The offensive onslaught shows how far Tech has come with the triple option as a team, but also indicates that the defense is well behind in grasping Al Groh’s new 3-4 scheme.  The plan is to install the defense in phases, similar to how Coach Paul Johnson has installed his offense.  They appear to be about as far behind the eight ball as Johnson’s offense was when they first debuted at the Spring Game two years ago.

 The first possession of the game saw Tech in a familiar position after three straight runs set up a fourth and one from their own 40 yard line.  Tech decided to go for it, which to the casual college football fan would appear to be an unrealistic decision in a meaningless game.  As Tech fans all know, however, Coach Johnson would have made the same decision in any official Georgia Tech football game and Washington was able to sneak for the first down.  Anthony Allen then found a crease up the middle and gained 40 yards to set Tech up for a first and goal.  Washington then scored his first of many touchdowns on a 5 yard run.  Strike up the band for the fight song and it felt just like old times during Tech’s memorable 2009 ACC championship season.

 The second team offense trotted onto the field behind quarterback Jordan Luallen, a red-shirt freshman from Indiana. Marcus Wright was unable to corral a low pass from Luallen followed by a nice stop by Emmanuel Dieke on Lucas Cox to force the first punt of the game.  Stephen Hill, starting wide receiver and back up punt returner called for a fair catch on the kick.

 The first string offense then entered the game for the second time and were forced to go three and out.  Anthony Barnes did a good job to string out the toss sweep on third down that allowed true freshman Isaiah Johnson to come up from his safety position to make the tackle for a loss of yards.  Johnson now wears Morgan Burnett’s number one and looks to be following a similar path as he has a chance to start as a freshman.

 Jerrard Tarrant looked for his first action at punt returner, but redshirt freshman Sean Poole boomed one over his head.  The ball continued to roll after it hit the ground and when it was all said and done stopped for a 71 yard punt.

 Luallen tried to rebound on his second attempt, but could not get the offense in gear.  He was stuffed for a short gain on the first play and then pitched it to Bostic for a loss of yards on the next play.  BJ Machen put a big stick on Bostic that got the crowd excited and on its feet cheering loudly for the defense for the first time.  Luallen floated one to Bostic on third down but the pass was just out of his reach and he trapped it against the ground on what would have been a first down. 

 Washington began his third possession by taking a bone shattering hit from Anthony Egbuniwe that drew some Ooohs and Aaahs from the fans in attendance.  They were eventually stopped short at the opponent’s 40 yard line, but Tech again went for it on fourth down.  Athony Allen picked up the first down as he bulldozed his way for five yards right up the middle.  Washington aired it out for the first time of the game and Hill made the play of the day in spectacular fashion to go up and over Dominique Reese to make the 34 yard reception.  The pass was well under thrown and appeared to be an easy interception for Reese.  However, Hill was able to adjust his route, come back to the ball, and jump up and over Reese to snatch the ball away.  Hill is going to put up gaudy statistics at Tech to prove that a receiver recruited specifically for the triple option can also be a first round NFL draft pick.  The play set up a first and goal and that saw Allen get stuffed at the line while Washington tried to push him forward for the first down, a la Reggie Bush.  The push was unsuccessful but I have to applaud effort like that from the quarterback.  Washington called his own number on the next play and walked in untouched right up the middle as he broke the plane of the end zone for the touchdown.

 David Sims checked into the game for the first time at quarterback and began with a bang as he made a nice read to keep the ball and then maneuver his way down the field for a 24 yard gain.  Lucas Cox continued to pick up solid chunks of yards at B-back and the cracking of helmets could be heard as he kept his legs churning after initial contact.  Sims made his first bad read and pitched the ball too soon to freshman Charles Perkins, who took a good lick from Rod Sweeting.  Steven Sylvester looks destined to be a future vocal leader for the team.  He was witnessed dancing around on the field while the marching band played, “Put on”.  The offense was eventually stopped short, but went for it on fourth and three.  Sims would pick up the necessary yardage on a 5 yard run up the middle.  He then gained another key first down on third and eight by breaking a tackle after putting a spin move on the first defender.  Sims has a solid build at 5-11, 219 and his low center of gravity makes him difficult to bring down.  Orwin Smith, the MVP from last Spring, finally made his presence known as he lowered the boom on Malcolm Munroe to turn a loss into a four yard gain.  Smith is a player that needs to get more touches.  I could see him bulking up and becoming the starting B-back of the future.  Coach Johnson finally called a pass play for Sims on third and two which turned out to be a mistake as he air mailed it over everybody’s head.  Sims will need to improve as a passer going forward if he ever expects to see playing time at quarterback.  Nevertheless, he was bailed out by a foolish late hit penalty on Dieke.  A false start then wiped away a would be touchdown by Cox, but it would not matter as Smith scampered in from 14 yards for the touchdown two plays later.  Sims made a good read to pitch it to Smith, who followed good blocking on the edge for the easy score.

