 2008 6:05 PM | Link to this
RE: 1) It’s hard to hit home runs with a pulled hamstring.
RE: 2) Put him in Coach!
RE: 3) When has Coach Tommy Tuberville not stepped in and exerted influence on the Auburn offense? Could that explain why he burns through so many Offensive Coordinators?
If the Tony Franklin System™ won’t work at Auburn, then the obvious question becomes: Can Franklin be fired without Tubby leading the way out the gate?
RE: 4) After the beat-downs that the Razorbacks have endured for the past 2 weeks, even Tennessee could hang 50 points on them.
RE: 5) The only way that South Carolina will ever settle on a single Quarterback is if the Head Ball Coach suits up and takes the field. I don’t think that he has any eligibility left.
RTR!!!
By SC Rules!!!
October 2, 2008 6:52 PM | Link to this
It seems to me that Coach Tuberville is making a mistake trying to change Offensive philosphies mid stream. I’m sure the press/fan griping is part of this but he needs to remember he has built this program from day one to be a run first throw second mindset. Just like the Cornholers had to learn to pass vs run AU is going to take time to adjust and part of that is bringing in a different type of recruit. If he isn’t willing to make that commitment then he shouldn’t have started this in the first place. I thought it was odd that he was willing to make such a radical change from what was working to something that may have been shiny and new looking but wasn’t suited for the players in uniform. Time will tell.
Shane#1, Howdy pard! How’s things?? I hear that #24 has some sort of elbow trouble now?? Will this keep him out long?? Word has it that the Trojans are ordering extra ambulances for the game they expect to be sending several Ducks to the hospital. Later!!!
By Don2
October 2, 2008 6:55 PM | Link to this
Don get a grip. Jaybo may be more polished than Nesbitt right now running the offense but I bet defenses out there are hoping they can make Jaybo have to throw the ball. He has a noodle arm that has a lot of DBs licking their chops watching film of those wounded ducks he threw against MSU.
By TrueCrimson
October 2, 2008 7:28 PM | Link to this
SC Rules,
Have you watched Auburn play this year? They do need to do something. The “War Spread Eagle” Offense is a dud.
That said, the Offense last year wasn’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard. I understand why Tubby felt the need for a change, but this one was pretty extreme. I think he bit off more than he could chew. The problem is that he doesn’t have the personnel to run any kind of Offense.
Auburn has a solid Defense and they have won a lot of games just by preventing the opponent from scoring. A “big play” Offense is not helpful to an oppressive Defense. You need an Offense that can play field position and ball control to keep your Defense rested and avoid putting them in short field positions. It’s no big deal if they don’t score much — so long as they score more than the other team.
Some are beginning to speculate whether Tubby wants out without having to pay his buyout to Auburn. Would he hire Tony Franklin just to commit employment suicide?
Hmmm?
By Lee11
October 2, 2008 8:14 PM | Link to this
Auburn might run some I formation on short downs but it’s going to still be the spread 95% of the time. I don’t know where Tony got his info but he’s dead wrong on this one.
By Glenn 71
October 2, 2008 8:15 PM | Link to this
1 Not unless the Duke defense is better than the Miss St. defense was 2 weeks ago. Do you believe (or willing to admit believing) that Duke’s defense is better than any defense in the SEC? 2 Doesn’t matter this week. UT should beat NIU easily, if they lose, Fulmer is gone. 3 It won’t look good. Winner in this game has <10 points unless special teams score or turnovers lead to easy scores. Does anyone really believe Auburn is really a top 25 team? Other than being a member of the SEC (apparently enough in some voter’s eyes), what have done to deserve being there? 4 Yes. This is a no brainer. 5 Who knows? The home team wins this one.By ga_tech_92
October 2, 2008 8:29 PM | Link to this
Jackets Sting ‘em!!!!!
THWG!!
By Mikey
October 2, 2008 9:38 PM | Link to this
By TrueCrudsin: “Some are beginning to speculate whether Tubby wants out without having to pay his buyout to Auburn. Would he hire Tony Franklin just to commit employment suicide? Hmmm?”
No one is speculating that. CTT leaving Auburn is nothing but a loser bammer’s dream…
By Don
October 2, 2008 9:43 PM | Link to this
Don2………..we will see how well things work out with Jaybo this weekend. then we will see who is correct
By Old GT Nut
October 2, 2008 9:49 PM | Link to this
Only a direct meteorite hit on Bobby Dodd Stadium Stadium will keep this game from being a complete slaughter by GT.
