In a crowded and practically giddy locker room in Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson held his team’s attention.
“It’s like Jamal said, ‘We ain’t done nothing yet,’” Johnson said, quoting safety Jamal Golden. “And we can get so much better.”
In the speech, posted to Youtube following the Yellow Jackets' 27-24 win over the Hokies Saturday, Johnson elongated the "so," emphasizing the degree to which Georgia Tech still can improve despite its 4-0 start. With the fervor of worshipers at a tent revival, players nodded and heartily voiced their agreement.
“Hey,” Johnson shouted, “but it feels great to be 4-0!”
The room erupted as players shouted, clapped and pounded on a table. It is only late September, but these are indeed good days for the Jackets. They are 4-0 for just the fourth time since coach Bobby Dodd retired after the 1966 season, most recently in the 1990 national championship season and in 2011. It has earned them votes in both polls for the first time this season. Tech received the eighth most votes outside of the top 25 in both the coaches and Associated Press polls released Sunday.
The fact that the schedule through four games is ranked 113th in the country by the Sagarin ratings undoubtedly has contributed to the record, but the Jackets are unblemished nonetheless after back-to-back close calls against Georgia Southern and Virginia Tech.
“It’s the first time we’ve been 4-0 in a while,” B-back Zach Laskey said. “We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and get to work. Excited about it.”
As they head into an open week, with a home date with Miami waiting Oct. 4, they’re positioned well to keep advancing their streak. They’ll have time to rest and heal injuries, such as A-back Charles Perkins’ leg injury. But they’ll also be able to address shortcomings, and more importantly do so with the team’s awareness that it has indeed not accomplished much yet. Further, the Jackets have had to stage fourth-quarter comebacks to beat Georgia Southern and Virginia Tech. They may be 4-0, but they’re also not so far from 2-2.
There are areas to address. Quarterback Justin Thomas, while showing cool in the clutch, has been less accurate at other times. Wide receivers Micheal Summers and Darren Waller have a combined four catches compared to DeAndre Smelter’s 14. The pass rush needs to develop. The tackling can improve.
But, particularly given the youth and inexperience in many of those cases, improvement isn’t an unreasonable expectation.
It could be seen Saturday. Thomas’ 165 rushing yards was the most ever gained by a Georgia Tech back against Virginia Tech and vaunted defensive coordinator Bud Foster. Tech’s defensive improvement was seen in a critical sequence early in the third quarter, after Thomas lost the ball on a fumble on the Jackets’ 10-yard line. The defense responded in a “sudden change” situation, as safety Jamal Golden and cornerback D.J. White made open-field tackles on first and second downs and then nose tackle Shawn Green tipped the third-down pass off course at the line to force an incompletion. On the ensuing field-goal try, Chris Milton came off the edge to block the kick, the first block of a Hokies field-goal attempt since 2006.
“I’m happy for these kids,” Johnson said after the win broke a four-game losing streak to the Hokies. “They work so hard.”
To stay undefeated, they’ll have to keep it up.
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