Justice was served. The better team won, and the better team was — pause two beats for full effect — Georgia Tech.
Georgia Tech, loser of five in a row to Big Brother. Georgia Tech, with its array of three-star recruits. Georgia Tech, which even on its day of deliverance could have come undone a half-dozen times.
Asked what the victory meant, coach Paul Johnson said: “It means (the Bulldogs) have to take down that dumb ‘We-Run-This-State’ sign for one year.”
Georgia Tech, state champion.
The Yellow Jackets liked the sound of that so much they sang it loud and long after accepting the Governor’s Cup from Nathan Deal. “We’re the state champs, ya!” they sang, some of them standing on benches and banging on lockers.
It was a sweeter noise than had emanated from that locker room two years ago, when the Jackets were beaten 42-10 by Georgia and their coach, Paul Johnson, could be heard railing that “somebody has to be accountable.” On this shimmering day, all Jackets took ownership of their fate. They beat the Bulldogs 30-24 in overtime not because they were more talented, but because they were stronger-willed. (And better-coached, about which more later.)
“Nobody gave us a chance,” said quarterback Justin Thomas, charged with two of the iffiest turnovers in the history of a series that still lists Jasper Sanks’ 1999 fumble as a point of contention. “We had the mentality to keep fighting.”
Twice the Jackets were a yard from falling behind 14-0. They blocked a field goal that would have made it a 10-point game just after they saw Damian Swann wrest the ball from Thomas, who thought he either scored or was down, at the Georgia 1. The nation’s 60th-ranked defense denied a touchdown after a fake field-goal play gave the Bulldogs first-and-goal at the 3. In the final three minutes of regulation, Tech stood ready to nudge its lead to seven points when a Thomas pump fake was adjudged a fumble. And then, with 18 seconds left, the Bulldogs scored what figured to be the winning touchdown.
Tech was out of timeouts. Georgia coach Mark Richt ordered Marshall Morgan to squib his kickoff. Anthony Harrell returned it 16 yards to the Tech 43. Thirteen seconds remained. Then the man who thought he lost the game reclaimed it.
Of Thomas, Johnson said: “He was so mad at himself (after the Swann touchdown). I said, ‘Come on, dude. That one’s over.’”
The careening game, however, was still afoot. Dropping to pass Thomas saw space up the middle, knowing he had to run far enough to give his kicker a chance but not so far as to consume 13 seconds. Thomas triangulated to a “T.” (Tech is big on math.) He flashed out of bounds 21 yards upfield with four seconds remaining. Harrison Butker’s 53-yarder to tie was good. From 55 yards, it wouldn’t have been.
B-back Zach Laskey later admitted he went from almost shedding tears because his team was about to lose to weeping from the elation of reaching overtime. Once there, he carried four times for 18 yards and a touchdown, whereupon Butker saw his PAT blocked.
Georgia was again positioned to win. Not this time. D.J. White ducked in front of Hutson Mason’s pass to Malcolm Mitchell. The five-year drought was broken.
A year ago, the Jackets led Georgia 20-0 but lost in double overtime. They were the stronger side for a half, but it was the wrong half. This time they got it right. Over the final 33:03 of regulation and overtime, Tech outgained the Bulldogs 360 yards to 159 and kept the ball for 23 minutes, 19 seconds. “Sometimes that high school offense will help you like that,” Johnson said archly, mouthing the familiar criticism.
After the 2009 season that yielded an ACC title, Tech under Johnson went 6-7, 8-5, 7-7 and 7-6, and there were those — that’s my hand you see raised — who wondered if his stylized offense was still suited to intercollegiate play. We wonder no more. Tech is 10-2, bound for a date with Florida State in the conference title game, conqueror of Georgia for the first time since Johnson’s first season.
If the ACC Coastal championship didn’t convince us, Saturday’s doings did. Done right, Johnson’s option can make a gifted opponent look ungainly if not downright helpless. Tech’s last completion of the game came on its final snap of the first half. Maybe if DeAndre Smelter hadn’t gotten hurt the Jackets would have thrown more, but maybe not. Why throw if you can pound and pitch, pound and pitch?
“I’m proud of these guys,” Johnson said, and his Jackets had reason to be proud of him, too. He outflanked Richt and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, and his team won a game that will keep Tech fans warm through many winters. The Jackets could have wilted long before Butker’s toe met leather on the last snap of regulation, but they, if you’ll pardon the expression, hunkered down.
And now they’re the state champs, ya. State champs on merit.
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