Jackets led charmed lives

Sept. 6 at Boston College, 19-16 win

DWYER GOES THE DISTANCE

Trailing 16-12 late at Boston College, coach Paul Johnson called the counter speed option again. The Jackets had run it twice without much success.

“He told us if we block everything right, we’re going to score,” B-back Jonathan Dwyer said.

Dwyer took one step left, ran right and caught the pitch from Josh Nesbitt. Guard Cord Howard shielded Dwyer from the defensive end. A-back Lucas Cox cut linebacker Kevin Akins on the corner, taking out his legs. Dwyer did the rest.

His 43-yard touchdown gave the Jackets a huge road win, a sign of things to come.

“We had tried to run it a couple times before. We felt we had good numbers, and one time we blocked the wrong guy,” Johnson said. “That time we happened to get it right.”

Dwyer remembered the play this way:

“Josh set up the defense and made the guys come toward him, pitched the ball off. Luke made a good cut and kept blocking. And I just used the things that God blessed me with to outrun the defenders.”

Sept. 13 at Virginia Tech, 20-17 loss

BIG PENALTY IN BLACKSBURG

In a game that would decide the Coastal Division, Tech had all the momentum.

The Jackets had erased a 17-9 fourth-quarter deficit on Josh Nesbitt’s 18-yard scoring run, followed by his 2-point pass to Lucas Cox.

On the next possession, the Hokies faced third-and-7 from their 23. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor scrambled right. Safety Morgan Burnett closed from behind, and safety Cooper Taylor came up to knock him out of bounds at the 25. Helmets collided.

Cooper Taylor was flagged for a 15-yard, helmet-to-helmet penalty. Instead of Tech getting the ball back, the Hokies marched for the game-winning field goal.

“I was kind of shocked,” Cooper Taylor said. “It wasn’t a malicious helmet-to-helmet hit. I wasn’t going to hurt him or anything like that. I went to knock him out of bounds. It was just a frustrating play.”

Cooper Taylor noted that Tyrod Taylor, who rushed for 74 yards, “was acting like a running back all day. You’re going to tackle a guy like that in the open field, an athletic guy. You’re not going to be able to specifically place your body parts so as not to hit his helmet.”

Added Taylor: “It was just kind of wrong place, wrong time.”

The Jackets and Hokies ended up tied for first at 5-3. Virginia Tech advanced to the ACC title game, where it beat Boston College, and will play in the Orange Bowl.

Oct. 18 at Clemson, 21-17 win

THOMAS’ REDEMPTION

Shortly after dropping a potential touchdown pass, Demaryius Thomas got another chance.

The Jackets trailed 17-14 with under nine minutes left, and they faced third-and-14 from their 36.

Coach Paul Johnson called a “sprint-out post corner,” a play Tech rarely runs.

Josh Nesbitt rolled right with two defenders in pursuit. He didn’t have time to plant and throw. Still, Nesbitt placed it perfectly —- over a linebacker and along the sideline.

Thomas, covered tightly by cornerback Chris Chancellor, caught it knee high while sliding out of bounds. Clemson challenged, but the 23-yard gain stood.

Six plays later, Thomas beat Chancellor on a stop-and-go for the game-winning 24-yard score. The third-down conversion made it possible. Not that Thomas realized it was third down.

“I thought it was just another play,” Thomas said. “I didn’t know what down it was, and everybody was saying it was a good play because it was third-and-14.”

Thomas thought Nesbitt was going to throw it away, “but it was just a really good throw, and I came down with it.”

Thomas might not have known what down it was, but he said he knew he had to atone for his drop.

Said Nesbitt: “He wasn’t really open, but I know he’s a big-play receiver so I had to give him a chance.”

Nov. 1 vs. Florida State, 31-28 win

FRESHMEN SAVE THE DAY

Defensive end Michael Johnson stands 6 feet 7, but when safety Cooper Taylor popped the ball out of Marcus Sims’ hands, it flew so high that Johnson didn’t see it fluttering overhead.

The ball might have gone 10 feet high before landing in the end zone.

The play began with Georgia Tech on the verge of blowing an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead. The Seminoles trailed 31-28 as they lined up for second-and-goal at Tech’s 3. Just over a minute remained.

The fullback Sims took the handoff and barreled toward the goal line.

“Anthony Barnes killed the blocker, so it opened up real big for me,” said Taylor, a true freshman. “I saw he was holding the ball across his chest, not with two hands, and put the top of my helmet right on the football. I saw the ball fly out, I saw Rashaad [Reid] try to pick it up, but I didn’t see who got on it. It was panic.”

Reid, a true freshman corner, tried to grab the ball instead of falling on it. The ball skittered away.

“I thought the tight end dove on it, and I was trying to rip his arm off just in case he had it,” Johnson said of the end zone scrum. “But I looked up and somehow Reid came out of the pile with it. I put two hands up and went, ‘Yes, thank you.’ “

After Reid’s initial misstep, he was one of four players closest to the ball. Three were Seminoles. Somehow, Reid recovered, Tech ran out the clock, and fans rushed the field.

“Everybody was going crazy,” Taylor said. “To stop ‘em right there really changed the season more or less. It was just an amazing feeling.”

Nov. 29 at Georgia, 45-42 win

JONES CAPS CAREER DAY

It was a classic triple option.

With Tech leading 38-35 midway through the fourth, the Jackets faced third-and-7 from their 46.

Josh Nesbitt faked to B-back Jonathan Dwyer, who plowed into the line. Nesbitt ran right and pitched to A-back Roddy Jones. The redshirt freshman’s 54-yard score helped snap a seven-game skid against Georgia.

“I remember Josh pulling the ball out of Jon’s gut, I remember seeing an opening on the perimeter, and I remember [Lucas Cox] getting a great block on the safety,” Jones said.

“[John Knox] tried to tackle me on my jersey, and I kind of shook him off. [Reshad Jones] tried to hit me out on the sideline, but I guess he didn’t wrap up and I was able to slip by.

“I remember thinking while I was running that they were going to call me back, because I actually thought I stepped out of bounds, or might have. When I got in the end zone and looked back, they were showing touchdown.”

Roddy Jones’ ability to shrug off Reshad Jones turned a first down into a defining play.

“I thought I could dip my shoulder and slip past him. It’s something we practice a lot, dipping and staying on the sideline,” Jones said.

“And it paid off.”

Jones finished with 214 yards and two scores on 13 carries, setting a school record with 16.5 yards per rush.

Dwyer had this perspective on the play.

“I was on the ground getting tackled, then I looked up and Reshad Jones tried to push him out of bounds,” Dwyer said. “Roddy tiptoed down the sideline and outran everybody.”

> Chick-fil-A Bowl: vs. LSU, at Georgia Dome, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN