Georgia Tech’s defense hasn’t been the same since a win against Clemson.
Georgia became the third consecutive team to gouge Al Groh’s 3-4 system, rolling up 380 yards in a 31-17 victory on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The difference during the past three weeks, senior linebacker Steven Sylvester said, was the team’s emotion. Even playing rival Georgia failed to ignite the same energy the team had for the Tigers.
“We just weren’t there today,” he said.
Teammates Louis Young and Julian Burnett didn’t agree that the defense was flat. However, the results were familiar.
Since defeating the Tigers 31-17, the Jackets gave up 476 yards in a 37-26 loss to Virginia Tech and 351 yards in a 38-31 win against Duke, which, like Georgia, didn’t have much of a running game either.
But Georgia didn’t need the injured Isaiah Crowell to beat the Yellow Jackets for the third consecutive time, and 10th in the past 11 seasons.
Tech’s blitzers rarely troubled Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, who consistently found coverage holes in the middle and corners of Tech’s defense. He completed 19 of his 29 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns. The Bulldogs rushed 28 times for 128 yards, but 47 came in the fourth quarter when they ran down the clock.
Tech’s assistant coaches, including Groh, aren’t made available after games to provide their analysis. Tech’s players said the game plan emphasized stopping Georgia’s strong running attack and limiting post routes and tight end Orson Charles, who led the Bulldogs with five receptions for 95 yards.
Coach Paul Johnson said the difference came down to how well Georgia protected Murray, who was sacked one time.
“We didn’t get to him enough,” he said.
Georgia coach Mark Richt told his team something similar in the first quarter.
“I told the line that, ‘If you guys protect, I feel like we’re going to have a big day throwing and catching,’” he said.
Michael Bennett ran short routes across the middle of Tech’s defense throughout the game. Murray found him in the first quarter for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Tavarres King, Malcolm Mitchell and Chris Conley ran deeper routes across the middle or into the corners of Tech’s schemes.
Conley caught a 14-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone in the second quarter. Cornerback Rod Sweeting bit on a weak play-fake by Murray, which allowed the quarterback enough space to thread the pass. The score gave the Bulldogs a 14-3 lead.
“We kind of hurt ourselves with missed assignments and missed opportunities,” cornerback Louis Young said.
Even when Tech was in the correct position, such as Aron White’s 3-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, it couldn’t make a play. Johnson said the Jackets expected that play, but still couldn’t stop it.
“The bottom line is they made plays when they had to,” he said.
