ACC BREAKDOWN: Georgia Tech vs. Miami
By STAFF REPORTS
The Atlanta Journal-Consitution
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
What this game means
With a win, Georgia Tech will finish 5-3 in the ACC, which would ensure the Jackets of no worse than a tie for the Coastal Division title.
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Johnny Crawford /
jcrawford@ajc.com Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson tries to motivate his offensive line. Enlarge this image 
Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images
Miami’s defense of Darryl Sharpton (50) and Ryan Hill (13) tackle Duke’s Tony Jackson (25). Enlarge this image 
Curtis Compton /
ccompton@ajc.com The Georgia Tech ‘Ramblin Wreck’ Ford makes its way onto the field. RELATED GA. TECH LINKS RELATED STORIES
• More Tech coverage Tech would also win its eighth game, which would be more wins than in all but one of Chan Gailey’s six seasons with the Jackets. In the ACC, Gailey’s six teams went 7-1 in 2006, 5-3 in 2005 and 4-4 the other four seasons.
A Jackets win would also keep alive Tech’s faint hopes of sneaking into the ACC championship game.
Should Tech beat Miami, it would need North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Virginia, which all have two league games remaining, to each lose once.
A Miami win would be its sixth consecutive victory. It would also mean the Hurricanes would retain control of the Coastal and stay in the top 25 polls. They would need only to defeat N.C. State on Nov. 29 to win the Coastal.
It would also improve the Hurricanes’ record on ESPN-televised Thursday night games to 14-1.
Line play
Co-offensive line coach Mike Sewak was surprised by his players’ poor performance against North Carolina. The offense missed about 40 assignments, and coach Paul Johnson said it was probably the team’s worst game of the year. Hindered by injuries before and during the game, linemen blocked the wrong players, took incorrect blocking angles and failed to execute.
In the week leading to the game, said Sewak, “We put two solid practices together for the first time this season.”
Sewak said he was pleased with how the team practiced during the off week. Further, he believed that his players have grown tougher over the season.
Consistent execution, though, is what has eluded the Jackets’ offense. That pursuit became more challenging with injuries to offensive tackles Andrew Gardner and David Brown.
A tackle and his neighboring guard need to read plays the same way, lest both think they have to block the same player, or both think the other player will. Likewise, tackles and A-backs have the same relationship.
Said Sewak, “If everybody’s not on the same page at the same time, we can screw it up in a hurry.”
Miami defense fast, athletic
Miami linebacker Darryl Sharpton has Georgia Tech’s attention. Co-offensive line coach Mike Sewak said that Sharpton “is obviously one of the best linebackers in the ACC, if not the country.”
Sharpton has 51 tackles, fourth most on the team, and 5.5 tackles for loss.
He is part of a defense that is a quintessential Hurricane unit.
“It’s fun to watch them play defense,” coach Paul Johnson said. “They play hard and they run to the ball and they fly around.”
Miami’s 4.38 yards-per-play average on defense is second in the ACC behind Georgia Tech at 4.36. Its 2.9 yards-per-rush average is lowest in the league.
The Hurricanes are allowing offenses to convert just 21.1 percent of their third downs in the last three games, well below their season average of 36.9 percent.
One final drive
Tonight won’t be the last home game just for Tech’s football players. Brandon Kearse, a senior, will drive the Ramblin’ Wreck onto Grant Field for the final time. Each year, one member of the Ramblin’ Reck Club is chosen to be the Wreck’s driver.
This year, the honor fell to Kearse, a 22-year-old mechanical engineering major from Aiken, S.C.
“It’s been a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Kearse said.
Kearse calls driving onto the field simultaneously exhilarating and nervewracking. Driving out of the tunnel through the banner, “that’s just surreal, to drive through something you can’t see through” and then navigating through the band, the dance team, then the other team coming from the opposite direction with no peripheral vision because cheerleaders are hanging off of the car.
As is tradition, he’ll hand over the keys at the end of the season, although he can drive in the bowl game.
Said Kearse of tonight’s game, “I’m just going to take it all in as much as I can, enjoy it as much as possible, savor the moment and not hit anybody.”
Young players
There will be no shortage of young players on both sides tonight. The Jackets will likely start 15 freshmen or sophomores. The Hurricanes will probably counter with nine.
The game will feature matchups between underclassmen in the ACC that could last a few years, such as Miami freshman quarterback Robert Marve facing off against Tech sophomore safeties Morgan Burnett and Dominique Reese, or Tech sophomore B-back
Jonathan Dwyer and Miami freshman linebacker Sean Spence.
“There’s a lot of really young good players in this league,” Tech defensive coodinator Dave Wommack said. “Things run in cycles.”
Limiting big plays
Tech has given up 24, 28 and 28 points in its last three games, the only three games this season it has surrendered more than 20.
Giving up big plays may have a lot to do with the sprees.
In Tech’s first seven games, the defense allowed an average of 1.7 plays of 20 yards or more.
But the Jackets have allowed four of those plays in each of their last three games, against Virginia, Florida State and North Carolina. Of those 12 plays, eight either went for touchdowns or extended touchdown drives. A ninth led to a field goal.
A variety of factors have led to the big plays: Players missing assignments, poor tackling and the strength of the opponent.
“What we’ve got to do is get back to the point where we make people beat us and we’re not doing silly things to beat ourselves,” coach Paul Johnson said.
Quandary at returner
Earlier this week, Paul Johnson was sure of only one thing about his punt returner: “We’re going to have one back there.”
During the off week, Roddy Jones, Embry Peeples, Marcus Wright, Correy Earls and Andrew Smith auditioned for the job.
Tyler Melton began the season as the returner, but was not sufficiently productive and then sprained his knee. Jones took over during the past three games, but fumbled twice against North Carolina. Smith fielded the last punt of the game.
Smith, a senior, returned punts as a sophomore and junior.
The Jackets average 6.8 yards per return this season, eighth in the ACC.
Miami is allowing 9.4 yards per return.
Odds and ends
Space shuttle Endeavour, which took off last Friday with three Tech grads aboard, will fly over Atlanta at 6:10 p.m., according to the school. It will look like a moving star, flying from the southwest to the northeast. Tech plans to show a live feed of the space station on its video board during the game.
Among those who will be honored Thursday at the game will be Eddie McAshan, Tech’s first African-American student-athlete (he lettered 1970-72) and the first black quarterback at a major Southeastern university.
If B-back
Jonathan Dwyer rushes for 100 yards — his season average is 105.6 — he will have his eighth 100-yard game of the season. Tech’s season record is nine, set by Tashard Choice in 2006.
Tech’s game-day routine won’t be much different than for a usual game, except longer. The team will stay at its hotel during the day Thursday, where it will have its pre-game meal and team meetings until boarding buses for the stadium.
Last week
• North Carolina 28, Georgia Tech 7: With a chance to take a big step toward the ACC title, the Jackets played perhaps their worst game of the year. Only a late
Jonathan Dwyer touchdown averted a shutout.
• Miami 16, Virginia Tech 14: The Hurricanes won their fifth consecutive game because their defense held Virginia Tech to 77 rushing yards. Kicker Matt Bosher was 3-for-3 on field goal tries.
ACC BREAKDOWN: Georgia Tech vs. Miami | ajc.com 
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