CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Visits to Scott Stadium have oft been a nightmare for Georgia Tech. Today’s Halloween showdown with Virginia produced a similarly scary result. The Yellow Jackets were swatted on a last minute 4th quarter drive and fell at the hands of the Cavaliers by a final score of 27-21.

“I’m disappointed more in the way we played than in the outcome of the game,” said Head Coach Paul Johnson. “We didn’t look like a very well coached football team out there.”

Turnovers played a key role in the outcome. Georgia Tech (3-6, 1-5) put the ball on the ground three times and lost two of them. Both turnovers happened early in drives and deep in Georgia Tech territory, the first coming on Tech’s 3rd offensive snap of the game.

Said Johnson, “The first time we had the ball was ridiculous. That was a love bump and we laid it on the ground.”

It marked the third game in the last four that the Yellow Jackets turned the ball over on their first offensive drive of the game.

click here to read the rest and comment

ATLANTA, GA – Georgia Tech played its heart out, and the stage was set for it to get ripped out once again.

With 6 seconds remaining and the game tied at 16, Florida State kicker Roberto Aguayo set up for a potential game winning 56-yard field goal attempt. It was the same distance from which Pittsburgh’s Chris Blewitt converted to give the Panthers a victory at Bobby Dodd Stadium just one week prior. This week with a former Lou Groza Award winner lining up for the attempt, a gut-wrenching ending was ominously close again.

And on that play the game indeed ended. And if you’re waking up today a Florida State fan, your stomach is predictably entangled in knots.

Defensive tackle Pat Gamble penetrated the line, raised his paw, and blocked the field goal attempt. Defensive back Lance Austin scooped it and returned it 78 yards for a touchdown behind a wall of Georgia Tech blockers. It was a play that is already entrenched in Georgia Tech lore.

“I knew they were going to [win] the game on a FG or we were going to block it,” said Gamble. “Actually when I got down in my stance, this is the crazy thing, I saw myself blocking that kick. When Lance returned it for a touchdown, I was actually celebrating. I didn’t even know what was going on.”

Said Austin, “When I figured out it was blocked, I kind of zoned out. I didn’t really hear anybody. But we go over that scenario all the time in practice. It clicked in my head that the time expired, so I picked it up and went to the field.”

The final play was one that could be run 100 times again or more without a similar result. Make no mistake though, this was not a fluke win for the Yellow Jackets (3-5, 1-4). The Jackets earned every piece of their first ACC win of the year, taking down a Florida State team (6-1, 4-1) that had not lost a conference game in their last 28.

The Jackets went toe-to-toe for 60 minutes with their top 10 opponent, allowing themselves the opportunity to make a play at the end. Tech’s offense played keep-away, holding the ball for 34 minutes, 51 seconds and outgaining the Seminoles 328 yards to 280. The Jackets’ oft-maligned defense held Florida State to 2 of 10 on 3rd downs.

Poetically, it was special teams that literally won the game, a year in which that phase of the game has been anything but special for Tech.

There were big plays throughout, particularly in the waning moments of both halves. At the end of the first with 2:22 remaining, quarterback Justin Thomas broke free for a 60-yard jaunt down the right sideline for Tech’s lone offensive touchdown of the game. It gave the signal-caller and the Jackets confidence.

“I think it was huge for me and for everybody,” said Thomas. “We had the ball inside our own 5-yard line [to start the drive]. For us to get out of that situation, change field position, and score… it was big for us to get back in the game.”

With the game hanging in the balance at the end of the 4th quarter, it was Lance Austin’s twin brother Lawrence who deflected FSU quarterback Everett Golson’s pass in the end zone, tipping the ball into the hands of safety Jamal Golden.

On the Jackets’ final drive of regulation, down 16-13 and facing a 4th and 5 with 3 minutes to go, Thomas rolled out of the pocket and found true freshman wide receiver Brad Stewart streaking behind the Florida State secondary. The play netted 36 yards and put kicker Harrison Butker in range to ultimately tie the game.

