Jackets cruise past Virginia after taking an early lead
By Jamie Howell / Student Publications
Junior wide receiver Calvin Johnson hauls the first of his two touchdown receptions on consecutive plays against Virginia last week.
On Throwback Thursday, the Jackets brought back uniforms from the early 1970s to accomplish a task the team hadn't done since 2002. Tech defeated Virginia 24-7 in the final game of a four-game homestand.
Despite being listed as a game-time decision with a leg injury, Calvin Johnson showed few signs of the injury as he caught six passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Jackets offense.
"I did not know until game time [that I would play]. Over the last couple of days, I was not able to run at full speed," Johnson said, when asked about the severity of his injury.
While Johnson was the centerpiece of Tech's offense, offensive coordinator Patrick Nix has continued to add more wrinkles to the game plan. At the 8:37 mark in the first quarter, fullback Mike Cox took a handoff out of the shotgun and rushed to the right, stopped and then threw back to the left side of the field to a wide open Reggie Ball for a 17-yard gain.
"It wasn't one of the best [thrown balls]," Ball said, jokingly about his reception from Cox. "I had to make an adjustment because he threw it right into the lights."
This set up Tech's first scoring drive of the game, capped off by a six yard scramble by Ball to the left-front corner of the end zone.
When Head Coach Chan Gailey was asked whether or not the playbook would open up more he responded with a smile by saying "maybe."
Aside from this play, Rashaun Grant ran a reverse and Ball ran the option. The Jackets have seen mixed results from the option the past three games. One such play where the option was ineffective was late in the third quarter when Ball made a bad pitch to Choice that allowed the Cavs to get their only score of the game off of the fumble. The passing game was not the only part of Tech's offense to see the benefits of the new playcalling. Tashard Choice had 19 carries for 83 yards in the game.
The Jackets' defense put on a clinic against the Cavaliers. In the first half, Tech held the Cavaliers offense to only two first downs. For the game, the team forced three turnovers, and allowed only 166 yards of total offense.
"If we hadn't given up a fumble to give [Virginia] a short field, I think we would have shut them out. I know our guys were saying at half time that we wanted to get [the shutout]," Gailey said.
On special teams, the Jackets improved across the board. Place-kicker Travis Bell hit his longest field goal of the season from 47 yards out. Punter Durant Brooks averaged 39.9 yards per punt, pinning Virginia inside of the 20 four times and also had a punt of 61 yards. On kickoff and punt coverage, the Jackets did not allow any long returns. Virginia lost six yards in three punt returns.
"The kickoff coverage was a lot better. If you have a bunch of guys that care, then there is a little bit of a pride factor. They want to get better, and I think that ended up being the case in this ball game," Gailey said.
