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[figcap]B-Back Zach Laskey #37 leads the offense against Miami[/figcap][/float_left]ATLANTA, GA - The parents out there will not want to use Saturday night's game at Bobby Dodd Stadium as an example of how to play nice in the sand box. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-0, 2-0) refused to share the ball and stole what was not theirs against Coastal division rival Miami Hurricanes (3-3, 1-2), culminating in a 28-17 victory for the home team.
The Yellow Jackets pulled away in the second half Saturday night by holding on to the ball for 40+ out of the game's 60 minutes, intercepting two Miami passes deep in their own territory, and executing a fake punt to perfection. As head coach Paul Johnson stated after the game, Georgia Tech's complete disregard for kindergarten rules was all part of the plan. "How do you neutralize [Miami's offense]? You hold on to the ball for 40 minutes, 45 seconds. If they don't get it then they're not out there. The best way to play a team like that is to keep them off the field."
Miami, coming off a confidence-building win last week against Duke, arrived in Atlanta knowing they needed to defeat the Yellow Jackets to keep pace in the Coastal division race. Doing so would require limiting mistakes and getting the Jackets' offense off the field. Mission unaccomplished.
"We got beat in all three phases tonight by Georgia Tech," said Miami head coach Al Golden. "I thought they played a helluva game. We helped them in too many ways. We didn't get off the field on third down defense. We didn't get a fourth down stop. On offense, we had two red-zone interceptions. No points there. On special teams, [we had] a critical penalty and gave up a [punt fake]. So they beat us in all three phases."
Regarding the ebb and flow Saturday night he continued, "There are so many adjustments you're making during the game, who's the quarterback player, changing the tempo, who's the dive players. We weren't as effective as we have been. Give credit to them. There were a couple new nuances in there. They executed better than we did."
The Yellow Jackets, whose defense again looked shaky during a first quarter where they allowed 14 points, held Miami to just 3 points thereafter. "We just had to play better," said safety Jamal Golden. "In [the second half] we did the same things we did in the first half. We just had to execute it a little better. When you do that then you get off the field."
In the end the Yellow Jackets' defense got off the field better than they had all season, allowing a season-low 17 points and holding Miami to 44 total plays. The Jackets' offense did its part to hold Miami's offense at bay too. Tech's offense grinded out two consecutive 13 play, 75-yard touchdown drives to start the second half, taking almost 13 minutes total off the clock and giving the Jackets a 28-17 lead that would hold until the final whistle.
Count captain and senior linebacker Quayshawn Nealy as one who appreciated the extra rest. "It was huge. I felt fresh the whole game. It's definitely a great feeling to have your offense out there being a ball-hog. At the end a lot of guys were just flying around and having fun."
Coach Paul Johnson credited the win to an entire team effort. "We got contributions out of everybody. It was a crazy game because they hit several big plays and we were six-and-eight-yarding them to death. Once we got up on them and we got up by two scores, I felt pretty good. Out defense bent a little bit, but Jamal made a great play at the end to seal the thing."
If the home crowd's energy from kickoff all the way through Golden's final interception is any indicator, those who left Bobby Dodd Stadium in white and gold felt pretty good about Saturday night's result as well.
Other news and notes:
The Yellow Jackets pulled away in the second half Saturday night by holding on to the ball for 40+ out of the game's 60 minutes, intercepting two Miami passes deep in their own territory, and executing a fake punt to perfection. As head coach Paul Johnson stated after the game, Georgia Tech's complete disregard for kindergarten rules was all part of the plan. "How do you neutralize [Miami's offense]? You hold on to the ball for 40 minutes, 45 seconds. If they don't get it then they're not out there. The best way to play a team like that is to keep them off the field."
Miami, coming off a confidence-building win last week against Duke, arrived in Atlanta knowing they needed to defeat the Yellow Jackets to keep pace in the Coastal division race. Doing so would require limiting mistakes and getting the Jackets' offense off the field. Mission unaccomplished.
"We got beat in all three phases tonight by Georgia Tech," said Miami head coach Al Golden. "I thought they played a helluva game. We helped them in too many ways. We didn't get off the field on third down defense. We didn't get a fourth down stop. On offense, we had two red-zone interceptions. No points there. On special teams, [we had] a critical penalty and gave up a [punt fake]. So they beat us in all three phases."
Regarding the ebb and flow Saturday night he continued, "There are so many adjustments you're making during the game, who's the quarterback player, changing the tempo, who's the dive players. We weren't as effective as we have been. Give credit to them. There were a couple new nuances in there. They executed better than we did."
The Yellow Jackets, whose defense again looked shaky during a first quarter where they allowed 14 points, held Miami to just 3 points thereafter. "We just had to play better," said safety Jamal Golden. "In [the second half] we did the same things we did in the first half. We just had to execute it a little better. When you do that then you get off the field."
In the end the Yellow Jackets' defense got off the field better than they had all season, allowing a season-low 17 points and holding Miami to 44 total plays. The Jackets' offense did its part to hold Miami's offense at bay too. Tech's offense grinded out two consecutive 13 play, 75-yard touchdown drives to start the second half, taking almost 13 minutes total off the clock and giving the Jackets a 28-17 lead that would hold until the final whistle.
Count captain and senior linebacker Quayshawn Nealy as one who appreciated the extra rest. "It was huge. I felt fresh the whole game. It's definitely a great feeling to have your offense out there being a ball-hog. At the end a lot of guys were just flying around and having fun."
Coach Paul Johnson credited the win to an entire team effort. "We got contributions out of everybody. It was a crazy game because they hit several big plays and we were six-and-eight-yarding them to death. Once we got up on them and we got up by two scores, I felt pretty good. Out defense bent a little bit, but Jamal made a great play at the end to seal the thing."
If the home crowd's energy from kickoff all the way through Golden's final interception is any indicator, those who left Bobby Dodd Stadium in white and gold felt pretty good about Saturday night's result as well.
Other news and notes:
- Running back Zach Laskey matched a career-high in rush yards with 133 yards on 29 carries
- This year marks the first time coach Paul Johnson has beaten both Virginia Tech and Miami in the same season
- Punter Ryan Rodwell now averages 10 yards per carry after his successful fake punt and run in the second quarter
- Announced attendance was 52,111. In post-game interviews coaches and players mentioned the impact of the crowd, both in numbers and enthusiasm, as factors contributing to Saturday night's win.
- Over 100 recruits were said to be at the game, including both football and basketball targets for the next two years. Most of Georgia Tech's 2015 verbal commits for football attended the game.
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