 Stephen Hill received the ensuing kickoff and showed nice vision as he made progress down the field.  It looks like Tech is going to do everything that they can to get the ball in his hands.  The 6-4 receiver showcased his speed on the very next play as he got behind the defense on a 70 yard touchdown pass, the longest play from scrimmage of the day.  He blazed by Johnson and Butler to burn the defense by nearly five yards and Washington tossed it perfectly 50 yards in the air to hit Hill in stride.  I expected Washington to throw it well short, but it looks like his mechanics have changed for the better.  He throws the ball less side arm now, which gives me some confidence in his ability to throw the deep ball.     

 Sims was unable to maintain the momentum in his second offensive attempt and unfortunately slipped and fell for a big loss on third down. 

 Washington would then methodically march the first team offense down the field with good decision making on a variety of plays.  Embry Peeples gained 18 yards on a pitch, followed by a nine yard run up the middle by Allen, and then a toss sweep to Roddy Jones that went for eight yards.  Washington picked up two yards on fourth and one to keep the drive alive and then hit Peeples for an easy first down pass.  Allen gained 13 yards up the middle after making a brilliant cut back on a run up the middle.  He is one of those running backs that gets stronger as the game goes along.  Washington eventually would call his own number, showing good vision to follow his blockers for 14 yards.  He would cap the drive off with his third five-yard touchdown run of the day.

 The score came just in time as the heavens opened up and rain began pouring down on the field.  The players and coaches all sprinted for the locker room as thunder and lightning prevented any thought of continuing the game at a later time. 

 I have admittedly not been the biggest fan of Tevin Washington but he really showed my something today.  His arm strength is still not ideal, but it has definitely improved a great deal and he now has the ability to make every pass required by a Division I quarterback.  His improvement leads me to believe that the loss of Jaybo Shaw will soon be forgotten if Josh Nesbitt had to miss a game this season.  If he continues to improve, Washington is in line to be Tech’s future starting quarterback considering that he is only a red-shirt sophomore.

 Tech will return one of the nation’s most potent offenses this year and if this game is any indication, the loss of Thomas and Dwyer will have very little impact on their chances of success this year.  Several former players came back for the game including starting linebacker Gary Guyton of the New England Patriots, 2010 first round pick Demaryius Thomas and 2010 third round pick Morgan Burnett.  All players were interviewed by Wes Durham on the sidelines and Burnett provided some comic relief. 

 When asked about the cold in Green Bay Burnett said, “It’s a good cold, I look forward to it!”   

 Burnett also commented on waiting for his name to be called by saying, “It’s like waiting for Christmas, It takes forever to get there.”

Christian Ponder, JR, Florida St 33-40, 395 yds, 3 tds, 0 int
Terrell Pryor, SO, Ohio St 13-25, 239 yds, 2 tds, 1 int, 104 rush yds, 1 rush td
Thaddeus Lewis, SR, Duke 30-43, 371 yds, 2 tds, 1 int
Sean Canfield, SR, Oregon St 30-43, 329 yds, 3 tds, 0 int
Daryll Clark, SR, Penn St 16-27, 230 yds, 4 tds, 0 int
Jevan Snead, JR, Ole Miss 22-33, 332 yds, 2 tds, 2 int, 1 rush td
Stephen Garcia, SO, South Carolina 22-33, 312 yds, 2 tds, 0 int
Zach Collaros, SO, Cinn 15-17, 253 yds, 3 tds, 0 int, 52 rush yds

Running Back

CJ Spiller, SR, Clemson 81 yds, 5.8 ypc, 104 rec yds, 1 rec td, 310 apy, 1 kr td
Delone Carter, SR, Syracuse 170 yds, 5.7 ypc, 3 tds
Javhid Best, JR, California 159 yds, 12.2 ypc, 1 td, 1 rec td
Noel Devine, JR, West Virginia 178 yds, 7.7 ypc, 1 td
Allen Bradford, SR, USC 147 yds, 9.8 ypc, 2 tds
Joe Martinek, JR, Rutgers 139 yds, 5.6 ypc, 2 tds
Daniel Thomas, JR, Kansas St 145 yds, 7.3 ypc, 1 td
Cyrus Gray, SO, Texas A&M 131 yds, 5.2 ypc, 3 tds
Toby Gerhart, SR, Stanford 125 yds, 4.6 ypc, 1 td
Anthony Allen, JR, Georgia Tech 103 yds, 9.4 ypc, 2 tds

