Up 24-10 6:50 left in the 2011 Sun Bowl, Georgia Tech gives up 2 fourth qtr TDs and loses to Utah in OT 30-27. Up 17-14 at Virginia Tech :44 seconds left in Blacksburg, Georgia Tech can’t hold the lead, the Hokies tie it up.
The Yellow Jackets lose in OT 20-17. Up 36-29 with under 2 minutes left to Miami, after holding a 36-19 lead late in the 3rd quarter, Georgia Tech’s defense collapses and Miami scores a TD with :27 seconds left. The Jackets lose in OT 42-36. If this sounds like a recurring theme it is.
The Jackets have blown 3 4th quarter leads in their last 5 games. Had Georgia Tech pulled out these games rather lose them they finish with a 9 win 2011 season, and would currently be ranked in the top 20. They haven’t won any of them, and now 2nd guessing and frustration abound in Atlanta.
As I alluded to in my post in my week 4 awards FSU, the bad, and the ugly , one blown lead credit the other teams, two blown leads blame the players, but three blown games and Paul Johnson has a problem at Georgia Tech with his coaching staff. That means I’m looking squarely at defensive coordinator Al Groh. 3 Different opponents, 3 different playing sites, 2 different years… All the same result. If your getting routed from the get go, it’s players. It’s not the players in my opinion.
I’ve read theories blaming the offense not finishing fourth quarter drives or conservative play calling by Paul Johnson cost Georgia Tech games. Maybe all three Utah, Virginia Tech, and Miami were simply better in the clutch. Maybe the Yellow Jackets just don’t have enough defensive talent. Sounds like a good poll question to me.
2 pings
adams56 says:
September 27, 2012 at 7:10 am (UTC -5)
I have been a loyal fan through thick and thin. Although it is going to be hard to keep cheering for a bunch of quitters!
XSIV4ce1 says:
September 29, 2012 at 7:49 am (UTC -5)
The GT tackling has disappeared in the 4th qtr. It is becoming to common in college and professional football that tackling fundamentals are lost. If you go back and watch the 4th qtr of allof these games, the GT defenders often have ball handlers stopped for losses and minimal gains and would have positive control of the ball handlers only to “slide” off and allow big gains. The first downs and play making is a necessity but these games would have been won had GT tackled properly in the 4th. Al Groh is only part of the problem. The players are on the field physically performing, they show the proper fundamentals earlier in games and lose it due to an infinite number of reasons but they DO NOT tackle int he 4th.