Winning battle upfront will be key for Tech's offense

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Georgia Tech's players don't have a consensus opinion on whether Iowa's defense reminds them of any team they've faced this season. Wake Forest's was mentioned, as was Virginia Tech's, Clemson's and North Carolina's.

But, Tech's players say they know that the Hawkeyes' line is tough and physical, and they will need to play their best to neutralize some of the all-Big Ten talent they'll face, including defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who had 9-1/2 sacks and 18 tackles for loss this season. The teams will play in the Orange Bowl at 8 p.m. Tuesday.

"Iowa's a great defensive front," co-offensive line coach Todd Spencer said. "They are a very stingy defense and very well-coached. They are an unrelenting bunch."

But some of the Hawkeyes said they will have to change things a bit to deal with Tech's offensive line, which likes to fire out to block linebackers and safeties. Iowa hasn't faced an option team this season, so they said it will take some effort to ignore the instincts they've developed that tells them to fly to the ball or hit the man in the front of them. Instead, they discussed the need to keep Tech's linemen from getting to that second level and tying up even more blockers.

"You're used to just going for the ball," defensive tackle Christian Ballard said. "It's kind of hard to sayt the ball but I can't go and get him. They are so good at what they do, that once you make that one move to the quarterback they are going to be out of the gate. As a defensive player, you have to know where you're going to be."

Tech guard Cord Howard said that the split-second in which a defender gets caught thinking can be the difference that the Yellow Jackets need.

"We fire off the ball and into defenders," Howard said. "If you stop to try and read, you'll get backed up into your linebackers. It's kind of pick your poison."

That's not lost on Iowa.

"As a defensive line, we like to create piles so the running back can't run through the holes, but we also like to make plays ourselves," defensive end Broderick Binns said. "This game, the defensive line can only make plays on the dive, or if we get lucky if we get to rally to the quarterback."

While much has been made of how big Iowa's defensive line is, taking the average of the weights listed in the media guides shows Tech actually has a 10-pound advantage per player.

"We've just got to come off lower and have got to keep hitting them," guard Joseph Gilbert said.

Rusty on offense?

Despite not having played for a month, coaches and players said they don't expect to have any issues with the timing of the offense. Quarterbacks coach Brian Bohannon said it would be great to play every weekend to ensure that no rust accumulates, but the physical nature of the practices and the numerous repetitions of live drills during the past month means the offense shouldn't see any self-induced issues in the Orange Bowl.

The team's last bye came Nov. 21. The team posted 340 yards the next week in a 30-24 loss to Georgia.

The team had 314 yards in the 38-3 loss to LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl last season after a layoff of almost five weeks.

Etc.

Tech has sold approximately 11,000 of its 17,500-ticket allotment for the game. .... Several players, including safety Cooper Taylor, linebacker Kyle Jackson, defensive tackle Ben Anderson and defensive end Robert Hall visited the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in nearby Hollywood on Saturday morning. The team will practice Sunday morning at 10:15 a.m. at Nova Southeastern University. Saturday's practice was shorter than the previous ones this week as Tech puts the finishing touches on its preparations.