On a chilly November evening in Blacksburg, Va., Georgia Tech’s 2010 season hinged.
Quarterback Joshua Nesbitt was lost for the season with a broken arm. The Yellow Jackets lost to Virginia Tech after taking an early 14-0 lead. It was the second loss in a three-game losing streak and part of a stretch of five losses in the final six games of the season.
Meanwhile, after untangling themselves from the Jackets by a 28-21 score, the Hokies rolled through their next four games with an average victory margin of 17.8 points to take their fourth ACC title.
In that game, “we kind of hit a wall we couldn’t bounce back from,” linebacker Steven Sylvester said. “I believe we had lost confidence.”
A year later, on another November Thursday night, in which the temperature could dip into the low 40s at Bobby Dodd Stadium, the No. 21 Jackets will encounter the No. 10 Hokies in a pivotal game.
The winner gains a considerable advantage in the chase for a berth in the ACC championship game, which has become a standard prize in the rivalry. In each of the past six seasons, the winner of this game has represented the Coastal Division in the ACC title game.
“That’s definitely the No. 1 goal every year,” A-back Roddy Jones said of an ACC title. “You play to win championships. You play to get the hardware.”
Last year’s loss lingers in the memory banks of several Tech players. Jones said he remembers “just about everything” from that game, from Nesbitt’s injury, to the wild Lane Stadium atmosphere, to quarterback Tevin Washington’s admirable effort in place of Nesbitt.
“As fun as a loss can be, it was a fun game to play in,” Jones said.
Before the season, wide receiver Tyler Melton said Thursday’s game was the one he looked forward to the most. On Tech’s final offensive play of the night, Washington tossed a fade pass to Melton in the end zone for a potentially game-tying touchdown. Hokies cornerback Rashad Carmichael sealed off Melton and intercepted the pass to secure the game for Virginia Tech.
“It’s not eating at me because I don’t hold onto those kinds of things,” Melton said in July. “But I would love to make amends for it.”
Washington, who played the final two-plus quarters in relief of Nesbitt, yearns for another crack, as well.
“This one sticks in his mind,” quarterbacks and B-backs coach Brian Bohannon told reporters last week. “He got put in a tough situation. He looks back on it and says, ‘If I could have done this or this or this better, we could have won that game.’”
However sought after, a win will not be easily secured. The Hokies rank No. 5 in rushing defense and No. 6 in scoring defense, though they have been weakened by season-ending injuries to three defensive starters. Running back David Wilson, whose 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown provided the winning margin a year ago, is No. 3 in the country with 131.7 rushing yards per game.
Twelve days after playing their best game of the season to upset then-No. 5 Clemson, the Jackets will need to replicate the fervor and crispness of their play that night to keep their ACC title aspirations intact. The consequences of doing less are obvious.
“Again this year, if we lose, we’re out of the race, so to speak,” coach Paul Johnson said. “So it’s a big game for us.”
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