AJC > Sports > Tech > Blog > Archives > 2007 > November > 14
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Between Duke and UNC
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Duke
Well…we won 41-24…but it shouldn’t have been that close honestly.
The Blue Devils picked up 21 points on a fumble return, a blocked punt (converted into a TD), and a 64 yard bomb. The defense held a hapless Duke offense to 146 yards of total offense.
We can’t give up 64 yard bombs to UNC or UGA the next two weeks and expect to win. Both are better teams than Duke…by a large margin.
Offensively we scored 41 points but once again the passing game struggled and we squandered excellent field position on more than one ocassion.
Consider the following:
GT gets the ball at the Duke 17. We move to their 11 and kick a field goal.
GT gets the ball at the Tech 47. We move to Duke’s 46 and punt.
GT gets the ball at the Duke 37. We move back to their 40 and punt.
GT gets the ball at the Duke 49. We stall at their 15 and kick a field goal.
GT gets the ball at the Duke 47. We move to their 32 and lose the ball on downs.
Those 5 possessions started at midfield of better and resulted in 6 points.
Tech must capitalize on good field position against UNC and UGA to achieve victory.
Its not all negative though, when considering that three of the GT scoring drives began at or near the Tech 20 yardline. Those three drives were 2 plays for 80 yards, 7 plays for 76 yards, and 7 plays for 81 yards.
This game should have been somewhere in the 51-10 range, realistically. The offense still needs to execute better…catching balls and converting third downs where the Jackets went 7 of 17 on the day.
Game Balls
Tashard Choice came back from his injury and ran for 173 yards despite obviously being less than 100%. This game was a sterling example of Tashard’s vision and how his running style is based on running smart instead of simply running fast.
Corey Earls, who was injured and carted off the field earlier in the season, arrived on the scene and caught 5 balls for 86 yards. Earls may be the best receiver on the team right now considering Thomas and Johnson are dinged up.
Adamm Oliver rang up 6 tackles (2 for a loss) and 2 sacks. Oliver is the unsung guy on the defensive line since Darrell Robertson and Michael Johnson have been getting a ton of publicity at the other end position. Oliver is relentless and never takes a play off. They call him “The Machine” for a reason.
Bowl Eligible Again
We’re now bowl eligible for the 11th straight season. At the end of 2006 we were one of six teams in the nation that had been to 10 straight bowls. UGA was tied with us and we trailed Virginia Tech (14), Florida (16), Florida State (25), and Michigan (32).
This is a big deal despite what some people may say or write in the national media. It doesn’t matter that there are more bowls now. It doesn’t matter if you go to a “good bowl” or a “bad bowl.”
There’s really no such thing as a “bad bowl.” They don’t exist. A bowl is a chance for the seniors to play another game. It’s a chance for the underclassmen, coming back the next season, to get in more practice. It’s a chance for the fans to get in another road trip, tailgate, or watch party. And it’s a chance to recruit … utilizing the geographic area of the bowl and the additional television exposure.
Some people may argue that “bad bowls” don’t mean anything. I would suggest they talk to fans from Miami, Texas, Oklahoma, Auburn, LSU, Ohio State, Southern Cal, UCLA, Bama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Nebraska, Penn State, and/or the rest of the NCAA schools. I would wager that most of the fans polled would have gladly gone to a “bad bowl” than no bowl at all.
You have to ask yourself … if bowl streaks are so easy to maintain, why don’t programs with recent National Titles (Miami, Southern Cal, LSU, Texas) have longer streaks than Tech does?
The streak DOES mean something … and it’s evident in our recent recruiting success.
Hoops
I’m a big fan of Paul Hewitt. I still have the Sweet 16 hat that he signed the night the team bus returned from the big win over Boston College. We were just happy to advance that night and had no idea we’d be playing for a title. Those were happy times.
But since then … we’ve struggled and the honeymoon is over. Hewitt has arguably performed worse since that title run than Gailey has. We can’t buy a win on the road, regardless of the competition, and we have a losing record in the ACC. And all this comes with recruiting classes that are supposed to be national calibre. Gailey has maintained post season play and a .500 or better record in the ACC despite recruiting classes that were considered to be subpar and despite a divided fan base that doesn’t give him nearly the support that Paul Hewitt has received.
Hewitt must do something positive this season … or his seat will begin to get warm.
