Jackets and Tigers: Two daring offenses

With daring coaches on opposite sidelines, the Chick-fil-A Bowl between Georgia Tech and LSU figures to be a wild ride. At least some players think it will be.

“There will be a lot of going for it on fourth down, a lot of trick plays maybe, calls you wouldn’t normally see, so it’s going to be fun,” Georgia Tech A-back Roddy Jones said.

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Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Tech quarterback Jaybo Shaw runs the option on 4th down and sprints into the end zone against Mississippi State. The Jackets fourth-down conversion has not always been so successul — 10 of 22, which ranks 66th in the nation.

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But how aggressive are Tech’s Paul Johnson and LSU’s Les Miles really?

Both have shown a tendency to take risks that others won’t by calling unconventional plays in conventional situations.

In guiding LSU to the national championship last year, Miles rolled the dice repeatedly.

The flip-over-the-shoulder fake field goal against South Carolina? Five successful fourth-down tries against Florida? Throwing to the end zone against Auburn with time running down, when only a field goal was needed? These gambles and almost every other paid off.

In fact, the 2007 Tigers led the nation by converting 81.3 percent (13 of 16) of the time on fourth down.

“Last year was an unbelievable chain of events and it seemed like everything they did in those critical situations worked,” said former Georgia coach Jim Donnan, who is now a TV and radio analyst.

This year’s Tigers haven’t had the same swashbuckling style. And they’ve been far less successful on fourth down at 37 percent (6 of 16). Donnan points out that LSU didn’t change. This year’s lack of attempts and success can be traced to the fact that LSU was often playing from behind this year, which makes it hard for even the most daring coach to gamble.

Miles agrees, saying he still has the same philosophy.

“The option to go for it on fourth down is specific to the game and gameplanning. It’s never been a willy-nilly, roll-the-dice, let’s hope this works,” he said. “It’s always been built into a specific situation, how it looks and how it prepares our team to win.”

Center Brett Helms said Miles’ boldness fires up the offense.

“You can’t do it all the time but I really enjoy it when we go for it,” he said.

When Johnson arrived at Tech, he brought a willingness to go for it on fourth down that surprised and energized his players.

Tech hasn’t been especially proficient on fourth downs. The Jackets have converted 10 of 22 (45.5 percent), which ranks 66th in the nation.

And Johnson’s trick plays have yielded mixed results. A wide-receiver pass jolted Miami early. The Jackets failed on fake punts against Gardner-Webb and Clemson, and botched a surprise onside kick against Miami, yet won all three games.

But the mindset Johnson is creating might be more significant than the results.

“The first couple games, the way we were going for it, it was pretty crazy to be able to do that, but now it’s a normal thing,” Dwyer said. “Everybody appreciates the mentality coach Johnson has.”

Asked this season to explain his thinking about fourth-down tries, Johnson usually replies, simply, that he had a play he thought would work.

Donnan noted Johnson enjoys one big edge when he goes for it on fourth down: he doesn’t send in different personnel.

“Most people have to get in their short-yardage mode or a different formation,” Donnan said. “The [Jackets] are in their base stuff. That’s a tremendous advantage because you’ve got the whole gamut of what you can run.”

Johnson said he and Miles probably share the same philosophy.

“If you start playing not to lose, you probably will,” Johnson said. “You’ve got to have confidence in what you’re doing and what your guys can do. You don’t want to be stupid, but you’ve also got to play to win, play to your strengths.”