The Bulldawg Blog: Week 14 Review

The Loss to Tech

I haven’t done a Bulldawg Blog since week 12. In the case of this blog, it wasn’t the fact that I haven’t had much time recently that kept me from updating. Even if I had been trapped in a room with only my computer and a TV I wouldn’t have done a blog about the Dawgs during December. It’s taken a while but I’m finally ready to look at the Georgia Tech loss. The Georgia Tech game is the biggest of the year for me each season, no matter what. It’s the biggest sporting event of the year in my mind. I guess it’s the biggest event of the year in my life to be quite honest about it. I know not every Georgia fan looks at the Tech rivalry the same way I do and I have to admit that I have no understanding for those folks. Tech is Georgia’s biggest rival and they always will be. The Tech game is always the most important, because regardless of anything else the Dawgs do, they must beat Tech. That is priority number 1 every season.

This was more than just a loss to a rival for me. This defeat caused me to look at the season, the players, the program, the rivalry, and my own sense of worth as a human being differently. I had been looking at this season in a much more positive way than most Georgia fans. I had said that if the Dawgs beat GT and finished the regular season 10-2 it would have been a great season. If they went on and won a bowl game after that it would be a tremendous season. In my mind, the Tech loss drastically changed the way you have to look at this season. Yes, we won 10 games and went 6-2 in the SEC. We had a good year but not one that I can call “satisfactory” because we must beat Tech for the season to be “satisfactory.” If you don’t achieve the #1 priority of the season then it can’t be a successful season. It was a good season, and yet it was a failure as well. The Tech loss made me question the status and stature of the entire program. It made me start worrying a lot more about the future. And if you didn’t think less of yourself when that game was over then you are not a Georgia fan. If that game didn’t make you want to throw up all over the floor and not clean it up for a while then you aren’t really a Georgia fan. If that loss hasn’t crept into your mind and filled you with sadness for at least a moment every day since November 29th then you are not a Georgia fan.

Anyway, I’m ready to deal with this nightmare. You know, it was actually a great game if you were just a neutral fan. And there were moments when the Dawgs actually played well. There were a number of great individual performances for Georgia and that sucks because in the end the loss rendered all of those things meaningless. But it was a wild game that had dozens of significant moments and swings so we should go back and review it before moving on to discussion.

Week 14: vs. #22 Georgia Tech, Loss, 42-45.

Going In: The Dawgs had been off the previous week, while Tech had played on Thursday night and spanked Miami, 41-23, at home. Georgia was the #11 team in the BCS and was favored by 7.5 at home over the #22 ranked Jackets. Georgia had won 7 straight in the series and Mark Richt had never lost to Tech. This would obviously be Paul Johnson’s introduction to the rivalry. Tech fans were also paying attention to the UVA-Virginia Tech game because if UVA won then Tech would represent the ACC Costal Division in the ACC Championship Game.

1st Quarter

First Georgia Possession: Everything started out great for the Dawgs in the game. The Dawgs got the ball first and Richard Samuel—who mostly struggled this season—got a nice return on the opening kick, taking it from the 1 out to the 34. The Dawgs then marched right down the field and scored a TD to draw first blood. The Dawgs marched 66 yards in just 8 plays over 3:20 to send a message. On 3rd and goal from the 1, Matt Stafford threw to senior TE Tripp Chandler in the back of the end zone for the score, fitting the ball into an impossibly tight spot to put the Dawgs on the board first, up 7-0 with 11:40 left in the opening quarter. This was an awesome way to start the game and send Tech a message. But the Dawgs had looked great on their first possession of the game more often than not this year and it didn’t always mean continued offensive success. But the Dawgs had been able to cash in on their red zone chance, getting it done down close to the goal line on 3rd down, and for now everything was looking good.

First Tech Possession: Throughout the 2008 season kicking off was a major problem area for the Dawgs, primarily due to Blair Walsh’s inability to kick the ball deep and in bounds on a regular basis. Once again he would do a woeful job kicking off in the Tech game and his poor kicks would be a catalyst to Tech offensive success all day long. After the Dawgs scored on their first possession, Walsh immediately gave Tech’s offense a head start on answering that drive, kicking the ball out of bounds to give them the ball at their 40. Tech crossed up the Dawgs with a pass on the first play for a gain of 19 but then the defense settled in. The Dawgs had had an extra week to prepare for this option offense and they did a good job containing it early on. On 3rd and 3 at the Georgia 34, Jonathan Dwyer got the handoff and the Dawgs stopped him after a 1 yard gain. Johnson decided to go for it on 4th and 2 from the 33. Strangely, he had Josh Nesbitt drop back and pass and he threw incomplete. It was the balsy type of call that I knew Johnson was prone to make and really they had something on the play but Nesbitt isn’t that accurate of passer. He missed with the throw and Tech was forced to turn the ball back over to Georgia at the 33 with 9:00 left in the 1st and the Dawgs still up 7-0.

Second Georgia Possession: I was liking this. They got nothing out of a drive inside our 35 and now we had decent field position and a chance to go up 2 scores on them early. I thought if we could get a double digit lead it would really put Tech in a bad spot because they might have to throw more, and though they had had some success throwing the ball this year, you want Josh Nesbitt throwing the ball against you, not running the option. On the first play of the Dawgs’ 2nd possession Stafford hit Kenneth Harris for 31 yards and a 1st down at the Tech 36. It didn’t look like the Tech defense had an answer for our offense. Then Knowshown Moreno was stopped after a gain of 2 and a false start penalty turned a 2nd and 8 into a 2nd and 13. After an incomplete pass, the Dawgs were facing a 3rd and 13 from the 39. I guess they knew they were going to go for it on 4th down and had 2 plays to get 13 yards because they ran the ball with Knowshon on the next play. He almost broke it for a long run but ended up gaining 6 to make it 4th and 7 from the 33. Maybe it was a pass play originally and Stafford changed it. This is where a stud kicker would come in handy. You couldn’t punt from here but it wasn’t all that likely that you were going to pick up 7 yards. A 50 yard FG is long for the college game but the Dawgs wouldn’t have been scared to send out a trusted kicker in this situation. It’s 50 yards, not 55 yards or 58 yards. It’s makeable for a solid kicker but not a kicker like Blair Walsh obviously. If you could make a kick from here then running the ball on 3rd and 13 makes more sense. It was too close to punt and any FG over 40 was going to be sketchy, so maybe the Dawgs figured they could use 2 plays to get 13 yards, but unless Knowshown had picked up 10 or so on the run it was going to leave a pretty tough 4th down. The Dawgs had to try and go for it on 4th and 7. Tech knew it was a pass and the OL couldn’t allow Stafford any time at all and he was sacked back at the 40 for a 7 yard loss. The offensive line—with a false start and the sack allowed on 4th down—had let the team down again and the Dawgs had missed a chance to take a 2 score lead.

Second Tech Possession: So Tech got it back at their 40 still down just 7-0 with 6 and a half to play in the opening quarter. Jones ran for 11 yards and a 1st down inside Georgia territory, but on 2nd and 7 from the 43 the defense stopped Nesbit for a loss of 2 to bring up 3rd and 9. Tech tried to throw again and it was incomplete to make it 4th and 9 from the Georgia 45. Johnson decided to punt it this time and Tech’s punter pinned the Dawgs at their own 15.

