A year ago, it was a pillaging. Georgia took whatever it wanted from the Georgia Tech defense.
The Bulldogs scored touchdowns on six of their first seven possessions with stunning ease. Of the 38 plays they needed en route to those 42 points, 18 of them went for 10 yards or more. On those seven drives, the Yellow Jackets managed to extend Georgia to third down only four times.
The 42-10 defeat in Athens was the sixth game, and final of the season, in which Tech permitted more than 40 points.
“We just pretty much got bullied out there,” weakside linebacker Quayshawn Nealy said Tuesday.
The results this season largely have indicated that the Jackets have made considerable progress since last season. Against its arch-rival and tormentor, Tech has the opportunity Saturday to make a nationally televised statement to that effect.
“We want to look past those days (from 2012) and look towards Saturday and put something out there that represents us, this new defense,” Nealy said. “We definitely look forward to it.”
The Jackets can draw confidence from their No. 17 ranking in total defense (342.6 yards per game), No. 10 ranking in rushing defense (104.8 yards per game) and No. 25 ranking in defensive third-down efficiency (34.3 percent). They held Pittsburgh to minus-5 rushing yards.
Tech boasts two of the better defensive players in the ACC, defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu and safety Jemea Thomas. The Jackets tackle significantly better than last season and suffer fewer missed assignments. They seem to play with more urgency than in the past. On Wednesday, defensive coordinator Ted Roof was named one of 40 nominees for the Broyles Award, given to the country’s top assistant coach.
“The guys are excited about practicing, and they most certainly hold each other accountable,” defensive backs coach Joe Speed said. “They’re not going to let somebody slack off because they know if they slack off in a practice, they’ll slack off in a game, and that’s not acceptable.”
On Saturday, it won’t hurt Tech’s cause that Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray will not be available, having torn an ACL against Kentucky last week. Murray was a certified Jacket killer in his three starts against Tech, with a passing efficiency rating of 211.8, a completion percentage of 73.8 and a yards-per-attempt average of 11.4. His career numbers in those categories: 158.6, 62.3, 8.9.
Tech does not expect Hutson Mason, Murray’s replacement, to play like a slouch. Roof has done his homework. As Mason, a third-year junior who has backed Murray since arriving at Georgia, has thrown only 82 career passes, Roof reviewed Mason’s game video all the way back to Lassiter High to get a better feel for him.
“He’s not like some guy that was playing high school football last year,” Roof said. “He’s been around the block and been in that program, developed and matured. I was very impressed with his performance (Saturday) night and throughout the year.”
Further, Tech has not given much of an account of itself against top competition. Miami, before running back Duke Johnson suffered a broken ankle, set an ACC record for average yards per play against Tech (10.4 yards per play). The 55 points put up by Clemson, spurred by a masterful performance by quarterback Tajh Boyd, tied for the second most points allowed by Tech in school history. BYU quarterback Taysom Hill’s 158.5 passing efficiency rating was 40 points higher than his season average.
Georgia running back Todd Gurley, whom coach Paul Johnson compared to Herschel Walker this week, may be the best offensive player Tech has faced this season. Gurley hit Tech for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 12 carries last season. He is as fearsome a back as Duke Johnson, who piled up 184 yards on 22 carries against the Jackets.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Roof said. “It’s a tremendous challenge and a tremendous opportunity.”
Roof, committed to stopping the run first, wants his defense pursuing the ball, shedding blocks, staying in its assigned gaps and trying to bring down Gurley with multiple defenders.
“I feel like we’ve got a great chance to show them how good we are this Saturday, because coach Roof has put in a great plan this week,” said strongside linebacker Brandon Watts, who is at his healthiest since suffering a hamstring injury in the Pittsburgh game. “We’re going to work hard to execute it 100 percent and just go out and play hard.”
To stand up to bullies, it will take nothing less.
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