GT: Better Lucky than Good

I can’t believe that I’m the only Tech alum who is often embarrassed to be a Tech fan sometimes. While no team plays a perfect game, the Jackets are masters at screwing up. Saturday’s home game against Virginia Tech proved to be no exception. Let me count the ways.

Almost every opening series starts the same way as Saturday’s game: Tech drops back and throws a bomb. The receiver is wide open, but the pass is far overthrown (1). Second play of the game: Marshall calls time out (2). Third play: Marshall is run out of bounds for a loss. Fourth play: Marshall is sacked (3). Fifth play: punt.

The follies continued throughout the game: fumble on a punt return (4). Tech was lucky to get it back. Missed tackles (5), like on the 64 yard kickoff return (6) and freshman Sean Searcy’s weaving touchdown reception (7). Pass interference, though that was a dubious call.

Pressley Harvin III boomed one 52 yard line drive punt, had a 43 yarder, and a punt downed on the 2 yard line – but he dropped a snap (8). He paid for his miscue, getting hit hard on the play. I had noticed that Harvin stands with his feet together while waiting for the snap. By the way he stands it looks like he’s expecting the snap to be perfect – a luxury he cannot afford. You’d think he stand in a more athletic stance, in case he needs to jump and bend over or go left or right. But on the next punt he was standing the same way (9). A good question for the call in show. I can hear it now “uh, Coach, I was reading the Sac Fly Blog, and they said…”

The first half ends with GT unable to stop the clock, having used up their time outs (10). Two more wide open receivers had been missed (11 and 12) before Marshall finally connected with Brad Stewart on the first play of the second half. Then VT drove the field, capitalizing on several more Yellow Jackets mistakes (13). 21-16 Hokies. Jackets go for it on fourth down and come up short (14). The right side of the field was wide open.

Then Johnson calls another pass play (15), this time on second and ten, and Marshall throws a pick six (16). Why were they passing? Why did Tech throw more than 30 passes last week’s in close game? If he’s gonna throw so much why doesn’t he recruit a passing quarterback?

With the lead in the second half, Marshall repeatedly snapped the ball with 20-25 seconds left on the play clock (19 and 20). GT had the momentum on offense, and might’ve lost it had they stood around waiting for the clock to tick down. Loved how Johnson kept calling for dive plays that VT couldn’t stop.

The Hokies were thugs throughout the game: hitting late, hitting out bounds. Receivers pushing off (like on the two point conversion), then looking for interference penalties. Not the greatest officiating crew. In addition to the bad calls and missed calls and no calls, there were at least two bad spots. Both hurt GT. Johnson finally had to run out on the field to protest, and one bad spot was overturned. Marshall gets lucky again, hitting Jeune for a touchdown. GT has to go for two, but two penalties killed that option (17 and 18).   

The missed two pint conversion opportunity gave the Hokies had a chance to win at the end of regulation. They got away with another blatant push off on a key fourth down reception, but then made a dumb play call on fourth and inches. The throw into the end zone was batted away, and the Jackets came away with the lucky win.    

Sure, Johnson’s strategy is to win close games, to win ugly with less talented players. Seems to work better than whatever strategy Duke and Wake Forest and Vanderbilt has been using most of the time. But Tech should be getting better players than they’re getting, especially on defense.

I bet Bama will be ready to play Auburn.