By ReggieAU
October 2, 2008 10:01 PM | Link to this
I don’t care if it is Tommy Tuberville or Terry Bowden coaching Auburn. The bottom line is you better get your players to perform, or you need to get lost. Tommy Tuberville is constantly underachieving and Auburn seems to never get over the hump. Pat Dye had a better passing attack than Tuberville has ever had. Remember those dominant 87-89 teams. Pat Sullivan was the offensive coordinator then and Auburn finally opened up the passing game with much success. A loss to up and coming Alabama this year might seal Tubby’s fate. It should, ecspecially considering how long they have been “down”. Get it together or get gone.
By TrueCrimson
October 3, 2008 12:24 AM | Link to this
Mikey,
Tubby’s fate was discussed on sports talk radio today. I’m not making it up. The last thing that I want to see is Tubby leaving Auburn. We owe him some payback. He’s a classless little jerk and I’d like to see him get his thumb shoved up his hiney.
As for the upcoming changes in the Auburn offense: That comes straight from Tubby’s mouth.
By T
October 3, 2008 6:10 AM | Link to this
Prediction: Georgia WILL NOT get beat this weekend.
By T-Bone
October 3, 2008 7:24 AM | Link to this
Paul Johnson has a wonderful dilemma in Shaw vs. Nesbitt. Josh is certainly the better athlete—bigger and faster. But Jaybo runs that offense like a good point guard. He knows just when to hold it, when to give it, and when to dish it. They are probably about even in passing skills (Calvin probably has a better arm).
So let’s find a way to get both of them their touches, maybe even put them in at the same time.
Tech will not be tested by Duke. They will win 34-17.
As for the rest of Tony’s points, it doesn’t matter. They’re just about the SEC.
By Fleischman
October 3, 2008 7:24 AM | Link to this
There will be another blackout this weekend in Athens! Sic em woo woo
By TrueCrimson
October 3, 2008 8:03 AM | Link to this
I’m not an ACC guy, but from an outsider perspective I would say this: Duke appears to be to the ACC what Vandy is to the SEC this year.
This game has all of the trappings (pardon the pun) of a classic trap game. This is not the Duke team that you might expect. I wouldn’t take them too lightly. Tech has been playing well and that puts a bit of a target on their backs. I would give Duke the edge in motivation for this game.
That said, the Jackets probably have the Devils out-manned at every position. If they take this game seriously, they should be fine. I wouldn’t be shocked if Duke keeps it close — especially in the first half.
By shane #1
October 3, 2008 8:16 AM | Link to this
1- I am not quite ready to anoint Duke as an ACC power. I think Techs D could win the game with me at QB. Well, that may be stretching things a bit, let’s just say that Tech could win this one with ol’ Reggie back there. 2- What would help UT would be to play to their strengths, which is a veteran line and two good RBs. The “Clawfense” relies on the QB and mulitple WR formations and is confusing to inexperenced QBs. This would be a good game to change things. UT needs to “dumb down” the offense, run the ball more and give whoever starts at QB some short passes and some screen passes to build his confidence. Fulmer knows how to play this brand of football and needs to take over the playcalling if Clawson doesn’t improve. 3- Tubbs is obviously unhappy with the production of AU’s offense, for him to state publickly that it is not Franklin’s offense but AU’s offense does not bode well for Franklin, or Auburn. The offense should be Franklin’s, as long as he is OC. If Tubbs is going to run the O then CTF needs to go, otherwise we could see divided loyalties amoung the Plainsmen. 4- Ho hum, Meyer is po’ed, what else is new? Yes he will run up the score, yes he will keep Tebow and Harvin in the game too long. Even Arky has some big, fast, defenders and Tebow will take more pounding that is not necessary. If I were Meyer I would be sweating bullets every time Tebow takes a snap with a big lead late in a game. All it takes is one 300lb lineman to fall on his legs the wrong way and UF’s season is down the tubes. Why not give the other QBs somr reps in case they are needed against LSU or UGA? 5- Kenny’s return will certainly help but I don’t see his being out as the main problem with the Gamecocks. The problem is Smelly’s inconsistant play. That has to drive Spurrier crazy, because the guy has talent, but SOS never knows how he is going to play. If he was consistant one way or the other then Spurrier could scheme around him, but one day he throws like Joe Montana, the next day he can’t hit the ground with his helmet! I don’t think Spurrier cares at this point how good Garcia is, as long as he is consistant and plays within himself. At least that would allow SOS to come up with a gameplan.