Third Georgia Possession: So after starting their first two drives at their own 34 and their own 33, the Dawgs began their 3rd possession at their own 15, still leading 7-0 with about 4 minutes left in the 1st. On the 1st play of the drive Moreno got blown up in the backfield for a loss of 3 yards. Backed up by his own end zone and facing pressure, Stafford threw incomplete for Green on 2nd down to bring up 3rd and 13. On 3rd and very long, Stafford dropped back and had some time and fired over the middle but his pass was intercepted by Tech safety Morgan Burnett. Burnett was able to take it back 35 yards for a touchdown, assumingly to tie the game. I watched the game on TV and I was watching in slow motion as this particular play occurred. When Stafford first threw it I was encouraged because he had gotten the throw away cleanly and it looked like he threw a great pass. But then I kept waiting for the receiver he was going for to come into the picture and they never did. A bunch of players came into view but they were all wearing white shirts and I thought “That is not good.” When I saw Burnett intercept I thought it could be real trouble because there was no one around to tackle him. As the play unfolded my heart sank. Obviously I wasn’t going to be happy with them scoring an INT for a TD but it was also a bad play by Stafford and I was hoping he would have a really good game. And to let them have a defensive TD hurt because you didn’t want to give them any help. And I knew it was the type of play that could ignite Tech because it could help them play loose and confident. Most of all, this play crushed me because I was hoping we would just rout them. I was hoping it wouldn’t be close so I wouldn’t be hard on the nerves, so to speak. And I wanted to shut Tech up. Also, this was our last chance to play a great game and I thought a complete ass-kicking of Tech could be our “signature moment” of the season, if you will. Well, this play put a dent in those things. As I had feared, this would not be easy; it was going to be a battle.

Before we get to the actual throw, let’s consider the play call for a moment. It was 3rd and 13; the exact down and distance that had come up on the previous drive. On the last drive when we had the ball at the Tech 39 a running play was called (or Stafford checked down to it). At that point it was too close to punt and a FG wasn’t really an option so moving it a few yards closer wouldn’t matter. And it was such a long distance to the 1st down that a run was going to have to pick up 10 yards or more just to make it 4th and short. Throwing for the 1st down in that situation isn’t that risky because if the ball is intercepted then the other team still probably won’t have great field position. So you’d think if there was a time to sort of “let Stafford do it with his arm” then that was probably it. But they ran it. So now it’s 3rd and 13 again, only this time the ball is at the UGA 12 yard line. To run the ball here might get some boos from the crowd but it’s not a bad play. There’s very little chance of picking up the 1st down but because the defense is expecting pass and protecting against it you are probably going to get a decent gain. That will give the punter some more room and it’s a safe play. And remember, this wasn’t a time when you were that scared of punting the ball. You have the lead and so far the defense has played well. Tech had started with good field position on both of their drives so far and had managed just 1 first down each time. If you run it then you will probably have to give the ball up but it is a safe play. If you throw the ball you obviously have a better chance of picking up the 1st down and one of the benefits of having a QB like Stafford is that he is capable of making a play even against a defense geared to stop a long pass. But throwing it is a much riskier option. You’re asking the injury-depleted, inexperienced offensive line to protect in an obvious passing situation against a very talented defensive line. You are deep in your own territory so a turn over here is more costly and a sack will only back the punter up further. Finally, while Stafford has the ability to make a great throw here and steal the 1st down, you also know that he gets into trouble at times by trusting his own ability too much, making questionable decisions, making risky throws, or forcing something when nothing is there and it isn’t worth the risk. I try hard not to be too critical about play calling and coaching and strategy because I realize that I just don’t know that much. But I honestly don’t think it’s out of line to wonder why you would run the ball when it’s 3rd and 13 from the other team’s 39 on one drive, and then on the next drive throw the ball on 3rd and 13 from your own 12. Essentially, you played safe when it would have been prudent to take a risk, and then you took a risk when it would have been prudent to play safe.

As for the throw itself, it was awful. The decision was bad if only because he threw the ball where there were a lot of defenders and no receivers. The ball did seem to sail on him but it was more than just a bad overthrow because there was nothing there to begin with. Since there was no one around the throw except for defenders it meant that all Burnett really had to do was make the catch and then run and he was going to score. The offense had no shot to bring him down. The play gave all the momentum to Tech and gave them a score without having to do anything on offense.

When Burnett scored you assumed the game was tied because you never think about anyone missing the extra point. But Tech couldn’t get the snap down on the try and tried to run for the end zone and didn’t make it. So the score stayed 7-6 and for the moment we were still ahead. This actually picked my spirits up and I hoped we could use it to our advantage.

Fourth Georgia Possession: The Dawgs got the ball right back of course and Samuel returned the ball to the 25 where the drive started with now less than 3 minutes remaining in the quarter. The offense went back to the run and it paid off. After getting stopped for nothing on 1st down, Moreno ran for 8 on the next play. Then on 3rd and 2 Moreno caught a pass for a gain of 16 to pick up the 1st. Give the Dawgs credit for a nice call on that 3rd down. A completion to Green moved the ball inside Tech territory but then came another false start. An 11 yard run by Moreno on 1st and 15 moved the ball to the 33 and the 1st quarter ended with the score 7-6 Dawgs.

2nd Quarter

Fourth Georgia Possession (Continued): The Dawgs had been moving the ball when the 1st quarter ended and they started the 2nd quarter with Mikey Moore catching a 20 yard pass on 2nd and 4 to get a 1st down at the Tech 13. 2 plays later on 2nd and 7 from the 10, Stafford hit Massa with a pass for a touchdown to cap an 8 play, 75 yard drive that took 4:21. The extra point made it 14-6 and I felt much better. We needed to answer that pick 6 and the Dawgs were actually up by 1 point more now than they had been before Burnett’s play. At least that’s how I was trying to look at it.

Third Tech Possession: After kicking the ball out of bounds to start the game, Blair Walsh was able to keep the ball in the field of play on his second kickoff, but it didn’t matter that much because his other problem cropped up. He kicked it short. The ball only traveled to the 9 and Tech returned it out to the 35, just 5 yards short of where they would have been if he had kicked out of bounds. The Dawgs defense had stopped Tech after allowing just 1 first down on each of Tech’s possessions so far but Tech finally started to get rolling offensively on their first drive of the 2nd quarter. Without much trouble, Tech went down the field and scored, marching 65 yards on 8 plays over 4:14. The big play was a 36 yard run by Jones on 2nd and 8 that gave them a 1st down at the Dawgs 27. A few plays later on 2nd and goal from the 2, Lucas Cox ran it in for a TD to make it 14-12. Tech decided to go for the 2-pt conversion right away which I had hoped they would. Although I would think that Tech’s offense would be especially tough to keep from picking up 3 yards, I was hoping they would go for it because I knew if we stopped them we would could make it a 2 score game again with a TD. It’s usually best to wait for a while to see whether you need to go for 2 because if you don’t get it you only compound the problem. They did go for it and Nesbit ran it and didn’t make it. The score stayed 14-12 and now that bad snap had cost them 2 points. Again, the failed extra point lifted my spirits. But it was now obvious that we weren’t going to just shut Tech’s offense down and it probably was going to be a tough battle throughout.

Fifth Georgia Possession: After their first 2 kickoffs went to the 1 yard line and the 2 yard line Tech’s 3rd kickoff only went to the 12. But Samuel only returned it 12 yards so the Dawgs’ drive began at their own 24 with less than 10 minutes to play in the half. This drive was all Mohamed Massaquoi. After catching a 23 yard pass for a 1st down near midfield, Massa got the ball on an end around handoff and then threw the ball for AJ Green but it was incomplete. While these plays can be disastrous, I like the call because it shakes things up and keeps the defense on its heels, and that can take some of their aggression away. 2 plays later the Dawgs were facing a 3rd and 6 from just inside Tech territory when Stafford hit Massa with a pass and he took it all the way for a TD. The 49 yard TD capped a 5 play, 76 yard drive that took just 2:22. The extra point made it 21-12 and now the Dawgs did indeed have that 2 score lead I had been thinking about.