Wide Receiver

Dexter McCluster, SR, Ole Miss 137 yds, 19.6 ypr, 1 td, 123 rush yds
Rod Owens, SR, Florida St 199 yds, 22.1 ypr, 1 td
Rich Dunnell, SR, Boston College 179 yds, 17.9 ypc, 1 td
Devier Posey, SO, Ohio St 161 yds, 20.1 ypc, 2 tds
Jonathan Baldwin, SO, Pitt 144 yds, 24 ypr, 1 td
Andrew Brewer, SR, Northwestern 135 yds, 16.9 ypr, 1 td
Alexander Torres, JR, Texas Tech 128 yds, 16 ypr, 1 td
Golden Tate, JR, Notre Dame 128 yds, 11.6 ypr, 2 tds
Donovan Varner, SO, Duke 120 yds, 15 ypr, 1 td
Jordan Shipley, SR, Texas 108 yds, 15.4 ypr, 2 tds
Marshawn Gilyard, SR, Cinn 82 yds, 20.5 ypr, 1 td, 220 apy

Freshman

SITE: Scott Stadium

TIME: Saturday, 12:00 PM ET

WEATHER: 60 degrees, Rain (70% Chance of Precipitation)

RADIO: Georgia Tech ISP Network (WQXI 790-AM Atlanta, WYAY 106.7-FM Atlanta)

TV: Raycom

RECORDS: No. 11 Georgia Tech 6-1, Virginia 3-3

COACHES: Georgia Tech – Paul Johnson (15-5, second season), Al Groh (59-47, ninth season)

Georgia Tech Players to watch:

QB Josh Nesbitt (Jr., 6-1, 214), B-Back Jonathan Dwyer (Jr., 6-0, 235), A-Back Anthony Allen (RS Jr., 6-0, 225), A-Back Roddy Jones (RS So., 5-9, 192), WR Demaryius Thomas (RS Jr., 6-3, 229), OG Cord Howard (RS Sr.,6-5, 300), DE Derrick Morgan (Jr., 6-4, 270), DB Morgan Burnett (Jr., 6-1, 210), DB/PR Jerrard Tarrant (RS So., 6-0, 202)

Virginia Players to watch:

QB Jameel Sewell (Sr, 6-3, 219), RB Mikell Simpson (Sr., 6-1, 200), RT Will Barker (Sr., 6-7, 315), DT Nate Collins (Sr., 6-2, 290), LB Steve Greer (RS Fr., 6-2, 225), DB Ras-I Dowling (Jr., 6-2, 200)

Georgia Tech keys to the game

Josh Nesbitt. He has been instrumental to Tech’s improvement on offense in the last three games. Nesbitt is on a roll rushing the ball, having run for 262 yards and six touchdowns over the last two games. He has put himself within reach of several Georgia Tech records. Nesbitt now has 1,658 rushing yards for his career and needs only 102 yards to break Joe Hamilton’s career rushing mark by a quarterback. He can also surpass Hamilton’s single season mark of 734 yards rushing if he goes for at least 110 yards against Virginia. Nesbitt has already tied the single season mark of 9 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and four more will allow him to pass Shawn Jones’ career record of 19. There is still room for improvement in other parts of his game with crisper pitches on the triple option and better decision making in the passing game.

All the way turnt up. Last week the Jackets brought the intensity on defense, which will need to carry over on the road. GT has allowed a startling 36 points per game on the road compared to only 18.5 per game at home. UVA’s offense is not very good, ranking 10th in the ACC with 24 points per game and 11th in the ACC with 304 total yards per game. Tech will need to hold them to those totals. The Jackets also need to continue to get pressure with their front four as they did last week against VT because there is no way that Sewell dances all over the field to avoid sacks as Tyrod Taylor did.

Killer Instinct. GT should have put VT away in the third quarter, but then Nesbitt made a poor read in the passing game and threw an interception. Early in the fourth quarter GT had another opportunity to put them away, but Nesbitt again gave the ball away on a bad pitch. Three of their four ACC victories have come by five points or less. If the offense continues to play with fire, the defense will eventually get burned at the end of the game.

