RALEIGH -- The running defense took it on the chin. The quarterback had a rough day throwing. The special teams unit gave an uneven performance.
And Georgia Tech advanced to 5-0 for the first time since 1990 (when it shared the national championship) and just the second time since coach Bobby Dodd hung up his whistle, a span of 45 seasons. After turning a three-touchdown lead into a momentary nail-biter, the Yellow Jackets took care of N.C. State with a 45-35 win Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium.
"I think it's good to be 5-0, but I still don't think we've played our best game as a team," quarterback Tevin Washington said. "That's a good part, too. We've got a lot to keep working for."
In a game that coach Paul Johnson warned his team could be a trap, Tech showed again its potential as an offensive juggernaut. The Jackets (5-0 overall, 2-0 in the ACC) gobbled up 296 rushing yards. They also recorded their eighth one-play touchdown drive, a 38-yard pass down the seam from Washington to A-back Roddy Jones that made the score 42-14 with 10:07 to play.
But they fumbled four times, couldn't convert on fourth and 1 on the N.C. State 3-yard line in the third quarter and had to overcome Washington's first subpar passing game of the season.
Defensively, they gave up a season-high 195 rushing yards to an N.C. State team that nine days earlier accumulated a rushing yard debt (minus-26 yards in a loss to Cincinnati). After breathing fire in the first 15 minutes, when the Jackets allowed 30 yards in N.C. State's first three possessions, the Jackets gave N.C. State (2-3, 0-2) life by giving up two touchdowns and 176 yards on the next three.
The second score, a 46-yard run by James Washington, allowed N.C. State to draw to within 21-14 after it had fallen behind 21-0 in the first 16 minutes of the game.
"The game was probably closer than it needed to be," Johnson said.
The Jackets righted themselves. After a three-and-out on the first possession of the second half, Washington grabbed a sports drink and walked to a far end of the bench to try to compose himself.
"Me personally, I was frustrated with myself with the way I was playing to that point," he said. "But I had to let all that go out the window and go out there and play that drive."
B-back David Sims approached and suggested Washington look down at his own left hand. There, in what looked like black ballpoint pen ink, Washington had scrawled "5-0."
The next drive ended on downs at the N.C. State 3. The next chance he got, Washington drove Tech 67 yards for a touchdown and a 28-14 lead, a series abetted by N.C. State twice jumping offsides on fourth-and-1 plays. On the next play from scrimmage after A-back Orwin Smith's third touchdown of the afternoon -- a 2-yard run off a toss -- Tech safety Isaiah Johnson nailed the game down by intercepting quarterback Mike Glennon and returning the ball 34 yards for a touchdown and a 35-14 advantage with 12:15 to play.
"I never thought we would be here, but since we are on this track, we might as well finish it," Isaiah Johnson said. "I can see us winning the ACC championship. That is our goal, so that's what we strive for."
On a day when the Jackets took another step toward it, they demonstrated also how much further they have to go.
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