Fourth Tech Possession: Walsh’s 3rd kickoff was even shorter than his last one, traveling only to the 11, but luckily the coverage team made a good play and stopped the return at the 23. With less than 7 minutes remaining in the quarter, if the Dawgs could hold Tech here they would have a good chance of going to halftime with a 2 score advantage. Tech had scored on their last drive but the Bulldawg defense responded by getting their first 3 and out of the game on the very next drive. On 3rd and 2 from the 31, the defense swallowed Nesbit up for no gain to bring up 4th down. With Tech facing a punting situation the Dawgs called their first timeout with 5:03 on the clock. Tech punted the ball out of bounds at the Georgia 36 and the momentum was swinging more and more towards the Dawgs.

Sixth Georgia Possession: The Dawgs were in great position to take control of the game as the offense came back on the field with 4:54 left before halftime. But the drive got untracked right away by a holding penalty. After picking up 11 yards on 1st and 20, the drive took another major hit when the Dawgs were on the wrong end of a highly questionable call. On 2nd and 9 from the 37, Stafford dropped back and the blocking fell apart immediately. Stafford knew right away that he just needed to throw the ball away, which he did, chucking it out of bounds. When it first happened I was actually thinking “good job, Matty” because it showed he was thinking about being smart, not taking a sack, and not trying to make something happen and risking a mistake when he didn’t need to. Then the officials threw a flag and ruled it intentional grounding. The Dawgs were very upset and the crowd was incensed. The reason everyone was upset was because Stafford had thrown the ball out of bounds which is normally safe from intentional grounding. More importantly, no Tech player had been within 4 or 5 yards of him when he threw it. Here was a case where the officials were making a judgment call based on perceived “intent.” I could see where the refs were coming from: Stafford had thrown the ball where no player could get it when he was still between the tackles and he did so because he did not want to be sacked. But two questions immediately came to mind. First, was Stafford being punished for the strength of his arm? The fact that he was able to so casually throw the ball well out of bounds seemed to hurt him because you couldn’t claim that a receiver had been anywhere near the ball. More importantly, did the officials allow Stafford’s demeanor to affect their decision? Stafford had just thrown the ball away right away and it was obvious that he did so without any intention of someone catching it. It seemed like if he had thrown the ball into the dirt or done more of an acting job the flag wouldn’t have been thrown. It was just strange to see that call made when the ball was thrown out of bounds and there was no defender near him. So that call pretty much killed any chances the Dawgs had on the drive. Instead of 3rd and 9 from the 37 it was 3rd and 19 from the 27. But the Dawgs tried to pass for the 1st down anyway. It was incomplete and Brian Mimbs came out to punt. Mimbs got off a solid punt to the Tech 31 and the coverage team stopped the return at the 34. A 10 yard penalty on the return pushed it back to the 24. So all in all the Dawgs had come out of it pretty well because there wasn’t much time left in the half.

Fifth Tech Possession: The Dawgs looked in good position to take the 9 point lead into halftime because there was only 3:07 left on the clock when Tech took over at their own 24. Tech’s offense didn’t seem one that would be adept at scoring quickly at the end of the half or the game because they just didn’t throw the ball that much. They hurt themselves again on the 2nd play of the drive with a holding penalty that backed them up inside the 20 and made it 2nd and 16. On 3rd and 7 from the 27, the Dawgs defense stopped Nesbit after a gain of just 1 yard to hold Tech to 3 and out for a 2nd straight possession. The Dawgs called their 2nd timeout with 1:32 remaining in the half. Tech punted the ball out of bounds again but this time it went just 28 yards and Georgia took over at their own 44.

Seventh Georgia Possession: The Dawgs had a chance to make it a double digit lead going into halftime if they could get some points here. I thought if the Dawgs could do something here in the final 90 seconds of the half and make it a double digit lead it would be huge but it didn’t look good after Stafford threw incomplete on the first 2 plays. But then the Dawgs picked up the 1st with a 15 yard pass to Massa. A 12 yard completion to Green got us close to field goal range and then Shaun Chapas came threw with one of the best plays of his career, taking a pass and rumbling 26 yards for a 1st and goal at the 3. Everything was looking good for the Dawgs. I thought if they could punch it in here it would be really tough for Tech to come back. On the next play, Stafford threw a 3 yard strike to Massa, hooking up with the senior for the 3rd time in the game, to cap a 6 play, 56 yard drive. The extra point made it 28-12 and the Dawgs were just 37 seconds away from taking a 16 point lead to the half.

Sixth Tech Possession: I’m normally a fan of the squib kick when you’re trying to guard against a long return very late in the 2nd or 4th quarter. Take away the chance of a return for a TD or deep in your territory and give them the ball at the 25 or the 30. But I’m not a fan of what Blair Walsh did on the kickoff late in the half which is kick the ball to the 28. That’s where you want to be trying to make the tackle, not where you want them to start the return. Tech returned it 12 yards and that gave them the ball at the 40 yard line. They could now risk trying to do something here late in the half because they were closer to midfield than their own end zone. This was not cool. Even if they got a FG here it would be big because they would get the ball first in the 2nd half. There was over half a minute on the clock and that’s plenty of time to move from the 40 into field goal range in college football. It also meant they had enough time to try a run, which they did on 1st down, picking up 8 yards and then calling their 1st timeout with 22 seconds left. They were now at the 48 and would need to make only one completion for 15 to 20 yards to be in position for a FG. But on 2nd and 2 Nesbit threw incomplete. On 3rd down and 2 Nesbitt went back and bought time and fired deep. My heart was in my throat for a moment because again they had something and if Nesbitt had made a great throw it could have been a TD but it fell incomplete. Tech called a timeout to come up with a play for 4th and 2 from their own 48 with only 7 seconds left. Presumably they told Nesbitt to make sure he left no time on the clock. He scrambled around and then chucked a Hail Mary pass. It was scary because he threw it almost all the way to the end zone which not every college QB can do. Rashad Jones made the pick at the 5, went down at the 8, and the half ended with the Dawgs leading 28-12. I exhaled once we escaped with the 16 point lead at half. Things were looking really good.

Halftime

I was feeling really good at halftime. I had been so worried about this game for the last 2 weeks and when Stafford threw the INT for the touchdown I was pretty scared. But at halftime I was feeling relieved that things were still at least going to be business as usual against Tech and we would keep our hold on the state for at least one more year. We were going to survive this game and that would allow me to feel like we had still had a great year. I had been annoyed by some of the comments by Tech players and fans and some media people during the last few weeks. To me, Tech had just acted really cocky about things when they had nothing to be cocky about. I was just so glad we were beating their ass and I hoped it would get worse in the 2nd half. I realized that we had been fortunate to stop their offense as well as we had and that they had been really close on a number of plays but I still thought we had answered the question of whether our defense was “disciplined” enough to “handle” Tech’s option offense. I didn’t at all think the game was over. The rational part of my brain new well that there was still a whole half to play and it was only 28-12. But in my heart I had no doubt we were going to win. I think underneath I had never really allowed myself to consider that we might lose the game, even though the rational part of me was making me very nervous. But definitely at this point, underneath, I was not considering that we might actually lose the game.

3rd Quarter

Seventh Tech Possession: As the 2nd half got underway, I felt like if we got any more points at all and took a 3 score lead that the game was over. I didn’t think Tech would be able to get the 2-pt conversion twice in a row anyway and I wasn’t even sure if they would go for it because of the fear of getting only 6 points again. As we prepared to kickoff, I was thinking that the defense needed to beware of a pass and at least just make Tech work for yards and take some time. But I should have been worrying about the kickoff. Although I wasn’t at all surprised by it, I still couldn’t believe that Blair Walsh somehow managed to kick the ball out of bounds again on the 2nd half kickoff. Immediately this gave Tech a shot in the arm and put them a play or two away from scoring position without any time at all coming off the clock. On the first play of the 2nd half, Nesbitt ran the option right and pitched to Jonathan Dwyer who had done nothing in the 1st half. Dwyer took the pitch and it looked like the Dawgs would have him stopped after about 4 yards or so. But then there was no tackle. Dwyer didn’t really break any tackles; the defenders just didn’t make the tackle. I kept waiting for somebody to make a tackle but no one did and as he crossed midfield I realized that it was going to be a really big play and a few yards later I realized he was gone. The defense hadn’t even made Tech run 2 plays to score. They had allowed Tech to score a touchdown 12 seconds into the 2nd half.

