When it works, Georgia Tech’s run defense acts like a brick wall, a solid front of linemen and linebackers who seal running lanes airtight.
“[Running backs] all run the same when there are no creases, unless they’re Adrian Peterson,” Tech defensive coordinator Al Groh said, referencing the Minnesota Vikings’ star running back. “But most of them aren’t of that ilk where they can create their own creases.”
Barring the possibility that North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard and N.C. State’s James Washington share not only a position with Peterson but also a crease-making ilk, one can reasonably conclude that they did not want for creases in Tech’s defense the past two weeks.
The No. 13 Yellow Jackets head into Saturday’s noon game against Maryland with the intention of not letting the Terrapins’ Davin Meggett make it 3-for-3.
Said defensive tackle Logan Walls, “We’ve just got to build a better wall and not have any creases in it.”
Bernard and Washington achieved career highs for rushing yards against the Jackets in the past two weeks, rolling up a combined 286 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Bernard gashed Tech for a 55-yard touchdown, and Washington nearly matched it with a 46-yard scoring run.
Coach Paul Johnson’s summary of Tech’s run defense against the Wolfpack: “It wasn’t real good.” In fact, it was probably worse Saturday than it was the week before against North Carolina, he said.
As Tech tries to reach 6-0 for the first time since 1966, Maryland will undoubtedly try to pick at that apparent vulnerability. The Terrapins’ upset hopes likely require Meggett (5.0 yards per carry, 81.8 yards per game) to put his imprint on the game. It will rest upon Groh and his players to buttress the run defense, and they’ll likely have to do it without linebackers Jeremiah Attaochu and Daniel Drummond, who did not practice this past week with leg injuries and are questionable for the game.
“It’s a concern every week,” Johnson said. “You have to stop people from running the ball.”
While Tech’s rocket ship of an offense has rendered defensive shortcomings less glaring, rugged run defense ranks high in the game plan. Because of the Jackets’ capacity for grinding long possessions and controlling the clock, opponents often counter by likewise going heavy on the run game to maintain control.
Tech’s run defense wasn’t an unmitigated flop in Raleigh. When the Jackets took a 42-14 lead with 10:07 to play in the fourth quarter, they had allowed a reasonable 126 yards on 30 carries, including Washington’s 46-yarder. Of N.C. State’s first 28 run plays, which excludes two sacks, 17 produced three yards or less.
There were plays such as the second play from scrimmage, when linemen Izaan Cross, Jason Peters and Walls held their points and inside linebacker Daniel Drummond filled an inside running lane. It forced Washington laterally, where Attaochu further crowded him by stalemating an offensive tackle who outweighed him by 80 pounds. Washington was gang tackled after a 1-yard gain.
But there weren’t enough of those plays. At times, N.C. State, which had entered the game averaging 85.0 rushing yards, imposed its will. The Wolfpack drove Tech linemen off the line of scrimmage and put other defenders on the ground.
After Tech took its 42-14 lead, even with most starters still in, the Jackets sagged to the finish line, allowing eight rushes for 69 yards. N.C. State finished with 195 rushing yards on 38 carries. FCS (formerly Division I-AA) South Alabama, which played the Wolfpack two weeks earlier, allowed 100 fewer yards despite defending 37 carries.
The objective is fairly simple: Linemen and linebackers occupy running lanes and try not to get driven out of them.
“You hope you learn some lessons from last week and not playing well,” Johnson said, speaking of the team generally. “Trust me. I tell them every day how good I think they are.”
After Saturday, of Tech’s final five ACC opponents, Virginia, Miami, Clemson and Virginia Tech will present running games more potent than N.C. State’s. For a team with championship aspirations, the sooner a sturdy run-defense wall gets erected, the better. Davin Meggett comes by Bobby Dodd Stadium for an inspection Saturday.
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