Ga. Tech blows big lead, rallies to beat Clemson

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It was a night full of big plays for Georgia Tech. And the Yellow Jackets needed every bit of every one of them.

No. 15 Tech defeated Clemson 30-27 on a game-winning 36-yard field goal by Scott Blair with 57 seconds remaining Thursday night at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Blair’s kick, his first victory-clincher, was the last, and most important, big play of the game that saw a first quarter full of them, and then few after that.

“I really don’t know if there are ugly wins,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “Any time you win a conference game and beat a good football team, I am excited that we won.”

Luckily for the Jackets, the first quarter gave them almost everything they needed:

● An 82-yard touchdown run by Anthony Allen, tied for the seventh-longest run in Tech’s history.

● An 85-yard punt return by Jerrard Tarrant, his second return for a score in as many games.

● A 34-yard touchdown pass from Scott Blair, yes the kicker, to wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

“We made just enough big plays to win,” Johnson said. “We’re off to a 2-0 start, which makes the next one bigger.”

The next one is on the road against Miami in an important ACC Coastal Division game. The Hurricanes are coming off a 38-34 win against Florida State on Monday, which has given extra time to prepare for Tech’s spread-option offense.

Clemson seemed as if it hadn’t prepared at all in the first quarter Thursday.

Josh Nesbitt was intercepted on Tech’s first play, but Thomas was open on the play. Had Nesbitt not put too much air under the pass, it likely would have resulted in a long completion. Nesbitt said he just didn’t see the safety.

But, Nesbitt made up for that on Tech’s next possession. On first-and-10 from the 18, Nesbitt pulled the ball back from Jonathan Dwyer and ran the option to the right with Allen on the pitch. Clemson didn’t cover Allen, Nesbitt made the pitch, and Allen sprinted 82 yards for a touchdown, thanks to downfield blocking from Thomas and from Roddy Jones.

“Oh man it [the field] was wide open, and as soon as I caught the pitch, Thomas made a good block on the wide receiver and Nesbitt made a good pitch,” Allen said. “I almost gave up at the 10-yard line, my legs got tired, but I put it in the end zone for y’all.”

That big play was followed by another. Clemson lined up for a 54-yard field goal with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. Instead of that attempt, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told place-kicker Richard Jackson to pooch-kick it. However, Jackson short-legged it, and Tarrant caught it, split three Clemson defenders and raced 85 yards to give Tech a 14-0 lead.

“We were supposed to punch the ball out of bounds,” Swinney said. “I didn’t communicate that very well.”

And, then there was another.

This time, Tech lined up for a 51-yard field. During the confusion of players running back and forth across the field, the Tigers didn’t notice Thomas standing uncovered out wide. Blair lobbed a pass down the sideline, and Thomas scored to give Tech a 21-0 lead. Johnson said it’s a play he has used before at Navy, and it has never failed him.

“I got my butt outcoached in the first half, because we didn’t do a good job,” Swinney said.

He and the rest of his coaches seemed to learn quickly.

Just like it did in last week’s game against Jacksonville State, Tech seemed to lose its intensity in the second and third quarters and the Tigers rallied to score 27 consecutive points and grab a 27-24 lead with 11:33 remaining.

In between racing out to a 21-0 lead after the first, and falling behind by three with less than quarter remaining, the Jackets had a meager 159 yards.

“When we go out there and practice, we need to out there with a certain type of intensity, certain mind-set,” said defensive end Derrick Morgan, who finished with 10 tackles, including a career-high three sacks.

But Clemson going back in front seemed to re-energize the Jackets. Tech racked up 122 yards in the fourth quarter, none more important than a 39-yard Nesbitt-to-Thomas connection on third and 11 from Tech’s 34-yard line with less than 2 minutes remaining. It was just Tech’s third third-down conversion in the game, all of which came in the final quarter, and it moved the Jackets into field-goal range.

“We made a lot of mistakes,” Johnson said, “but you know it is early in the year, and I hope that we are going to get better.”