On the same rectangular patch of Bermuda grass where shock, embarrassment and disappointment visited in earlier weeks, Georgia Tech celebrated.
On a brisk late-autumn afternoon, the Yellow Jackets’ reclamation of the 2012 season continued in the form of a 42-24 win over Duke on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. In the final home game of the season, Tech continued its improvement in the second half of the season with a victory that may even secure itself a spot in the ACC Championship game, a destination all but unimaginable just a few weeks ago.
“After the way the season started and everybody kind of wrote it off, I’m proud of these guys for hanging in there and fighting and getting it done,” coach Paul Johnson said.
With high-level execution of the spread-option offense (13-of-20 on third downs) and a strong second half of defense (seven points on four Duke possessions after halftime), the Jackets (6-5, 5-3) claimed their fourth win in the past five games. Their performance Saturday demonstrated Tech to be a different outfit than the one that gave away an overtime loss to Miami, sleepwalked through a 21-point loss to Middle Tennessee State and was trounced by BYU, all at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
“Coming back to this predicament we were in, we wanted to finish off the season on a good note,” safety Isaiah Johnson said. “That really drives us.”
With the win, the Jackets claim at least a share of the ACC Coastal Division title. They could receive even better news as early as Sunday. Miami, having earned bowl eligibility Saturday with a 40-9 win over South Florida, has said it will announce its plans on a possible postseason ban in anticipation of NCAA sanctions after it becomes eligible.
In a game that didn’t offer much in the way of defense, particularly in the first half, Tech claimed a decisive edge on the first possession of the second half.
With quarterback Tevin Washington under center, Tech drove 75 yards in 13 plays, converting three third downs, for a touchdown that gave the Jackets a 28-17 lead. B-back Zach Laskey’s 28-yard touchdown reception from Washington and the point-after try gave Tech its first two-possession lead, a cushion that forced Duke’s hand in a game in which both teams had nine possessions each.
Besides the Laskey touchdown, the most notable play of the drive was a third-and-7 pass to wide receiver Chris Jackson that was tipped to offensive tackle Ray Beno, who broke a tackle and earned a first down with a 9-yard gain.
After Duke (6-5, 3-4) drove back for a touchdown for its fourth consecutive score, not including a one-play possession to end the first half, Washington led the Jackets on a staggering 18-play, 75-yard drive that consumed 8:31 and had four third-down conversions and one fourth-down conversion. It finished with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Washington to A-back Robbie Godhigh on a third-and-7 from the Duke 8-yard line. It gave Tech a 35-24 lead with 10:17 to play in the game.
After a two-week stretch in which backup Vad Lee shined against Maryland and North Carolina, Saturday’s game was a reversal. Washington managed the offense efficiently, cranked out first downs and led an effort in which Tech didn’t turn the ball over once. He led touchdown drives of 13, 10, 13 and 18 plays.
“He’s the epitome of perseverance,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t be happier for him to play his last game and to play like he did (Saturday).”
As had been the pattern in the previous two games, Johnson played Washington for two series and then Lee for two. In a reversal from last Saturday’s 68-50 win over North Carolina, in which Lee played the remainder of the game from that point, Washington stayed in the game for the final five possessions, leading the Jackets to three touchdowns.
After he took the final kneeldown of the game, Washington allowed himself a moment of exultation, skipping and kicking with the ball still in his hand. It resembled a brief shuffle he performed after completing the go-ahead touchdown drive at the end of regulation against Virginia Tech in the season opener. That moment was followed, though, by the Hokies’ game-tying drive to force overtime, where Washington threw an interception that helped seal the season-opening defeat and set in motion this tumultuous season.
In the chilly November air, illuminated by cheering fans and stadium lights, he looked pretty happy.
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