VT-GT thoughts

(AP photo)

A few observations from last night's big game in Atlanta:

-- Virginia Tech beat Georgia Tech exactly how Clemson wanted to beat Georgia Tech: By pounding the football right at the Yellow Jackets.

Paul Johnson's offense is at its best when it's playing keep-away from opposing offenses, and the Hokies turned the tables by holding the ball for 34 minutes.

Virginia Tech ran for 267 yards on 52 carries for 5.1 yards per tote. Clemson had 95 yards rushing on 24 carries for 4 yards a tote.

I'm sure some fans want to point exclusively at Virginia Tech's defense and the job it did against Johnson's flexbone -- and we'll get into that in a moment -- but the key to this game was the Hokies playing keep-away from the Jackets.

Virginia Tech was 10-of-16 on third-down conversions, and it seemed like every single one of the Hokies' big plays occurred on third down -- including the absolute gift given by Jackets linebacker Jeremiah Attaochu with the senseless punch of Logan Thomas.

Two weeks ago, Georgia Tech had the ball for 39 minutes in the game and 13 minutes in the fourth quarter.

Last night, Virginia Tech had the ball for more than 10 minutes in the fourth quarter.

-- So the question is, why couldn't Clemson run the ball in Atlanta? That was Chad Morris' plan going in, but it didn't happen.

You can put some of it on Andre Ellington's absence, but I put most of it on the offensive line. They simply were not physical enough and did not match Georgia Tech's intensity on some short-yardage situations in the first half when the game was getting out of hand.

Of course, it helps to have one of the most freakish athletes you'll ever see. David Wilson is just that -- strong, powerful and hard to bring down with one guy. Add to that mix a quarterback (Thomas) who is quickly developing as a powerful runner in his own right, and it's a tough combination to defend.

Bottom line, Clemson should have been able to run for more than 95 yards. Morris and the offensive players had to be shaking their heads last night as they watched the Hokies gash Georgia Tech left and right.

-- Georgia Tech rushed for 281 yards, but add in a gaggle of negative-yardage plays and the Jackets finished with 243. That's darn good against Johnson's offense -- and 140 less than Georgia Tech totaled against Clemson.

Johnson's offense has given Bud Foster absolute fits the last three years, so this was definitely an encouraging development for Virginia Tech fans.

By all accounts, bye weeks are huge in preparing for Johnson's offense and getting extra reps against it. No doubt it helped Foster's bunch.

Georgia Tech's last three drives went like this: 4 plays, 9 yards, turnover on downs; 3 plays, minus-5 yards, punt; 7 plays, minus-3 yards, punt.

-- Thomas looks a lot more comfortable nowadays than he did in September and early October. He's been a smooth, polished passer all along, but now he seems to be making smooth, polished throws in pressure situations.

I laughed at people over the summer who compared the guy to Cam Newton, but a few of the throws he made last night were Newton-like.

-- At the risk of drawing some heat for looking ahead, I am jacked about the possibility of a Clemson-Virginia Tech rematch in Charlotte.

So many implications, symbolic and otherwise. Got a feeling that game is an absolute war if it materializes.

LW