For once, there was no need for a comeback of any sort.
And, rather surprisingly, it was largely due to the Georgia Tech defense. Humbled often and smoked frequently, the Yellow Jackets defense gave its offensive counterparts all the help it could want Saturday. The Jackets recovered four fumbles in Pittsburgh’s first six plays, an almost unfathomable string of turnovers that sped Tech to a 56-28 win over the Panthers Saturday at Heinz Field.
With a battery of quick-hitting strikes, Tech led 28-0 less than six minutes into the game and then kept the Panthers at arm’s length the rest of the afternoon.
“Guys were just hawking at the ball,” said linebacker Quayshawn Nealy, who gobbled up two of the fumbles. “It started in practice. Coach (Ted Roof) said that we needed to get more turnovers, and this game, it showed up.”
Tech’s two-game losing streak after its 5-0 start ended in its first visit to Pittsburgh since 1920. Pitt still chomped at Tech at an 8.0 yards-per-play clip, but the Jackets defense distanced itself from its unsightly play against North Carolina last Saturday and the Tech offense scored more points on the Panthers than any opponent in their 14-year residence at Heinz Field. The Jackets cleared 600 yards of total offense for the second game in a row, a first in Tech’s modern-era.
“We didn’t play a perfect game,” defensive tackle Adam Gotsis said, “but we like the result.”
With the win, Tech (6-2 overall, 3-2 ACC) kept pace in the wild horse race that is the ACC Coastal Division and also became eligible for their 18th consecutive bowl, tying with Georgia. Among active streak-holders, only Florida State (qualified for 33rd year in a row) and Virginia Tech (needs two wins to earn eligibility for 22nd consecutive year) are ahead of the Jackets.
Pittsburgh (4-4, 2-2) has lost four of its past five games after starting the season 3-0.
The slew of fumbles was something akin to a rain storm in the Sahara. In the first seven games, a stretch of 457 plays, Tech had forced but five fumbles and recovered one. The Jackets matched the five forced fumbles, all recovered, by the end of the first quarter.
“It was a heck of a game,” coach Paul Johnson said. “Kind of a screwy start.”
After getting gored last week for 48 points, 579 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 third-down conversions on 15 tries, Tech’s defense was determined to play to the hilt. Unlike last Saturday’s debacle at Kenan Stadium, effort was not to be an issue.
“That was the whole thing, effort, the biggest thing, heart,” defensive tackle Adam Gotsis said. “That was what was really harped on pre-game. Everything back at the hotel before we came over here was how much heart we were going to show (Saturday).”
That determination might have been most evident on Pitt’s third play from scrimmage, after the Jackets had taken a 7-0 lead by cashing in the first lost fumble of the game. Panthers running back James Conner shot through the line from the Pitt 25-yard line and seemed to be in the clear. Conner ran past cornerback D.J. White at about the 27-yard line, where he was being blocked by an H-back. From basically a flat-footed start, White ran down Conner and finally caught him inside the Tech 5-yard line, stripping the ball away from Conner with his left hand. The ball bounced out of the end zone, denying the Panthers a touchdown and giving the ball back to Tech at its 20-yard line.
When A-back Charles Perkins scored three plays later on a 79-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Thomas, White had catalyzed a 14-point swing with his speed and will. It was a far different outcome than last Saturday, when White was one of the many Tech defenders who could not meet the occasion against the Tar Heels.
Saturday, White was unwilling to bask too much.
“I feel like we did a good job of getting the ball out, but we still need to clean up some things,” White said.
Indeed, Tech surely caused supporters’ confidence to waver as Pitt rallied for two touchdowns in the second quarter to go into the half down 28-14. Fans perhaps thought back to losing a 25-point halftime lead to Georgia Southern (before coming back) earlier this season and giving up a 20-point second-quarter lead to Georgia last November.
But Tech stood resolute, driving for a touchdown on the opening drive of the second half to take a 35-14 lead and then keeping Pitt stuck at 21 for 13 minutes of game time by driving for nearly nine minutes, forcing a three-and-out and recovering a sixth fumble to tie the school record.
“Definitely a wild, crazy thing,” Nealy said of the fumbles. “I’m thinking in my head, like, Wow, this just happened again. Really? At the same time, I wanted to keep doing it over and over and over.”
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