“There were a lot of key plays in that game,” said Head Coach Paul Johnson. “It was a great play by Justin and Brad. It was a nice catch for a freshman to step up at that moment and make a play. I’m proud of him.”

Will the one final, dramatic play overshadow the game? Perhaps. However the players and coaches earned this one throughout. They played with confidence and mostly disciplined, contrary to prior games that ended with unsurprisingly opposite results.

It was a perfect ending amidst an otherwise imperfect season. And if the Jackets proved anything Saturday night, it’s that their heart is still beating strong.

Other news and notes:

• Georgia Tech is now 12-14 all-time against Florida State
• Last night’s win came at a cost on the injury front where the Jackets have been snake-bit. Both wide receiver Michael Summers and cornerback Step Durham left the game with injuries and did not return.
• Justin Thomas’ 60-yard touchdown run was just the second rushing touchdown allowed this season by the Seminoles’ defense
• Jamal Golden’s interception was the first turnover forced against the Seminoles’ offense this season. Golden is now tied with Duke’s Breon Borders and Virginia Tech’s Kendall Fuller for the ACC’s active career lead.
• Heading into Saturday, Georgia Tech had blocked the most kicks in the nation since 2013. Patrick Gamble’s block was Tech’s 14th blocked kick in that span and third this season.
• Head Coach Paul Johnson is now 6-3 at home versus top 25 opponents and 3-1 against top 10 teams

ATLANTA, GA – Another week, another loss. For the fifth straight week the Yellow Jackets left the field defeated, this time falling to the Pittsburgh Panthers (5-1, 3-0) by a final score of 31-28 Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

With the loss Georgia Tech (2-5, 0-4) sinks deeper into unfamiliar territory. Two noteworthy streaks are increasingly at-risk – number of years at .500 or better in ACC play (20) and consecutive bowl appearances (18).

Perhaps most surprising is the timing of the team’s season-long swoon, coming one season after hoisting the Orange Bowl trophy. Few, if any, teams have fallen as fast and as hard as the Yellow Jackets this year. The season certainly hasn’t met anyone’s expectations around the program.

Asked whether he was stunned about the results thus far, Head Coach Paul Johnson said, “I don’t know about stunned. I think just flustered. The way that game ended is perfect with the way the season’s gone.”

Looking closer at the game the Yellow Jackets had their opportunities to take control along with disconcerting patterns of inconsistency. Tech finally found some of their magic again on offense, finishing with 482 total yards on just 55 plays. Quarterback Justin Thomas and freshman running back Marcus Marshall had big games on the ground, accounting for 122 and 159 yards respectively.

“I think as a whole everybody was just doing their assignment and doing it well,” said Marshall.

For a team that averaged 8.8 yards per play on offense, the Yellow Jackets could never take control of the game due to breakdowns in key phases. It has been a disheartening pattern for all involved. Said Johnson, “I’m stunned we’re not better in some areas of the team than we are.”

The defense was challenged once again, and it was never more evident than when it mattered most in the fourth quarter. The Jackets were unable to stop Pittsburgh on two fourth down tries on the Panthers’ final drive, resulting in a game-winning 56-yard field goal.

The made field goal by Pittsburgh was a microcosm of special teams play in total throughout the game, a phase the Jackets have seemingly lost every game during their 5-game skid. While long-snapping was no longer an issue, Tech instead allowed a blocked field goal attempt and continued to struggle on kickoff returns (two attempts for 38 total yards).

On offense the Jackets failed at times in pass protection, an area Johnson deemed “anemic”. In the grand scheme of things maybe those breakdowns shouldn’t have mattered in the outcome given the offense was only forced to punt three times. However Tech put the ball on the ground three times as well, losing one, and ultimately lost the turnover battle by two.

It’s been oft-repeated by Johnson that the Jackets have a razor-thin margin of error. The issues are correctable but they are significant and plentiful. And it doesn’t get any easier next week. On deck are the undefeated Florida State Seminoles, a team that handed a red-hot Georgia Tech their only loss in its last seven games of 2014.

In a 2015 season that has ostensibly played out contrary to the year prior, perhaps this is perfect opportunity for the Jackets’ to reverse course.