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Saturday, November 29, 2008
Beating Georgia better than trip to Tampa
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Athens — The team that was No. 1 in the USA as the football season began is no longer No. 1 even in the state of Georgia. The classic old series between Georgia Tech and Georgia that was writhing on its deathbed is alive and kicking again. This is all further proof that when playing a Paul Johnson team, it’s never over till it’s over, for the second half is his.
What should amaze you even more is this: One of the teams passed for 407 yards, the other passed for 19. The team that passed for 407 yards lost.
One team’s defensive coordinator’s game plan allowed the other team to score 42 points. He’ll be hailed for his genius. The other team’s defensive coordinator exercised a plan that allowed 45 points. His feet were already to the fire, and now the heat will be turned up. That’s the difference three points can make.
All of this is based on the fact that Georgia Tech came to Athens a seven-point underdog and turned a somber, drizzly afternoon into another star in Paul Johnson’s crown. He came here with another team eight years ago and took a whacking, but working out of Georgia Southern, he was only an appetizer on mighty Georgia’s menu. This time he came with the same old offense but another level of troops, and Athens went to bed Saturday night wondering what had struck town.
It ranks as the most unusual Georgia-Georgia Tech game I have watched, and this was my 58th. That 19-yard pass that Josh Nesbitt completed to Demaryius Thomas never figured in the scoring, even more believe-it-or-not, it was Georgia Tech’s first play of the game. Georgia had whisked down the field from the kickoff, into the Tech end zone on the ninth play, Matthew Stafford’s pass to Tripp Chandler, for a 7-0 lead. It should be pointed out that Tech did score on a pass, but it was one of Stafford’s. From his own 12-yard line, the Georgia quarterback aimed a pass at a receiver who wasn’t there, but Morgan Burnett was, and the Tech defensive back raced 35 yards for a touchdown with the stolen ball. Tech attempted only five more passes, only one of those completed — to a Bulldog.
Even favored as the Bulldogs were, it was generally assumed that the dismal weather had played into their hands as well. Johnson’s triple offense — or wishbone, or whatever you choose to call it — involves much ball juggling. Handing off, pitching out, fakes and such, all of which would appear to endanger Tech’s offensive style. Strangely, Tech never lost the ball by a fumble. Only Georgia did.
A fumble did figure into Tech’s pursuits early in the game, a fumbled snap on the extra point following its first touchdown. That created a hitch in its offensive pursuit, trying to make up for the deficit. But in the long run, after the half, Tech made up for it and more, and thus the score, 45-42.
The Jackets won’t be playing for a the championship in the ACC, however. News drifted in from Blacksburg that Virginia Tech had beaten Virginia, and thus no playoff for Tech. But, if you had to choose, would you take an ACC championship playoff or victory over Georgia? As an unauthorized spokesman for the denizens of The Flats, I’d say the majority would vote for victory over Georgia — especially after seven losses in a row.
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