AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2008 > September > 06
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Breakthrough in Boston
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This game was there for the taking, and Tech finally took it.
In the end B.C. wore down, not Tech. The Eagles were spent after chasing QB Josh Nesbitt around all day.
The Jackets were fortunate to trail only 9-7 after a first half in which they lost three fumbles.
Tech returned the favor in the third quarter, getting two picks and a fumble. But they couldn’t capitalize. Three times the Jackets got the ball in B.C. territory. They came away with three points — total.
Finally, after Vance Walker’s fourth-quarter safety made it 16-12, Nesbitt scrambled on third down to keep a drive alive. Then came the big one: a pitch to Jonathan Dwyer and he was gone, 43 yards untouched down the right sideline.
The defense, which was on the field a lot, repeatedly kept B.C. out of the end zone. On 4th-and-6 with under four minutes left, B.C. QB Chris Crane was pressured by Walker and threw high, giving Tech the chance to seal it.
Which the Jackets did, thanks to Nesbitt’s sneak on 4th-and-inches with 1:55 left.
So Paul Johnson becomes the first Tech coach to win his ACC opener.
How impressed are you?
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Gameday Tidbits
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reading the pre-game coverage in Boston, a few things jump out:
BC coach Jeff Jagodzinski doused footballs in a bucket of water before using them in practice this week. Chance of rain: 90 percent in the morning, 70 percent at kickoff.
Eagles QB Chris Crane — who ran for 2 TDs but threw for just 106 yards last week in his first start since taking over for Matt Ryan — sounds like he’s itching to air it out more. He threw 18 passes last week, completing 12. Understandably, coaches didn’t want to ask him to do too much. If B.C. opens it up more in Week 2, that means more chances for Morgan Burnett. The Tech safety picked off two in the opener.
Listen to the way Eagles LB Mark Herzlich (8 tackles, 1 INT against Kent State) described preparing for CPJ’s offense:
“If you are assigned to cover the pitch, you can’t be looking at what the QB is doing, it goes against your natural instincts of how you always played the game, which is to simply follow the ball,” he told the Boston Globe. “….We have to forget what we’ve learned about playing the game and just concentrate on our assignments. This is different because if you miss the assignment, there is no one backing you up because the other players are working on their own assignments.”
Today we finally start learning the answer to the question that’s been talked about for months: how will CPJ’s offense work against a top-flight ACC defense?
One game won’t say anything definitive. But I can’t wait to watch that matchup.
What matchup are you most interested to see?
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