It was one of the worst plays by a Georgia defense in the Mark Richt era. On the play, Tech did nothing different from what they had done all game but the defense apparently had lost their focus during halftime. It’s amazing that a team could allow that to happen but the players themselves admitted to it after the game. The Dawgs had struggled to put teams away and play complete games all year but I felt sure that they couldn’t possibly lose their intensity against Tech. They couldn’t suffer a let up, not in the Georgia Tech game. Yet after the game players talked about losing their edge and thinking they had the game wrapped up. Incredible. You worry about a team playing with too much emotion in a rivalry game. You expect that if a Bulldawg team is beating Tech badly that they will only want to make the beating even worse. But the defense didn’t come out playing like you would expect them to against Tech. They somehow lost their focus, intensity, energy, or whatever you call it that a team with heart, desire, pride, and a will to win has. It might not have mattered much against other teams but they were playing a team that knew it was a rivalry game and that wanted to win this game more than they did. They were playing a team that was hungrier and you could tell on that first play of the second half.

It’s true that Dwyer can sometimes be bottled up for a while and will then bust loose for a big gain all of the sudden, and Tech’s offense is that way. But this particular play shouldn’t have even gone for a 1st down and it should never have been a 60 yard touchdown. On the play, left DE Jarius Wynn held his ground and MLB Dannell Ellerbe stepped up in the middle and Nesbitt pitched the ball over to Dwyer at the 38 near the sideline. As Dwyer got to the 41, Reshad Jones was there right by the sideline to hit him and stop him for a short gain but Jones had come flying in and just sort of slid by Dwyer. It would be misleading to say that Dwyer faked him out or anything, Jones just sort of slipped and fell and never even put a hand on him. The OLB on that side of the field was Rennie Curran and he moved with the play to the left while being blocked by Tech’s right tackle. He was in position to make a play as Dwyer got to about the 44. At that same time, Ellerbe was coming over from the middle of the field and converge on Dwyer at the same time that Dwyer got to where Curran was. Had Curran been able to put a solid hit on Dwyer then Ellerbe would have just been there to help clean up the play after about a 4 yard gain. If Curran couldn’t hit him straight on then Ellerbe would be right there to make an easy tackle and stop him for a gain of 5 or so. Tech’s right tackle held his block on Curran and was still driving him from behind right as Dwyer reached him and so Curran ducked his head a bit and ended up not really hitting him at all. Again, this shouldn’t have been a big deal because Ellerbe would be right there, unblocked, to make a tackle. Ellerbe was right there, but instead of going in and hitting Dwyer and wrapping his arms around him, Ellerbe just ran into him with his forearms up. It was as if he went in for a kill shot like you might see a safety do against a receiver over the middle. There were several problems with the move. First, he was undoubtedly assuming that Curran was going to make the stick first and then he would come in and to finish him but Curran got blocked from behind just at the point of contact and couldn’t make the stick so Ellerbe needed to actually try and make a form tackle. Secondly, you don’t want to try that sort of thing anyway against a running back in an option attack because one missed tackle can lead to a big play. Lastly, he didn’t even hit Dwyer hard, he just kind of bumped him and Dwyer didn’t even bounce, he just kept right on going. This ranks as one of the worst plays of the season. Once Dwyer got by the safety and the linebackers it was going to be a big play. But Asher Allen was playing CB in coverage on that side and he was right there and could have used the side line as another defender and either made the tackle or at least made Dwyer go back inside where other defenders were. But Allen couldn’t fight off a block from a WR and Dwyer ran by him at the Georgia 40 with Asher still getting punked on the Tech sidelines. The OLB on the other side of the field on the play was John Knox. He couldn’t over pursue from the start in case the run was cut back but that wasn’t the problem. He just didn’t really do anything. He assumed that either the first guy would get him or the second guy would or the third guy or the fourth guy and by the time the fifth guy hadn’t gotten him and Knox started going full speed he had no shot at him. The last man who could have made the play was safety CJ Byrd. If Byrd had played it correctly he could have hit Dwyer at around the 30 and if he didn’t bring him down he could have at least slowed him up and made him cut back in where Knox could have brought him down at the 25 or so But Byrd took a terrible angle and never came close. Dwyer was gone.

After the score Tech lined up to go for 2. This was big. Dwyer got it again and went in easily. 12 seconds into the 2nd half Tech had gotten within a touch down. That 28-12 lead had seemed a lot bigger than it really was because of the extra points. If you added in the 2-pt conversions it was just a two score game and in just 12 seconds Tech had cut it in half and made it a 1 score game. The 2nd half could not have started worse.

Eighth Georgia Possession: I felt strongly that the Dawgs really needed to answer Tech’s big play with something. They at least needed to get some points to make it a 2 score game again. They had to keep the momentum from building. But it would continue to build on the kickoff. During the season Richard Samuel often reminded me of a track star who that has been convinced to give football a try. He just didn’t look to have any “football instincts.” He appeared lost again here, taking the ball at the 3 yard line and going down at the 11 after a return of just 8 yards. This was an awful return and a huge mistake. That return allowed the momentum to continue to build and put pressure on the offense. It also meant that they would have to be cautious in play calling. Now the Dawgs just needed a 1st down to slow the momentum and avoid kicking out of their end zone. But Moreno was stopped after 2 yards on 1st down and Stafford threw incomplete on the next 2 plays to bring up 4th and 8 from the 13. Not only would the Dawgs not answer with points, they would go 3 and out and they would be punting from their own end zone. Mimbs got off a good punt under the circumstances. The Tech return man backed up to his 35 and ran it back 9 yards before going down at the Tech 44. That was as good as you really could have hoped. Now the defense had to step up.

Eighth Tech Possession: The game had certainly changed a lot in the minute and a half of game time since the start of the 3rd quarter. Tech had scored on their first drive of the half but that had just been one play and I was hopeful the defense could go back to what they had done in the 1st half when they had fairly well stopped Tech’s option offense. But in 2 plays Tech had a 1st down in Georgia territory. In 2 more plays they had a 1st down and were very near field goal range. Finally the Dawgs held it to a 4 yard gain on 1st down and 4 yard gain on 2nd down to bring up the first 3rd down for Tech in the half. It was 3rd and 2 from the Dawgs 25. Nesbitt kept it and the Dawgs stopped him after a short gain to bring up 4th down. I hoped that Johnson would send out the FG team because I didn’t think we’d be able to stop them for a short gain two plays in a row. But Tech lined up to go for it on 4th and 1 from the Georgia 24. Nesbitt kept it and again the Dawgs stopped him for a minimal gain. It would all depend on the spot. It didn’t look like he had made it but when they brought out the chains and measured they had the first down by a few links of the chain. At the time, I felt like stopping them there might be the chance we needed to survive this. I still don’t think he got it but it’s hard to complain about the spot unless it’s clear cut. I was hoping Richt would challenge but he didn’t. Normally I wouldn’t be for challenging the spot and I doubt it would have made any difference but it might have been worth a try in this spot. If they spot him short on that play and we get the ball back I think we win the game. But he got it just barley and the drive continued. The defense stopped the run after only a yard on the next play, the first time on the drive that 1st down had gone for less than 4 yards. That would at least give them a shot to stop Tech from getting another 1st down here but on 2nd and 9 they surprised us with a pass and a pass interference call made it 1st and goal at the 8. On the next play Jones got the ball and scored easily. The defense wasn’t stopping Tech’s option like they had been. They went 56 yards in 10 plays, taking 5:16 off the clock, and suddenly all that was keeping Georgia ahead were those conversions. Now Tech lined up for 2 and if they got it the game would be tied. They made an excellent call on this conversion, as Nesbitt took the snap and dropped back like he might throw, and after making that one little move he just busted up the middle towards the end zone and no one could do more than reach for him. He made it easily and in just 6 minutes and 49 seconds Tech had scored 16 points and tied the game. Paul Johnson was going crazy on the sideline. I was extremely pissed off.

