DEL.ICIO.USChick-fil-A Bowl
Georgia Tech couldn’t overcome slow start
LSU poured it on early, and the Yellow Jackets never recovered
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Neither team had played in more than a month, but only Tech looked rusty in the first half.
In falling behind 35-3, Tech’s biggest deficit of the year, the Jackets made a continuous string of mistakes that compounded their difficulty in stopping LSU.
CURTIS COMPTON/ccompton@ajc.com
LSU celebrates an impressive victory over Georgia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
The defense committed a pair of penalties, including roughing the passer, leading to the Tigers’ second touchdown.
LSU coach Les Miles followed that with a surprise onside kick.
Kicker Josh Jasper got his hands on the ball first. When he couldn’t hold on, Ricky Jean-Francois beat the Jackets to it.
The Jackets forced a punt, but Andrew Smith didn’t get in proper position to field it. Ron Brooks recovered Smith’s fumble and LSU scored again.
Trailing 21-3, the Jackets tried to change momentum by faking a punt at their own 22. The move backfired.
Defensive end Derrick Morgan took the direct snap and ran around right end.
He was tripped up after two yards, six shy of a first down, making Tech 0-for-3 on fake punts this year.
LSU capitalized again, this time on Jordan Jefferson’s 25-yard strike to Richard Dickson.
When the half finally ended, Tech faced its biggest halftime deficit since trailing Georgia 34-0 in 2002.
ETC.
Blue day for Jackets
Tech wore blue jerseys for the first time since the 2006 ACC championship game. … Spotted on the Tech sideline: Calvin Johnson (Detroit Lions), Mansfield Wrotto (Seattle Seahawks), Eric Henderson (Cincinnati Bengals) and Mike Cox (Kansas City Chiefs). …
With his sack in the first quarter, the 18th of his career, senior Michael Johnson moved into eighth on Tech’s career sacks list, passing Tom Johnson. Michael Johnson also had a sack in the fourth quarter. …
LSU scored a touchdown on its opening possession for the first time since Nov. 1 against Tulane. … Colt David’s 53-yard field goal in the third quarter was the longest in Chick-fil-A Bowl history. … Tigers quarterback Jordan Jefferson, a true freshman making his second start, completed his first nine passes and was named offensive MVP. Linebacker Perry Riley was named the game’s defensive MVP. …
The crowd of 71,423 was the eighth largest in Chick-fil-A bowl history. It was the game’s 12th consecutive sellout.
— Larry Hartstein
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