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Saturday, November 1, 2008
Taylor, Reid save the day
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia Tech played without three starters (RT David Brown, CB Jahi Word-Daniels and S Dominique Reese), then lost QB Josh Nesbitt to an ankle injury in the third quarter.
But the Jackets came up big all day long. Especially at the very end.
Cooper Taylor jarred the ball loose from FSU’s Marcus Sims as he ran toward the goal line, and Rashaad Reid recovered in the end zone for a game-saving touchback.
The final was Tech 31, FSU 28.
How about Jonathan Dwyer, running for 36- and 66-yard touchdowns?
How about freshman Nick Claytor? He made his first start filling in for Brown and cleared some big holes.
How about Roddy Jones? His 46-yard kickoff return got Tech going and he went over 100 all-purpose yards early in the second quarter.
How about Morgan Burnett? Four pass breakups. Did you see the hit he put on Greg Carr in the third quarter? Carr couldn’t hang on to a third-down catch, forcing an FSU punt.
How about Nesbitt? Zero turnovers, good reads, great command of the offense. The best he has looked all year.
What a wild first half: 422 yards of offense (222 by FSU, 200 by Tech).
FSU opened with an impressive drive. It was 3rd-and-8 from the Tech 9 when cornerback Michael Peterson, a redshirt freshman who hadn’t played much, shoved Greg Carr in the end zone and got called for pass interference.
The defense stood tall on first and second down, but on 3rd down from the 3, QB Christian Ponder scooted in for a touchdown.
It was the first time all season Tech had given up a first-quarter touchdown.
Roddy Jones jolted FSU with a 46-yard kickoff return, and Josh Nesbitt’s 30-yard strike to Jonathan Dwyer put the Jackets at the FSU 16. But Tech had to settle for a Scott Blair field goal.
It was 10-3 when CPJ went for it on 4th-and-1 from the FSU 33. Nesbitt got just enough for the first down.
Then A-back Marcus Wright showed his burst, taking an option toss 29 yards. Lucas Cox’s 1-yard run made it 10-10 early in the second.
After burning the Seminoles on the outside, Tech sent Dwyer up the middle. He ran untouched for 36 yards and the go-ahead TD.
The defense quickly got the ball back. Peterson tipped a slant route, and Cooper Taylor picked it off. His 28-yard return set up Greg Smith’s 4-yard TD run. Just like that it was 24-10.
Jermaine Thomas’ 62-yard run revived the Seminoles, who scored on Ponder’s 4-yard pass to Seddrick Holloway.
FSU added a 45-yard field goal before halftime, and it was 24-20.
Dwyer’s 66-yard TD run put the Jackets up 31-20, and Tech was driving again when Nesbitt got hurt.
Preston Parker’s 39-yard TD catch, and Carr’s 2-point conversion catch, made it 31-28 with 6:04 left. When Jaybo Shaw was intercepted, FSU had the ball at its own 41.
On 4th and 6 from the 45, the Seminoles converted with a 9-yard completion. Soon they were inside Tech’s 5.
Then Taylor and Reid saved the day.
As an added bonus for Tech, UVA lost earlier in the day. So the Jackets lead the Coastal Division at 4-2.
Who gets your game ball today?
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