Ninth Georgia Possession: There was a long way to go and it was a brand new game. I was pissed because we had let them come back and now it was going to be a nail biter. I had hoped that we would come out in the 2nd half and put it away and win big but that was now out of the question. Now we just needed to win, that was all that mattered anyway. On this next drive we just had to get something to stop this momentum. But in order to get anything started we had to avoid disaster on the kickoff and we were unable to do that. There were many big plays in this game but I think most people would say that the biggest play of all came next. Richard Samuel again took the kick at the 3. This time he managed to get past the 11 and even brought it out to the 20 but then the coverage team converged on him. He wasn’t going to go much farther, but instead of preparing to go down and securing the ball, Samuel kept driving forward and the ball was knocked loose as he went down. Tech recovered at the 23. I just hoped with all my heart that his knee had been down. It was close but he wasn’t down. Tech had the ball.

Ninth Tech Possession: The absolute worst thing that could have happened had happened. I was really angry. Everything was going wrong. This slide was happening rapidly and we couldn’t stop it. On the next play, Tech gave the ball to Dwyer on a simple handoff inside of the left tackle. He busted through the line, cut it back to the right and ran down the middle of the field into the secondary, and then cut once more to make poor Ramarcus Brown fall on his ass as Dwyer motored into pay dirt in the right corner of the end zone. I was as stunned as you were. Tech was ahead.

It was a great play by Tech and very well executed but it was also another awful play by the Georgia defense. On the play, Tech lined up with a WR on either side, Dwyer straight behind Nesbitt, 5 men on the line, a blocking back lined up a step off the line and just outside the left tackle, and a wing back lined up a couple steps off the line and just outside the right tackle. They started that wing back in motion back across the left and then snapped it. Dwyer got the handoff and ran in the hole between the left guard and tackle. The RE Demarcus Dobbs had to hold his ground and make sure that Nesbitt didn’t keep it and so Dwyer got right by him. The Tech LT and center fired straight ahead and both went after Curran. Geno Atkins was the DT playing in the hole where the run was going and the Tech LG mauled him and moved him out of the play to the right. The Tech RG immediately dove at DT Corvey Irvin’s legs as soon as the ball was snapped and that cut him down momentarily and that was enough to keep him from being able to make the play. Jarius Wynn was the left DE and was not a factor in the play. Safety CJ Byrd was playing in as a left OLB on the play and the Tech RT released and sealed him off to the right. Ellerbe was playing to Curran’s right and the Tech blocking back lined up just outside the LT was to come out and block Ellerbe but Ellerbe moved inside and the blocking back had to try and swing in to block him and he slipped. So Ellerbe ended up being unblocked on the play and he was right there as Dwyer came through the hole but he didn’t even get a hand on him. He whiffed and Dwyer busted into the secondary. With Curran double teamed and Byrd sealed off to the right, the last man that had a shot was Brown but he really had no shot. He was moving in as Dwyer with a full head of steam was moving out and Dwyer is by far the superior athlete and he made Brown look like a walk-on at Samford. Reshad Jones might have been back there to make a play but he had come charging in to play against a pitch to the wing back running around the left end. It was a great play by Tech but also another horrid play by Ellerbe.

It was Tech’s 2nd one play “drive” of the half so far. They had scored 23 points in 6 minutes and 53 seconds and with 7:55 left in the 3rd quarter they went ahead for the first time in the game, 35-28.

Tenth Georgia Possession: I was so stunned by what had occurred that it overwhelmed my previous emotions of anger. Coach Richt gathered the entire team together on the sideline and had them take a knee. I knew what he was doing. He was trying to stop this slide in some way but it was too late. Whether he was trying to stop this and change things by getting his team to focus, or to calm down, or to get fired up, no matter what it was, it was really too late. This needed to come at halftime or after the TD on the first play or after the second TD or after the fumble on the kickoff. By now everybody in the stadium was well aware that the game had changed and Georgia was in a fight. Now they just had to win that fight. Samuel was out there again for the kick and it was a short one and he took it almost to the 30 and this time he held on to it. With a 5 yard penalty on Tech, the Dawgs had decent field position at the 34 and they needed to get something going. A 10 yard completion to Massa got it to the 44 and gave the Dawgs a 1st down which made things a little less tense. But things tightened right back up after back to back 3 yard gains by Knowshon left 3rd and 4 from the 50 yard line. Now came a huge play. On 3rd down Stafford dropped back and Michael Johnson came on him and sacked him back at the 43 for a loss of 7. The Dawgs would have to punt. This play was lost among so many others but it was one of the biggest plays in the game because now the Dawgs had to give Tech the ball with the lead. This slide wouldn’t stop. Now the Dawgs needed a great punt out of Brian Mimbs to just stem the slide for a moment. Mimbs did get off a good one and Tech called for a fair catch at the 13. At least we had flipped the field position.

Tenth Tech Possession: The defense was back out there but they really had no reason to be tired; 2 of Tech’s 3 drives this quarter had lasted just 1 play. And the defense had to come up big here and stop Tech while they were down on this part of the field to get the ball back so the offense could tie it up. Obviously they could allow no more points. After a 4 yard gain on 1st down, Tech called their first timeout of the half with 4:59 left in the quarter. On 2nd down, the defense stopped Dwyer after a gain of 2 to bring up 3rd and 4 from the 19. It was 3rd and manageable but it was easily the best the Dawgs had done on 1st and 2nd down this half. And this time Tech wouldn’t be able to go for it on 4th down if the Dawgs stopped them here. But Tech had succeeded with the inside run enough now to get the Dawgs cheating a bit and the defense was desperate. And if you play that way against this offense and the offense executes you will get burned. On 3rd down, Nesbitt pitched out to Jones and he got the first down and much, much more. As he was running in open space down the sidelines into Georgia territory I was hit with that terrible pang of reality for the first time: we’re gonna lose. It was an awful feeling that I don’t like to recall. Jones had gone 62 yards by the time he was brought down at the Georgia 19 yard line. The Dawgs were on the verge of being blown away. Somehow the defense regrouped to stop Dwyer after a yard on the next play. Then they threw Nesbitt for a loss of 4 to make it 3rd and 13. This was the only chance the Dawgs had: force a big loss to make 3rd down too long to run. But on 3rd and 13, Johnson reached into his bag and pulled out a play that really should have worked, and if it had I would have probably thrown something through a window. Tech rolled the play out to one side and then threw a lateral pass back in the other direction to lineman Austin Barrick. He made the catch and there was no one on the other side of the field. I almost had a heart attack as he neared the first down marker but finally he went down at the 11, 2 yards shy of the 1st down after an 11 yard gain. Johnson was livid on the sidelines and screaming at him but it looked like he simply wasn’t quite fast enough. But Johnson kept the offense on the field for 4th and 2. He had made some brilliant calls so far but this looked like one that could bite him. Tech called timeout to think it over with 1:20 on the clock It may sound strange but I was hoping as hard as I could that they would stay with it and go for it on with and 2. My thinking was that there was 16 minutes and 20 seconds left in this game and right now it didn’t look like we could stop them. Every play they ran was a run that would keep the clock moving. They used 3 plays to pick up every 1st down and then it started over again. I did not think the Dawgs could win this game if Tech made it a 2 score game. I thought their best chance was to somehow stop them here on 4th and 2 to remain down by just 7 and then try and end up with more points. If Tech got a FG here to make it a 10 point game, I really didn’t think it was going to happen for us. But Johnson came to his senses and Tech sent the FG team out instead for a chip shot. It was right through there and the Dawgs were now down 38-28. The defense had held for a FG but Tech had gone from their own 13 to the Georgia 11, going 76 yards in 7 plays and taking 4:19 off the clock. With just 1:14 remaining in the 3rd quarter the Dawgs were now 2 scores down.