Virgnia keys to the game

Red Zone Offense. The Cavaliers lead the ACC in red zone offense, having scored every time they entered the red zone this season. The problem being that they are also next to last in total opportunities with only 17 chances. They will be up against GT’s red zone defense, which is second best in the ACC, as their opponents only have a 75 percent success rate. UVA will need to continue their streak if they expect to be successful against the Jackets.

Turnovers. After losing their first three games of the season, including an embarassing home loss to William & Mary, UVA has turned it around with three straight wins. The key has been forcing turnovers. The Cavaliers have taken the ball away nine times in the last three games while only turning it over once. Their defense has only given up an average of six points per game during these contests. Their run defense has been especially strong during these wins, giving up an average of 82.3 yards per game with a long of only 12 yards. This is not likely to continue against GT, but the Cavaliers will have a strong chance if they win the turnover battle and limit big plays by the Jackets.

Health concerns? Virgnia’s two best offensive weapons, Sewell and Simpson, may not play in the game. The loss of Sewell would especially hurt, considering that that he has been very effective during the three wins. He has now thrown 109 straight passes without an interception. His potential replacement, Mark Verica, is no stranger to the Yellow Jackets. Last year he orchestrated a victory against GT to ruin their homecoming weekend. He was an impressive 29-39 with 270 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Third Down Efficiency

Georgia Tech leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally with a third down conversion rate of 52.6 percent on offense. Virginia, on the other hand leads the ACC and ranks tenth nationally on third down defense as their opponents only convert 29.4 percent of the time. The Jackets will look to put themselves in third and short situations in order to help them win this battle.

Rushing Offense

Sean Bedford has won the ACC offensive lineman of the week award twice and Cord Howard has won it once, paving the way for the second best rushing offense in the nation. Tech averages 282 rushing yards per game this season and scores 32.4 points per game, good for 24th nationally. They also have three of the top seven rushers in the ACC in Nesbitt, Dwyer, and Allen. Allen averages an astonishing 11.5 yards per carry this season and the three players have combined for 17 rushing touchdowns.

First Quarter Domination

GT is outscoring their opposition 76-28 in the first quarter, while UVA has outscored their opponents 37-7. The Cavaliers have not allowed an opponent to score in the first quarter for five consecutive games. They have also not allowed a touchdown in the first half in their three victories. GT will need to maintain their first half dominance and take a lead into halftime. They are now 12-1 under CPJ when they accomplish this.

Curse of Scott Stadium

Name the longest standing road losing streak for the Jackets against an ACC team. FSU? VT? Miami? No, the correct answer is UVA. Tech has not won at Scott Stadium since 1990, which ammounts to eight straight losses. Good thing the Jackets have CPJ, who has already broken long standing losing streaks against both UGA and FSU.

Injury Update

Out: DE Robert Hall (knee), LB Kyle Jackson (foot), WR Kevin Cone (ankle)

Questionable: DB Cooper Taylor (undisclosed)

Prediction

After poor performances in back to back games, the defense showed up in a big way on Saturday night. Tyrod Taylor did his usual routine dancing all around the pocket but he was unable to find anybody down field due to excellent coverage in the secondary. He only got loose for one big gain on a play late in the game where he scored from 22 yards out on an incredible run. The defensive line did a great job getting penetration and the linebackers did well plugging holes on running plays. Ryan Williams, the leading rusher in the ACC, was held to only 14 yards on 12 carries, until he finally busted loose for a 66 yard touchdown. Nevertheless, the defense really came up big and made up for a sloppy performance by the offense.

Nesbitt did not have his best game and he made the wrong read almost every single time GT tried to pass the ball. The one correct read he did make, however, turned out to be his only completion
of the game which was a huge momentum swing for the Jackets. He connected on a 51 yard pass to Bay-Bay late in the first half after GT had amassed only 2 yards of total offense on their first 20 plays. VT made two straight stops near the goal line before Nesbitt finally snuck it in for the touchdown and the lead at halftime. This seemed to break the spirits of the Hokies, who had been in control of the game up until that point.

GT came out in the second half focused, and with a few minor adjustments the offense was suddenly unstoppable again. They took the opening drive straight down the field for a touchdown to go up by two scores. Highlights of the drive inlcuded a nice individual run by Anthony Allen for 16 yards and a well blocked run by Nesbitt for 31 yards. On the longer run, Peeples cut down safety Kam Chancellor to spring the play, which would be a common theme of the second half.

