No. 16 Georgia Tech reaffirms identity in season-opening rout
ATLANTA -- Paul Johnson's system is entrenched.
It's not that Alcorn State was ever expected to challenge last season's Orange Bowl champions, but the apparent ease of Georgia Tech's 69-6 season-opening win was noteworthy. The FCS visitors were dispatched in record fashion on Thursday night. This was a lopsided showcase for a team replacing roughly three-quarters of its offensive production.
"After the third series I was pretty sure who was going to win," Johnson said, referencing his team's 34-point first quarter.
Georgia Tech displayed its deep (possibly infinite) stable of A-backs and B-backs, each one guided into his correct position by a quarterback, Justin Thomas, who is on pace to finish his career as Johnson's best-ever on-field conductor. The offensive line, which returned intact outside of NFL-bound guard Shaq Mason, mauled its lower-division counterpart. The defense forced three turnovers and got off the field on 14 of Alcorn State's 16 third-attempts.
In total, it was the school's second-most points scored in the modern era.
There's not much to take out of games that get out of hand so quickly. Thomas and most of the first-string offense was off the field by the second quarter. Though Johnson was adamant that there were mistakes made all over the field, perhaps just as challenging is that an inexperienced offense was rarely tested, particularly in the types of tricky situations that are bound to pop up while navigating a difficult schedule.
"I'm sure when we look at the tape there will be some situations that (we'll need to correct)," Johnson said. "I guess the first drive of the second half, when we had 3rd-and-2 down there and we kinda bowed up in the backfield, it kinda set me off. I wouldn't have minded having some more short-yardage stuff. But when the (first unit was) out there, I don't know if we even had a third down."
Two things appear to be safe bets for Georgia Tech at this point. First and foremost, the 16th-ranked Yellow Jackets will run the ball forever and a day. In seven seasons under Johnson, the Yellow Jackets have finished top-25 nationally in rushing efficiency seven times. With Thomas running point -- as new B-back Patrick Skov said, "He drives the car." -- bank on rushing attempts, yards, touchdowns and time of possession. Second, an adequate-to-shaky defense should improve with the vast majority of its contributors returning. Georgia Tech finished 53rd in scoring defense last season despite holding the ball longer than all but two teams. That should improve.
The passing game, on the other hand, went largely untested against Alcorn State, and it might be the biggest unknown variable for the Yellow Jackets. The receiving corps entered the season with 11 career receptions. Combined.
After Thursday's rout, it now claims 14.
Of course passing is not the crux of what's going on at Bobby Dodd Stadium, but it does play an important role, even in such a throwback offense. Georgia Tech's schemes will always wage some battles in the modern-day court of public opinion, as evidenced by David Cutcliffe and Paul Johnson drawing their lines in the philosophical sand last season, but the Yellow Jackets typically are capable eat up chunks of yardage through the air.
It's an odd phenomenon, almost counterintuitive: Four Georgia Tech receivers have been drafted in seven seasons of Johnson's triple-option offense -- Demaryius Thomas, Stephen Hill, DeAndre Smelter and Darren Waller -- and Calvin Johnson's pre-option legacy is still alive and well. That's more drafted receivers than Florida State over that span, it's tied with Clemson and, outside the conference, one pick behind Baylor -- three schools well-established in college football's pass-first community. Georgia Tech can make its case for Recent Receiver U.
The Yellow Jackets have developed a niche market in midtown Atlanta, churning out downfield threats capable of opening outside running lanes and thriving on limited targets.
The best Paul Johnson teams complement his terrifying rushing attack with excellent efficiency through the air. Here's a look at the Yellow Jackets' offensive efficiency breakdown since 2008 (via Football Outsiders):
Georgia Tech's offense has finished in the top-25 nationally four times under Johnson. Each of those offenses was quarterbacked by a competent dual-threat option (Josh Nesbitt, Tevin Washington, Thomas) and three featured at least one explosive, NFL-bound receiving threat (Thomas, Hill, Smelter, Waller). The run opens up passing lanes, and vice versa. It keeps opponents from stacking nine or 10 defenders in the box on every snap. Johnson's worst offenses display far less balance.
Who, if anyone, will fill that void in 2015 after losing Smelter and Waller in the '15 draft? The jury is still out.
Georgia Tech has options for Thomas, an ACC Player of the Year candidate, but few definitive answers. At least from the outside looking in. Johnson threw out three names earlier in the week: "Micheal Summers has played a lot for us. He'll be one starter. Ricky Jeune had a great spring practice and a good fall camp. He's a guy we're hopeful will have a good season. Brad Stewart, the freshman, those three probably separated themselves a little bit from the pack at receiver."
With the season opener so quickly in hand, Johnson hardly tipped his hand any further.
Thomas dropped back to pass five times: he scrambled once for a score, completed another three passes and missed the 6-foot-1 Stewart when the freshman couldn't create separation from his defender on a seam route. There were brief glimpses, namely a back-shoulder strike to Summers for 19-yard touchdown, but nothing of substance to warn the likes of Notre Dame, Duke or Clemson in the coming weeks.
"Last year I'm pretty sure I hit a few balls like that," Thomas said of his touchdown pass to Summers, "just not probably to Michael. It would've been with (Smelter) or Waller. It's not like I haven't shown that I can throw the football."
Johnson's singular focus on the running game against Alcorn State was understandable. Aside from avoiding "running up the score" narratives, his team is replacing eight of its top nine running backs from a year ago. There are -- or perhaps were -- question marks there, too. Other than Broderick Snoddy and Marcus Allen, two former three-star recruits, and the Stanford transfer Patrick Skov, it's a position group littered with redshirt- and true freshmen.
"We busted a lot of stuff. I think we had a ton of missed assignments and busts," Johnson said. "Hopefully we'll make the most improvement from Game 1 to Game 2, especially the young guys. I mean, a couple of those (freshmen) got out there and went brain-dead for about four or five plays."
Marcus Marshall led the team with 184 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries in his first career game. Skov added three more touchdowns. Johnson pulled Skov aside in the locker room and joked that he doubled his career rushing yardage. (He tripled it.) When the carnage ended, the Yellow Jackets averaged 8.2 yards per play on the ground. Georgia Tech's ground game picked up right where it left Mississippi State in the Orange Bowl.
“We’ll be alright if our two B-backs score five touchdowns a game,” Skov said.
Skov makes a good point: The identity and goals are clearly defined.
The offensive balance is not. It may not need to be for Johnson's group to be competitive week in and week out, but it might if they are going to represent the Coastal Division in the ACC title game for the third time in four years.
Playing the odds, at least one Georgia Tech receiver is going to emerge this season. Whether it's Summers or Jeune or Stewart are some other unknown commodity remains to be seen, but 11 career receptions -- once again, combined -- will not be difficult to top. Perhaps they'll get a better shot when the running game isn't setting records.