Eleventh Georgia Possession: The kickoff was a touchback and that was probably a good thing for us at the moment. There was no time for the offense to struggle. They had to move the ball and do it fast. Massa, the senior, continued to have a huge day, catching passes on the first two plays of the drive for gains of 11 and 13 to make it 1st and 10 at the 44. The march continued but then a flag flew and the hopes for a quick march were dashed. It was crushingly disappointing but probably fitting that the 3rd quarter ended with a holding penalty. It was a hideous quarter during which the Dawgs were outscored 26-0 and their 16 point lead turned into a 10 point deficit. We were 15 minutes away from being the 2nd best team in the state.

4th Quarter

Eleventh Georgia Possession (Continued): The 4th quarter began with the Dawgs facing 1st and 20 from their own 34. Tech was really coming after Stafford now and on 2nd and 20 he got a pass to Moreno and he got 12 out of it to make it 3rd and 8th. On 3rd down the pass was there to Kenneth Harris but he couldn’t make the catch and it was 4th down. I thought we should go for it on 4th and 8 from the 46. I thought we had as good of a chance of picking it up as we did of stopping Tech right now. But Richt sent out Mimbs. Mimbs boomed a punt but it was too much. It went for a touchback. Nothing was going right and this thing was close to being over with.

Eleventh Tech Possession: The Dawgs were hanging by a thread as Tech took over at their own 20 with 13:50 on the clock. The defense stopped Dwyer for nothing on 1st down and that was key. Nesbitt kept it for 4 on 2nd down and then kept it again on 3rd and 6 and the Dawgs stopped him at the 26, 4 yards shy of the 1st down. Tech may have been leery of pitching it down on their end at this point in the game but regardless the defense had gotten a 3 and out when they absolutely had to. Now the Dawgs needed a punt return and they almost got one. Tech’s punter got off a bit of a line drive and Logan Gray caught it at the Dawgs 42 and brought it back into Tech territory to the 41 for a 17 yard return. He was close to breaking it but the important thing was that there was no fumble and no penalty. The Dawgs were in business and they had gotten the ball back with only a little over 2 minutes going off the clock after their punt. They were still breathing.

Twelfth Georgia Possession: The Dawgs took over with 11:39 on the clock and Massa caught another ball for 9 yards on the 1st play. But then there was another break down. The Dawgs had to call timeout to save the down on 2nd and 1 with 11:02 left. They threw it on 2nd down and it was incomplete. On 3rd and 1 they tried to sneak for it but Stafford didn’t wait to let the block get set up and stopped himself for no gain. Well, this was the game right here. On 4th and 1 the Dawgs decided to put it in Knowshon’s hands and he picked up the 1st and broke it down the sideline for the touchdown, 32 yards, to make it a FG game with 10:23 still to play. I remember thinking that having it go to 4th down was probably the best thing that could happen because Tech went with a short yardage defense and sold out and that created the opportunity for the long run. The drive was 41 yards in just 4 plays and took only 1:16. And time was as important as scoring at this point. There was hope.

Twelfth Tech Possession: It was 38-35. The defense needed to keep Tech out of the end zone to give us a shot. Blair Walsh’s kick went only to the 7 and Tech returned it out to the 30. After a pickup of 5 on 1st down, Nesbitt was shaken up and had to come out of the game. He was replaced by the limited Jaybo Shaw who was promptly stopped after a 1 yard gain. It was 3rd and 4 from the 36 and Nesbitt was out of the game. There was still over 9 minutes on the clock and Tech would not be able to risk going for it on 4th down from here. This was the Dawgs’ shot. But they just couldn’t hold them. On 3rd down, Shaw pitched it to Jones and he picked it up easily, reaching the 43 for a gain of 7. The clock continued to roll. Shaw was stopped easily after only a 1 yard run on 1st down and then the defense held Dwyer to a short gain. Nesbitt came back in on 3rd and 7 from the 46. If the Dawgs couldn’t stop them here it wasn’t going to happen. Jones got the pitch out again and he got around the end and got the first down and then pulled away from John Knox down the right sidelines. Rashad Jones tried to bump him out of bounds at the 37 but he stayed on his feet and stayed in bounds and went all the way for a touchdown. The play was for 54 yards and capped a 6 play, 70 yard drive that took 3:10 off the clock and made it a 2 score game again. Actually, once I saw that he had it picked up easily I was kind of glad that he went all the way because I figured our best chance was to score, get the onsides kick, and score again. We weren’t going to stop these guys again, that was clear. Again, it was a good play by Tech but another ugly play by the Georgia defense. On the play, Dwyer went up the middle and LE Dobbs pinched in and crushed him and Nesbitt pulled the ball out and ran the option right. Curran was the MLB and he waited to see if Nesbitt handed off and then charged towards Nesbitt. The QB then pitched it out to Jones who took it at about the line of scrimmage. I don’t know if John Knox didn’t know what his assignment was or if he just didn’t do the play correctly but he didn’t keep outside contain and as Jones got the pitch he was already well outside Knox and only needed to beat him to point “A” which was the Georgia 47. He got by him and Knox had to dive and try and bring him down by his collar which he grabbed hold of as Jones was crossing the 50 yard line. Jones kept going across the 47 for the 1st down as Knox tried to pull him down but he could not. Jones finally broke free at the 46 and then continued down the right sideline. On the play, Asher Allen had been the CB on that side of the field and once he read that it was definitely the option he just did not get to the sideline quickly enough to have any impact on the play. It was a tough play but he really failed miserably to give any help. Likewise with Reshad Jones who was the last line of defense. He was moving towards the sideline with the flow of the play from the snap but the blocking back was able to get to him and dive and cut his legs out from under him. He got up but by that time Roddy Jones had a head of steam and was turning the corner. Because Knox held Roddy Jones up for a second Reshad Jones was actually able to catch up with him 10 yards down the field. But Reshad didn’t try to tackle the RB, he just tried to bump him out of bounds and he failed. He was hit from behind by a lineman right before he made the attempt and that may have affected him but even still it was a poor effort.

With the TD it was a 2 score game again with 7:13 left. Tech had scored so quick that the Dawgs weren’t quite dead yet but it was getting harder and harder to believe that they weren’t going to lose this game.

Thirteenth Georgia Possession: Tech kicked a squib and the Dawgs started at their 28 with just over 7 minutes to play. Moreno took a pass 22 yards to midfield on the first play of the drive but then a holding penalty stalled the drive. On 2nd and 20 Stafford tried to run and could only get back to the line of scrimmage. The noose was tightening. But then Massa came through again, making a catch and picking up enough after the catch for a 1st down at the 37 of Tech after a gain of 23. Another mistake came when the Dawgs had to burn their 2nd timeout with the clock stopped after an incomplete pass on 1st and 10. The dump pass to Moreno worked again as he busted it for 23 more. Then on 3rd and 9 from the 12, Stafford rifled a pass to Green for the touchdown to make it 48-45 with 4 minutes and 4 seconds to play. The Dawgs had gone 72 yards in 9 plays over 3:09 to give the defense one more shot. I was hoping for an onsides kick but the Dawgs decided to kick it deep…or at least as deep as Walsh could kick it which was only to the 7. Tech brought it all the way out to the 44.