Tech allowed a big kickoff return on the next play, but their defense would come up huge to stuff VT on fourth down. The Jackets were in position to put the game away, but Nesbitt missed a wide open Tyler Melton and opted instead to throw into double coverage. The pass was picked off and swung the momentum back into VT’s favor. Williams broke his big run up the middle on the very next play for a touchdown and suddenly VT was back within one score.

It wouldn’t matter though as GT would methodically march down the field, chewing up six and a half minutes en route to another back breaking touchdown. Highlights included a big collision between Allen and Chancellor and a 34 yard run by Dwyer up the middle. The firey-spirited Allen got up and talked trash to Chancellor after the big hit. Nesbitt capped the drive off with a perfect pitch to Marcus Wright on the triple option for the 13 yard score.

VT got another big kick return, but were unable to do anything with the ball after Derrick Morgan got a big third down sack on Taylor. GT would then gobble up another seven and a half and a half minutes of clock as they drove all the way to the 15 yard line. Then Nesbitt made his second bad pitch of the possession and this time the Hokies recovered. GT could likely have put the game away with a touchdown.

VT took advantage of the mistake and quickly answered with a touchdown after the GT defense seemed ill prepared to take the field after the turnover. The Jackets did well to bat down the two point conversion in order to maintain more than a field goal advantage.

GT got the ball back and went for the dagger on the first play, but the pass was well covered by the Hokies. GT went back to their bread and butter and Nesbitt made a good read to pitch the ball to Allen on the triple option. Allen made a solid catch on a low pitch and then gained 23 yards after juking a defender. Nesbitt then showed why he is a baller in this offense by turning a first down run into a 39 yard touchdown run. A great block by Peeples created a huge hole for Nesbitt, who then bounced the ball outside toward the sidelines. He stiff armed the last defender and showed his agility by tip-toeing the sideline in order to sneak inside of the pylon. That TD sealed the deal and soon thereafter the party began on the field.

Anthony Allen had a great individual performance and it would be nice to see him get more carries in the offense. If Dwyer does end up going pro, Allen is a no-brainer to move over to be the featured B-back. He is a tough runner, but also has great moves in the open field and decent speed.

Todd Reesing, SR, Kansas 30-51, 401 yds, 2 tds, 1 int
Ben Chappell, JR, Indiana 23-38, 333 yds, 3 tds, 0 int
Zach Collaros, SO, Cinn 132 rush yds, 13.2 ypc, 2 rush tds
Josh Nesbitt, JR, Georgia Tech 122 rush yds, 5.3 ypc, 3 tds
Mike Kafka, SR, Northwestern 34-47, 291 yds, 2 tds, 0 int, 42 rush yds

Running Back

Montel Harris, SO, Boston College 264 yds, 9.8 ypc, 5 tds
Mark Ingram, SO, Alabama 246 yds, 10.3 ypc, 1 td
Andrew Dixon, SR, Conn 153 yds, 4.6 ypc, 3 tds
Shane Vereen, SO, California 154 yds, 9.1 ypc, 1 td, 210 apy
Anthony Dixon, SR, Miss St 135 yds, 5 ypc, 2 tds
Toby Gerhart, SR, Stanford 123 yds, 4.4 ypc, 2 tds
Ben Tate, SR, Auburn 132 yds, 4.3 ypc, 1 td
CJ Spiller, SR, Clemson 106 yds, 11.8 ypc, 2 tds

Wide Receiver

Blair White, SR, Michigan St 186 yds, 15.5 ypc, 2 tds
Danario Alexander, SR, Missouri 180 yds, 20 ypr, 1 td
Devin Aguilar, SO, Washington 154 yds, 22 ypr, 1 td
Dezmon Briscoe, JR, 154 yds, 19.3 ypr, 1 td
Chris Owusu, SO, Stanford 116 yds, 23.2 ypr, 1 td, 287 apy
Greg Childs, SO, Arkansas 135 yds, 33.8 ypr, 1 td
Tandon Doss, SO, Indiana 130 yds, 18.6 ypr, 1 td
Derek Moye, SO, Penn St 120 yds, 20 ypr, 1 td
Golden Tate, JR, Notre Dame 117 yds, 14.6 ypr, 2 tds, 181 apy
Hubert Anyiam, SO, Oklahoma St 119 yds, 11.9 ypr, 1 td

Freshman