Georgia Tech failed on its first play from scrimmage Saturday — if you can call a 21-yard pass completion that started a scoring drive a failure.
For three consecutive weeks, the Yellow Jackets had pushed the bar of success ever higher, scoring on their first play from scrimmage in each game and putting to rest the idea that coach Paul Johnson’s offense is a grinding option that lacks quick-strike ability. They even scored on the first play of both halves against Kansas.
After North Carolina took a 7-0 lead and Tech was penalized on the kickoff return for holding, quarterback Tevin Washington threw 21 yards to Orwin Smith to kick off a nine-play, 59-yard drive that resulted in a 40-yard field goal by Justin Moore.
The Jackets later had a one-play touchdown drive to take the lead when Washington executed what the Tar Heels call a “dive pass” to an unusually open Stephen Hill for 59 yards. Hill, who gained 118 yards receiving in the first half and 151 total, was open by more than 15 yards.
“We run maybe three defenses a game,” North Carolina coach Everett Withers said. “They were able to slip the wideout past the safety that’s supposed to overlap. The safety gets short ... touchdown pass. We were short about three ‘years’ on both plays.”
On the first play of the second half, Tech had a 2-yard gain.
“It’s nice [to score on the first play],” Washington said. “But we just have to move the ball.”
Still no dust here
Despite TV announcers’ affinity for dismissing Johnson’s option as “a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense,” Tech as a team has four pass plays of 70 or more yards this season, more than any other “conference” has produced. Last season, the Jackets had one play of that distance.
They also have two rushing plays of 70 or more yards.
That gives Tech as a team six plays from scrimmage of that distance, more than any “conference” except the SEC (seven) entering Saturday’s play.
The Jackets had several long plays Saturday, the longest of which was Hill’s 59-yard touchdown. But they also had a 48-yard run by Roddy Jones and a 36-yard run by Smith. The play on which Hill dropped a sure touchdown pass would have been a 54-yard strike.
Johnson up to .682
Johnson is 30-14 as Tech coach, a winning percentage of .682. Among Tech coaching legends, Johnson compares favorably: After four seasons, Bobby Dodd was 30-12 (.714) and John Heisman was 23-8-3 (.721). Johnson is 137-53 (.721) in 15 seasons. Johnson is 4-0 in ACC openers.
Point machine
Tech has scored 213 points in four games, the second-most in ACC history to Florida State (238) in 1995. No other ACC team in history has scored as many as 200 in the first four.
Johnson is unimpressed. “Thirty-five is more than 28 ... that’s what I was pleased with.”
Quotable
“[The offensive line] was mad at me for not going for it on fourth-and-one [in the fourth quarter], but I told them you had three downs. You didn’t make it. Get your butt off the field.” — Johnson
“Ain’t nobody perfect.” — Hill on his dropped pass that would have been an easy touchdown in the fourth quarter
“[Tevin] put it in a spot that only I could go get.” — Hill on an acrobatic, one-handed sideline catch on third down in the first quarter to keep alive a drive
Etc.
Tech is 4-0 for the first time since the 1990 season, when the Jackets won a share of the national championship, and 4-0 for the third time since 1970. ... Tech had two touchdown passes in each of the first three games, and had one Saturday. They had two touchdown passes in a game once last season, at Wake Forest. After rushing for five touchdowns in each of the first three games, the Jackets rushed for three Saturday. ... Tech has had a 100-yard receiver in all four games, and Hill has four touchdowns and averages 33 yards per catch. Hill has three of the four 100-yard receiving efforts.
