Tech squeezing opponents in second half

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It happens in the second half, though not even Georgia Tech knows when.

It might start with a outside pitch or a pass. It might end with a touchdown or a field goal or even a fumble.

But it has been one constant during Tech's five-game win streak: at some point in the final 30 minutes, the Yellow Jackets will put together two lengthy consecutive possessions that seize the day.

They lengthen the lead. They shorten the game. Then they win.

Take the nearly 11-minute march Tech used to deflate Virginia on Saturday. It's a habit. During this winning streak, the Jackets have been holding the ball an average of 21 minutes, 20 seconds of the second half. More specifically, in each game they have put together consecutive drives that have eaten up at least 11:46 in the third and fourth quarters, which just squeezes the life from the game . That is the formula they will take to Nashville for Saturday night's meeting with Vanderbilt.

"It's kind of a double-whammy because we're obviously trying to score, but we're cutting the time that the other team can score," center Sean Bedford said.

Bedford said he doesn't know why these drives don't happen in the first half, but when they happen, the effect is two-fold: Not only does Tech usually score (it has on eight of those 10 drives) but it also puts the onus  on the other team's offense to respond and respond quickly. Who knows when they might get the ball again?

"It's tough to see an opponent marching down the field and time of possession is critical, especially in the second half," Virginia linebacker Denzell Burrell said. "That made it tough for the offense to put drives together and get down the field to score. It also taxes the defense both mentally and physically, so it made things tough, and we just couldn't piece 60 full minutes together."

Burrell isn't been the first opponent to wonder, "What happened?"

Over its past five wins, Tech has limited opponents to an average of 4.5 possessions in the second half, compared to 6. 2 possessions in the first half.

FSU quarterback Christian Ponder said he thought the Seminoles had to score on every possession of the second half of their 49-44 shoot-out, and that in turn led to mistakes. Johnson said long drives can force opposing coaches to go against their nature.

"It puts a little urgency in the guy calling plays on the other side," Johnson said. "When you get used to having 14-15 possessions a game and you're looking at eight, it's going to change the way you call the game."

Johnson uses the Virginia game as an example, pointing out that the Cavs all but abandoned their run game after the Jackets opened the second half with an 18-play, 82-yard drive that consumed 10:47. The Cavaliers ran one time on their next drive, and that was a scramble by quarterback Jamell Sewell. That was it for the afternoon. They had run nine times in the first half.

When Jackets got the ball back, they went on another drive that lasted 5:14 and endedVirginia's comeback chances.

Ask Mississippi State. Trailing 28-17 at the halftime, the Bulldogs got the ball just four times in the second half.

North Carolina trailed by just 10 at intermission. The Tar Heels  got the ball just four more times all day. Carolina coach Butch Davis was impressed after Tech's offense s put together back-to-back touchdown drives that lasted 11:46 and left UNC down 17 with 4:10 to play.f

"When you look at Georgia Tech and watch all the games they play, you know that field position is potentially going to be tough -- time of possession, the number of possessions," Davis said. "This offense is extraordinarily difficult to stop. When they've got a lead, every phase of that offense is still viable."

And don't think Tech's defense hasn't noticed. Middle linebacker Brad Jefferson said it's much easier for his unit to play knowing it has to make only a couple of stops.

"They run out the time, and that's a good thing for us and the ‘D' as we go out there and make plays and get off the field so the offense can get back out there and run down the clock," Jefferson said.

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said there's no magic formula to getting Tech's offense off the field. He has gone against Paul Johnson's offense eight times, six when Bobby coached at Furman and Paul coached at Georgia Southern and twice when Vandy faced Navy. Bobby Johnson won only twice.

"Nobody's figured it out, and there's no way to figure it out," Bobby Johnson said. "It ends up on a lot of one-on-one confrontations. If they are running the ball, you're going to have to beat a block and make a tackle.

"There are no keys. You've just got to be as sound as you can, and in my opinion, as simple as you can."