Georgia Tech defeats Virginia; takes control of ACC Coastal

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Another streak broken, and now a bigger, more important goal is within grasp.

Thanks to a bone-grinding 10-minute, 47-second drive to open the second half, Paul Johnson ended another one of the hexes that has hung over Georgia Tech's head by leading his team to a 34-9 win against Virginia on Saturday at Scott Stadium. Coupled with Miami's loss to Clemson on Saturday, the Yellow Jackets now need to only win their two remaining ACC games to secure a spot in the conference's championship game on Dec. 5 in Tampa.

But No. 12 Tech (7-1, 5-1) wouldn't be in this position if it hadn't won its first game in Charlottesville since 1990, snapping an eight-game losing streak there.

"I didn't break it, the players broke it," Johnson said.

Now, that losing streak goes in the dustbin, along with two others the Jackets have snapped this season: the first win in Tallahassee (49-44 against Florida State), and the first win against a top-five team (28-23 against Virginia Tech) at home since 1962. Oh, and there's that one against Georgia last season.

"Coach gives us all the motivation," said Anthony Allen, who rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. "We've had a lot of firsts this year. This happens to be the biggest one."

With the Hurricanes' 40-37 loss to Clemson, Tech is in the driver's seat in the Coastal. The Jackets are tied with Virginia Tech, Virginia and Duke atop the division. Tech already has beaten Virginia Tech and Virginia and plays at Duke on Nov. 14. If Tech wins its remaining ACC games (their other league game is at home against Wake Forest on Nov. 7), it will win the Coastal title in Johnson's second season.

"Well, it's the same as it's always been," Johnson said after learning of Miami's loss. "Winning today just made the game next Saturday that much bigger. We still have four games remaining [on the regular-season schedule]."

Winning in Charlottesville was a small part of the motivation for Tech's players on Saturday. They accomplished it with another first: their longest drive in terms of time of possession in at least 21 years.

The sequence started at the beginning of the third quarter. On the eighteenth play, Allen finished it with a 1-yard touchdown run on third-and-goal off a pitch from Josh Nesbitt.

The score gave the Jackets a 20-6 lead, and Virginia, which mustered 127 yards in the first half, was seemingly done.

"It really sets the tone for the second half when we come out and score on those," center Sean Bedford said. "It's a double-whammy. Not only are we scoring, but we're cutting the time that the other time can score. It's really something that we take pride in. We don't mind being grinders. We're going to put it in the end zone."

That drive helped Tech have a whopping edge of 42:43-17:17 in time of possession, similar to last week's 17-minute difference against Virginia Tech. During its five-game win streak, the Jackets have held the ball an average of 38:15, almost 17 minutes more than its opponents have.

"Time of possession has been the story of every team that's played them," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "We were hopeful to avoid that circumstance today, but did not accomplish that."

The difference in time also resulted in helping keep Tech's defense rested and effective. Since simplifying its coverage schemes during the Virginia Tech week, the Jackets have allowed 334 yards to the Hokies and 198 to the Cavaliers, a marked difference considering Florida State and Mississippi State totaled more than 1,000 yards before the changes were made.

"We just got it all the way turned up," middle linebacker Brad Jefferson said, repeating the title of a rap song that Tech's players have adopted as their theme.

Now, the Jackets will turn their attention to their Halloween night game against Vanderbilt in Nashville, in what Johnson called, before Miami's game against Clemson had even kicked off,  "the biggest game of the year."

As if he needs anything else to motivate the players.

"They believe in themselves and what we are doing here," Johnson said. "They've worked hard. When they come to play, they feel like they are going to win. Everyone keeps doubting them, and they keep coming back and trying to answer the call."