Thirteenth Tech Possession: There was no room for error. I had no confidence we could stop them and even less after Dwyer picked up 6 on 1st down. The defense held him to 1 yard on 2nd to bring up 3rd and 3 from the Dawgs’ 49. They had one more chance. On 3rd down, Nesbitt kept it himself and moved the ball to the 45 for a gain of 4 and a 1st down. That put the game away. Georgia had only 1 timeout left and as long as Tech didn’t shit themselves the streak was over. Nesbitt ran the ball to kill clock and went down at the line of scrimmage on 1st down and we called our final timeout with 1:36 left. There wasn’t enough time for another chance. Nesbitt ran for 4 yards on 2nd down and Tech ran the clock down to 48 seconds and took a timeout. Nesbitt took a knee and they ran the clock down as far as they could and then took a delay penalty. On 4th down Nesbitt snapped the ball and let the clock get to zero and then took a knee to end the game with Tech winning it, 45-42. I was shocked, depressed, and angry. And I still am though not quite so much as at that moment.

Numbers: The stats for this game are about what you’d expect for Georgia: some good and some bad. The Dawgs ran for 81 yards and threw for 407 yards for a total of 488 yards. The Dawgs allowed 409 yards rushing and 19 yards passing for a total of 428 yards. Georgia out gained Tech by 60 yards, 488-428. The Dawgs out passed Tech by 388 yards, 407-19, but Tech out gained Georgia by 328 yards on the ground, 409-81. The Dawgs ran for 81 yards on 22 attempts, an average of 3.7 yards per carry. Tech ran 56 times for 409 yards, averaging 7.3 yards a carry. Actually, if you throw out the 4 Tech offensive plays after the Nesbitt 4 yard run on 3rd and 3 that iced the game Tech’s numbers offensively are even better. Everything after that 1st down was really irrelevant, Tech just had to run the clock out without turning the ball over. They ran 4 times for no gain, 4 yards, a 2 yard loss, and a 4 yard loss totaling -2 yards. So really they ran 52 times for 411 yards, an average of 7.90 yards per carry. Georgia had 7 more 1st downs than Tech (22-15).

Georgia was 6 for 13 on 3rd down conversions and 1 for 2 on 4th down. Tech was just 4 for 13 on 3rd down conversions and 1 for 4 on 4th down. But again, you really have to say Tech was 4 for 12 on 3rd down since the last series didn’t matter. And they were more like 1 for 2 on 4th down because you have to take out the final series of the 1st half when they threw deep on 4th down with no time left and the final series of the game. Tech caused 2 turnovers, both in Georgia territory, and turned them into 13 points. Georgia caused 1 turnover but you can really throw that out because it came on a Hail Mary pass at the end of the 1st half with no time on the clock. Tech had 1 INT returned 35 yards for a TD, and they recovered 1 fumble for no return. Georgia had 1 INT returned for 3 yards but again it was an irrelevant pick. Tech had the game’s only defensive TD. Tech was 1 for 1 on FG attempts, while the Dawgs did not try a FG. Tech was technically 2 for 4 on 2-pt conversions but really they were 2 for 3 because the other one was a bad snap on a PAT try. The Dawgs were charged with 7 penalties for 64 yards. Tech was charged with 5 penalties for 35 yards but it was more like 4 penalties for 30 yards because a 5 yard delay of game penalty on the final series of the game was irrelevant. Tech had a 7 minute advantage in time of possession. The Dawgs gave up 2 sacks for a -14 yards and did not record a sack on defense. Georgia had 1 negative rushing play for -3 yards and Tech had 4 negative rushing plays for -12 yards. But again, if you take out a pair of negative rushing plays on that final series Tech really only had 2 negative rushing plays for -6 yards.

Georgia returned 7 kickoffs for an average of 17.1 yards; Tech returned 5 for an average of 22.0 yards. Georgia had 1 punt return for 17 yards; Tech had 2 punt returns for 12 yards. Georgia punted 4 times for an average of 48.3 yards per punt, had 1 touchback, and put 1 inside the 20; Tech punted 4 times for an average of 30.8 yards per punt, had no touchbacks, and put 1 inside the 20.

Matt Stafford had a great game other than the one big mistake. He completed 24 of 39 pass attempts (61.5%) for 407 yards, 5 TD, and 1 INT. He was sacked twice and was charged with intentional grounding for a loss of 10. Knowshon Moreno had a very good game, rushing for 94 yards and a TD on only 17 carries, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. He also caught 4 passes for 74 yards. Mohamed Massaquoi had a spectacular day, making 11 catches for 180 yards and 3 touchdowns. AJ Green caught 4 passes for 64 yards and a TD. Mikey Moore caught 2 passes for 31 yards; Kenneth Harris had 1 catch for 31 yards; Shaun Chapas had 1 catch for 26 yards; and Tripp Chandler had a 1 yard TD catch. The Dawgs did not really have a standout on defense. For Tech, Josh Nesbitt was just 1 for 6 for 19 yards, no TD, and 1 INT, but that pick was irrelevant. He was never sacked and he ran 18 times for 40 yards, averaging just 2.2 yards per carry. He threw incomplete on one 2-pt conversion attempt and ran to convert another 2-pt attempt. But Nesbitt’s value in this game doesn’t show up in the stats. He did a brilliant job of running the option offense for Tech. Roddy Jones had 13 carries for 214 yards and 2 TD, averaging 16.5 yards per carry. Jonathan Dwyer carried 20 times for 144 yards and 2 TD, averaging 7.2 yards per carry, and he also ran for a 2-pt conversion. Lucas Cox ran for a 2 yard TD; Austin Barrick had 1 carry for 11 yards; and Demaryius Thomas caught the only reception for Tech, a 19 yard completion on their first play of the game. Michael Johnson was Tech’s defense of player of the game, making 7 tackles, a sack for a 7 yard loss, another tackle for a loss of 3 yards, and 1 pass break up. Morgan Burnett returned an INT 35 yards for a TD and had 6 tackles. Marcus Wright recovered a fumble.

Georgia had 25 offensive plays that gained at least 10 yards; 10 that gained at least 20 yards; 3 that gained at least 30 yards; and 1 play that went for 49 yards. Tech had 9 offensive plays that gained at least 10 yards; 5 that gained at least 20 yards; 4 that gained at least 30 yards; 3 that gained at least 50 yards; and 2 plays that gained at least 60 yards. Georgia outscored Tech 7-6 in the 1st quarter; 21-6 in the 2nd quarter; 28-12 in the 1st half, and 14-7 in the 4th quarter. Tech outscored Georgia 26-0 in the 3rd quarter and 33-14 in the 2nd half. Georgia led 14-12 after the teams alternated scoring the first 4 TD’s. Then Georgia outscored Tech 14-0 over the final 7 minutes of the 1st half. Then Tech went on a 26-0 run. Georgia outscored Tech 14-7 in the final 10 and a half minutes of the game.

Georgia had 13 possessions and scored 6 touchdowns, punted 4 times, turned the ball over twice, and turned it over on downs once. Tech had 13 possessions and scored 5 touchdowns and 1 FG, punted 4 times, turned the ball over once, and turned it over on downs twice. In reality 2 of Tech’s possessions don’t really count because 1 was cut short at the end of the 1st half and the other was at the end of the game.

Other Keys to the Game

Kickoffs: The Dawgs had problems with special teams at times during the season and the Tech game was certainly one of those times. The Dawgs were put at a major disadvantage by their struggles kicking off and returning kickoffs. Blair Walsh kicked off 7 times in the game. He did not have a single touchback. In fact, none of his kicks even reached the end zone. He kicked to the 7 twice, the 9 once, the 11 once, the 28 once, and 2 of his kicks went out of bounds. Tech kicked off 8 times, had 1 touchback, and never kicked the ball out of bounds. Tech’s kickoff went to the 1, the 2, the 3 twice, the 12, the 16, the 17, and the other went to the end zone for a touchback. On Georgia’s 7 kickoffs, Tech had returns of 12, 12, 23, 26, and 37 yards for an average return of 22 yards, and the other 2 kicks went out of bounds. On Tech’s 8 kickoffs, Georgia had returns of 8, 11, 12, 13, 21 (fumbled at the end), 23, and 33 yards for an average return of 17.1 yards, and the other kick was a touchback.

