An early criticism this season of Tech quarterback Justin Thomas had been that he’s tried to make plays on his own and force the action.
Early in the game Saturday in Durham, he let the game come to him and it and it served Tech well. He cashed in for a 74-yard scoring drive late in the first half that all but kept Tech in the game. His 10-yard touchdown pass to Ricky Jeune on third and goal with 30 seconds to go before halftime pulled Tech to within 19-10 of Duke.
But coming down the stretch he started forcing it again, and the mistakes piled up – an interception late in the third quarter and a fumble in the fourth that all but ended Tech’s scoring chances in a 34-20 loss to Duke.
“We’ve got to be better on offense, got to be better,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said afterward, speaking at first in generic terms. “And then what happens is then the quarterback starts pressing and then it gets worse, just like the last play. It’s a hand off; he fumbles. Hand it off. If you don’t make a first down, you don’t make a first down. That’s your read, you’ve got to hand it off.”
Thomas, who had been 4-for-6 for 92 yards passing and a touchdown and in the first half, was 2-for-15 with 51 yards passing and an interception in the second half. Thomas recovered two of his own fumbles in the first half but lost one in the second.
“I understand where he’s at, he’s trying to make plays himself,” Johnson said. “He gets frustrated. He couldn’t drop back to throw without three guys right around him, so it was frustrating.”
Thomas had found rushing tough early in the game, turning to his left and finding little but defensive traffic. But he created a little more room for his stable of running backs and him by finding A-back Clinton Lynch breaking free down the first sideline for a 35 yard gain on the second play of the drive.
Thomas rushed for a modest five yards on five carries on the drive, but they were five important yards. Where Tech had been stuffed on fourth and 3 to thwart their first drive of the second quarter, Thomas twice converted on short yardage plays on the final drive – keeping on fourth and 1 for a 2-yard gain and third and 1 at the Duke 11 with a surge of second effort. That set Tech up for the scoring play three plays later.
Thomas had to buy some time after Jeune found double coverage one way and cut back to the left. He zipped a pass in there to Jeune to give him eight straight games with a touchdown pass.
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