Yellow Jackets win in overtime

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The win was secured when quarterback Josh Nesbitt glided in from 3 yards out in overtime.

But the moment was set up not on the crucial fourth-down conversion that led to the winning score. It was set up at halftime with Tech trailing 17-10 because of bad penalties, bad play and bad luck. Coach Paul Johnson called his rattled players together in the locker room and told them to stop trying to play perfect football. Just play.

It might have been the halftime adjustment that pushed No. 10 Tech to not only a 30-27 win against Wake Forest, but eventually to the ACC championship game.

"Our guys really want to get their goals, and they really wanted to win the game," Johnson said. "At times, in those situations, you just have to relax and play.

"I told the kids don't play scared. Don't back off of them 30 yards. If they beat you, they beat you. Don't give it to them, get out there and play."

Now, as Johnson has said after every victory in this seven-game win streak, the most important game of the season is the next. Should Tech (9-1, 6-1) defeat Duke in Durham, it will play for the ACC championship in Tampa on Dec. 5. Should Tech lose, it must wait to find out because a Tech loss will bring several teams back into the picture.

To defeat the Blue Devils, the Jackets must eliminate the penalties and miscues that plagued them in the first half against the Deacons. Tech had a touchdown called back because of a holding call. Wake Forest was able to take a field goal off the scoreboard and put a touchdown on after a roughing-the-kicker penalty in the second quarter. It was an uncharacteristic effort from a team that gets it share of penalties, but hasn't stopped itself too often because of them.

Johnson's speech effectively calmed them down. After five penalties in the first half, the Jackets committed two in the second half.

But that wasn't the only halftime adjustment that worked. Deacons quarterback Riley Skinner was picking apart Tech's secondary by hitting receivers on deep crossing patterns, particularly on third downs, in the first and second quarter. Wommack called for more man-to-man coverage mixed with zone underneath in the second half in an effort to make Skinner hold onto the ball for just a second more. It worked. The extra time gave Derrick Morgan what he needed to get his three sacks in the second half. After passing for 150 yards in the first half, Skinner had 113 in the second.

"He left it all out there on the field," Wommack said of Morgan.

And Tech needed him to. Wake Forest had the ball on Tech's 35-yard line with less than 1:30 to play and needing 12 yards or so to get into kicker Jimmy Newman's range for the game-winner. Skinner dropped back to pass on third down, and Morgan came barreling around the right end. As Morgan was falling down, he reached out and clipped Skinner's ankle for a 5-yard sack. Instead of going for it on fourth-and-12 at Tech's 40, Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe elected to punt and play for overtime.

In overtime, the defense stuffed the Deacons on their first drive, forcing Newman to hit a 34-yard field goal and Wake Forest a 27-24 lead.

On Tech's possession, Nesbitt ran to the right for 11 yards and a first down. Jonathan Dwyer and Roddy Jones pushed for 2 yards each on first and second down. On third-and-six, the Jackets tried a quarterback draw, the same play that resulted in a touchdown in the fourth quarter.

This time, the Deacons stopped Nesbitt at the 5-yard line to set up fourth-and-inches. Tech was 0-for-4 on fourth downs in the game. Johnson knew that he was going to go for it.

After some timeout chess games between Johnson and Grobe, Nesbitt plunged through the line for 2 yards and the first down, setting up his game-winning score.

"Big-time players make big-time plays," Nesbitt said. "Things didn't always go our way through the game, however I had to remain focused and fight through it all."

Now, Tech has a chance to achieve one of the goals that it set for itself in August.

"To the kids' credit, they found a way to win it in the end, and 30 is more than 27," Johnson said. "Now we have the biggest game of the year next week."