On Dec. 31, 2014, Georgia Tech beat No. 7 Mississippi State 49-34 to win the Orange Bowl and wind up in the top 10 itself. More than nine months later, that remains the Yellow Jackets’ last victory over a competitive opponent.
Another reality check: On Sept. 19, the Jackets were favored at Notre Dame. They’ve gone from being a hot pick to win in South Bend to losing four in a row. A year ago, this was one of the best teams in the land. As we speak, this appears one of the worst teams in the world.
OK, so we exaggerate. But not by all that much. Tech was outgained by 209 yards and outscored by 23 points Saturday in its worst first half under Paul Johnson. And here’s how, after 20 minutes to make corrections, the second half began: Justin Thomas was dropped for a 6-yard loss. Before the second-and-16 play could be run, he called timeout. Good grief.
Against a team as gifted as Clemson, there’s no halftime-adjusting to be done. The Tigers have good players and are well schooled. The Jackets? They don’t and they’re not, at least not lately. Johnson conceded the point, saying afterward: “We look like we’re a poorly coached team, and that starts with me.”
The collapse was total. The defense yielded a 66-yard touchdown run on the game’s third play. Special teams offered a high punt snap and a resulting safety. And Johnson’s offense, long this program’s shining light, managed but 71 yards rushing, the low for this coach in seven-plus seasons at the Institute.
There’s no longer anything Tech does well, or even halfway decently. Johnson again: “We can’t count on the offense. We can’t count on the defense. We can’t count on special teams.”
For seven seasons, Johnson’s offense has served as Tech’s tent pole. When all else failed (and occasionally all else did), the spread option and its stylized quirks would give the Jackets a fighting chance. Now the offense has gone as bad as everything else.
Johnson yet again: “I’ve never experienced anything like that in my coaching career, to be this inept on offense. … It’s one thing to be physically dominated; it’s another not to give yourself a chance.”
Tech’s first possession ended in a Thomas interception. It made no first downs in the first quarter. On one option play, Clemson safety Jayron Kearse charged forward to make Thomas pitch — and then Kearse tackled the pitch man, Mikell Lands-Davis, for a 3-yard loss. One man playing two isn’t supposed to happen in this offense; it happened often here. Clemson had 11 tackles for losses.
It was 10-0 after 3 1/2 minutes, 26-3 a minute into the second quarter, 33-10 at the half. The Tigers scored four seconds before the break, Johnson having opted to have Thomas throw on third-and-17 with 1:55 remaining. (The pass was incomplete, thereby stopping the clock. Clemson was down to its final timeout.) It would end 43-24. It wasn’t that close. The Jackets were outgained by 307 yards.
Even as we concede that Tech has lost an inordinate number of A-backs to injury, we emphasize that these Jackets would have been running low at the skill positions with all hands on deck. As much as Johnson would like us to believe that his offense is plug-and-play, it’s not. Better and more seasoned players were the reason the 2014 team rose above a four-year span that saw Tech go 28-25. Many of those players are gone. What’s left? Not much.
Simple math: At 2-4 with Florida State and Georgia remaining, the Jackets have no wiggle room in their attempt to keep their bowl streak — they’ve been to one every year since 1996 — intact. At 0-3 in the league, a division title seems a forlorn hope. If you’ve watched this team over these past four weeks, you’ve seen it run out of ideas. The spread option isn’t working, and Johnson isn’t apt to switch to the run-and-shoot in practice Monday.
For better or worse, this is his offense. When the Jackets went 11-3 last season, it was because of the offense. That this season’s team already has lost more games than in 2014 is also because of that offense, or the absence thereof.
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