Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson doesn't want his players to celebrate a win or despair over a loss longer than necessary, and Monday he modeled his instructions.
Agitated with the team's play after Tech's 24-21 loss to Virginia Saturday, Johnson was in a fairly good mood after Monday's practice.
"Water under the bridge, just like when you win the game," he said. "You flush it."
Johnson gave credit to Virginia – "We've got no excuses. We got beat." – and said that coaches and players shared in the responsibility for the loss.
"It's disappointing, because I think it's a game we could have won, but we didn't, so you move on," he said.
Injury report
Johnson was hopeful that outside linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu will be able to play Saturday at Miami. Attaochu, who has missed the past two games with a leg injury, went through conditioning drills with the team on Monday.
Johnson also said that inside linebacker Daniel Drummond "should be back full go." He dressed Saturday and was available if needed, but did not play. Like Attaochu, Drummond sustained a leg injury in the N.C. State game Oct. 1.
On the defense
Defensive coordinator Al Groh declined to discuss his unit's performance in Saturday's game -- "The obituary's over," he said. The defense gave up a season-high 272 rushing yards. Defensive end Jason Peters was willing to offer his assessment; he said the linemen didn't win enough of their match-ups.
"We've got to be more physical on blocks, we've got to be better at getting off blocks and making plays," he said.
After further review
After reviewing game video, Johnson acknowledged that two costly penalties -- illegal blocks called on wide receivers Stephen Hill and Tyler Melton in the third quarter -- were legitimate. Hill's penalty negated an 85-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tevin Washington on the first play of the second half. The second wiped out a 66-yard run by A-back Orwin Smith. Tech eventually scored a touchdown after the first penalty but punted after the second.
"The penalties they called were penalties," he said.
Johnson said coaches gave out an average number of "efforts," demerits for a player not giving full effort on each play.
"We had more missed assignments," he said. "That was a big problem."
On TV
ESPN gave Tech's Oct. 29 home game against Clemson an 8 p.m. kickoff. The game will be broadcast on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. A spokeswoman for ESPN said Monday that Tech is one of eight candidates to host its College GameDay show that day. The decision will likely be made after Saturday's games. The last time that the GameDay show came to Tech was in 2006.
In Drummond's place
Groh said that inside linebacker Quayshawn Nealy was "fairly decent" in his two games starting in Drummond's place, noting that Nealy usually plays on the weak side and played on the strong side in Drummond's place. Nealy led Tech in tackles on Saturday with 10.
The move was "a little bit of a transition, but I think he and I both see more in his future than what we're seeing right now," Groh said.
Etc.
About 5,000 tickets remain for the Virginia Tech game. The other two remaining home games, Clemson and Georgia, have sold out. … Johnson, asked for a response to critical comments from Nick Cellini on the 790 the Zone "Mayhem in the A.M." show on Monday: "Who is he?" … Tech's fall break is Monday and Tuesday, giving players a short reprieve from classes. ... Cornerback Rod Sweeting was named ACC defensive back of the week after making his third interception in the past four games. In the second quarter, Sweeting picked off Virginia quarterback Michael Rocco and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown, which tied the game at 14. He also had five tackles.
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