Field Position: Going along with the problems on kickoff and kickoff returns, the Dawgs were at a big disadvantage throughout the game in terms of field position. Georgia’s 7 first half possessions began at their own 34, 33, 15, 25, 24, 36, and 44 for an average starting position of their own 30. Not including the fumbled kickoff Georgia’s 5 2nd half possessions began at their own 11, 34, 20, and 28, and at Tech’s 41 for an average starting position of their own 28.5. For the game, Georgia’s average starting field position was their own 30. In the 1st half, Tech’s 6 possessions began at their own 40, 40, 35, 23, 24, and 40 for an average starting position of their own 33.5. In the 2nd half, Tech’s 7 possessions began at their own 40, 44, 13, 20, 30, 44, and at Georgia’s 23 for an average starting position of their own 38.5. For the game, Tech’s average starting field position was their own 36. Georgia only started 3 possessions at their own 35 or better; Tech began 8 drives at their own 35 or better and started 7 drives at their own 40 or better.

Offensive Line: Everyone knows that inexperience and injury along the offensive line gave Georgia problems this season and it was a problem again in the Tech game. Because Georgia amassed almost 500 yards and scored 42 points it is easy to put all the blame for this game on the defense and special teams. But really the offense had some problems as well and most of those were a result of more struggles by the offensive line. The OL was directly responsible for 5 of the 7 Georgia penalties and 40 of 64 penalty yards (2 false starts and 3 holding calls). And the OL was indirectly responsible for another penalty and 10 more penalty yards if you throw in the 10 yard penalty for intentional grounding. Outside of the intentional grounding play the Dawgs allowed 2 sacks for a loss of 14 yards and had 9 rushing plays for 2 yards or less, including 5 for no gain and 1 for a loss of 3. The penalties, the sacks, and the plays for minimal gain or a loss killed drives. If you want to take it even further you could say that the pick-six was the result of Stafford hurrying his decision but that’s definitely debatable.

16 Minutes of Hell: The difference in this game was the 3rd quarter and I’ve extended that to include the first minute of the 4th quarter. There were other similar periods of bad play in the Florida and Alabama games and even in the Kentucky game. But this was as bad a 16 minute stretch as Georgia has had under Richt. During those 16 minutes the Dawgs were out scored 26-0 and a 28-12 lead turned into a 38-12 deficit. Georgia had 4 possessions during those 16 minutes and they went punt, fumble, punt, punt, gaining 47 yards on 12 plays (not including punts, kick returns, and penalties) and picking up 3 first downs. They were 0 for 3 on 3rd down, gave up a sack for a loss of 7, and got penalized 10 yards for holding. The Dawgs returned 4 kickoffs during that time for 8 yards, a fumble, 13 yards, and a touchback. Georgia’s only kickoff during that time went out of bounds. 1 of Georgia’s 3 punts during that time was a touchback. Defensively the Dawgs gave up 179 yards on 18 plays, an average of 9.94 yards per play, and Tech’s 4 possessions went TD, TD, TD, FG. Tech went 2 for 2 on 2-pt conversions during that time. The defense allowed 2 different 1 play scoring drives and committed a 14 yard pass interference penalty. The defense allowed gains of 60, 23, 62, and 11 yards. Tech went 1 for 3 on 3rd down and 1 for 1 on 4th down. Other than that everything went well.

Tackling and 2nd Half Defense: This goes along with the problems in the 16 minutes of hell. The tackling by Georgia’s linebackers and defensive backs was atrocious, particularly in the 2nd half. The defense struggled in this game but mostly in the 2nd half. Actually, Georgia did a pretty good job defensively in the 1st half. Now, whether it was just a matter of Tech actually executing in the 2nd half, Georgia getting lucky in the 1st half, or Georgia’s defense getting tired in the 2nd half, for some reason Georgia did stop Tech in the 1st half and didn’t at all in the 2nd half. I choose to think it was a lack of focus, discipline, technique, intensity, and attitude that was the difference. I think that was an issue all season and it showed up again in the Tech game. The defense was satisfied with their performance at halftime and came out flat in the 2nd half. Obviously at some point the defense woke up but at that point their lack of discipline and focus and technique hurt them because of the nature of Tech’s option offense. You have to play under control against Tech’s offense and Georgia’s defense did that in the 1st half but not the 2nd.

Regardless of the reasons, the fact of the matter is that Georgia’s defense shut Tech’s offense down in the first half. The numbers bear this out. Tech’s 6 first half possessions ended in turn over on downs, punt, TD, punt, punt, interception. Tech’s offense scored only once in the 1st half; the other TD was a pick-6. Tech was 0 for 2 on 2-pt tries in the 1st half (1 was a fumbled snap on a PAT). Tech was 0 for 5 on 3rd down and 0 for 2 on 4th down in the 1st half. Their 6 drives resulted in 28 plays for 127 yards and they totaled 5 first downs. Georgia’s defense allowed only 4 plays of 10 yards or more in the 1st half, only 1 play for more than 19 yards, and no play longer than 36 yards. I don’t think I have to tell you that those numbers are drastically different than the 2nd half numbers.


Some Final Thoughts

The above keys to the recap and the above keys to the game should serve as an answer to why Georgia lost this game. The question that we still don’t know the answer to is what this game meant for the future. There are reasons to believe that this game will prove to be a fluke. Georgia’s roster was decimated by injury and you have to question the team’s mental state after the disappointments and the losses. There’s no doubt that this game meant more to Tech so the motivational factor was on their side. This was the first time Georgia had ever played against Tech’s new offense. Tech played a very clean game, Georgia committed 2 killer turnovers, and it was still just a 3 point game. All of these things are true and it may turn out to be just a blip in the road. Georgia may win the next 5 in a row or 9 of the next 10. This may end up being an aberration.

I may be influenced by natural inclination to be pessimistic about things but in my opinion there are a lot more reasons to think that this last game will turn out to be something other than a fluke. You have to remember that this was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Tech and this was their first year under Johnson and running his system. Johnson hasn’t even had a chance to get his own players specifically suited to running his style of offense. And this was a season which Georgia began ranked #1 in the country. Now, clearly they didn’t turn out to be the team people expected them to be and they suffered a lot of injuries, but look at the talent Georgia had. This team had 4 of the best offensive players that Georgia has ever had and 3 of those players are now gone. My point is that there is good reason to believe that Tech is only going to get better over the next few years, while Georgia will have to rebuild before they field a team as talented as this one. Also, this game was at home and Georgia was coming off of a bye week and thus had 14 days to prepare for the offense. So if Georgia wasn’t able to beat Tech this year when they had so much on their side then why would they have an easier time in the years to come? At the very least history says that Tech will likely enjoy more than 1 year of success. Stand alone victories have been rare in this rivalry. A win by one side is almost always followed by another. And don’t think that things can’t change dramatically in a rivalry like this. Lloyd Carr was 5-1 against Ohio State in his first 6 seasons as head coach. Then in 2001 Jim Tressel took over as head coach of the Buckeyes and Carr went 1-6 against Ohio State over the next 7 years before retiring.

I’m hoping that this loss will end up having some positive impact on Georgia football. I think it can but I do think it needs to be a wakeup call for the program and the Bulldawg Nation. Those fans who have claimed in recent times that Tech is not our biggest rivalry need to get a grip. Tech is Georgia’s biggest rival and it is the biggest game and it always will be. Georgia needs to start making beating Tech a priority because Tech is certainly making it a priority to beat Georgia.