ATLANTA - Georgia Tech has won its share of big games. Following up has always been the problem.
Maybe the 16th-ranked Yellow Jackets took a step toward addressing that troubling issue with their latest game, a 27-21 victory over North Carolina that was hardly a masterpiece, but was good enough to ensure they didn't cancel out their season-opening upset of Auburn.
``We've been able to win some big games, but then it would be hard to come back and win the next game,'' running back P.J. Daniels said Tuesday. ``I think we handled it well this time. We finished strong. This is a steppingstone we can all build on.''
Georgia Tech (2-0) hosts Connecticut (2-0) on Saturday, looking to start a season with three straight wins for only the second time in 15 years. Since Chan Gailey took over as coach in 2002, the Yellow Jackets have taken their inconsistency to maddening levels.
In a stretch of 40 games, they've put together only one winning streak longer than two games. Every important win, it seemed, was followed by a disheartening loss.
``Everybody is focused in,'' quarterback Reggie Ball said. ``We know what we've done the past couple of years. We always had letdowns. But we've got enough experienced players and coaches not to let it happen again.''
Indeed, the North Carolina game is the sort that might have gone the other way in previous seasons. Coming off the 23-14 victory at Auburn, the Yellow Jackets jumped to a 14-0 lead on the Tar Heels.
But North Carolina fought back to tie it on a stunning 87-yard touchdown pass. Georgia Tech pushed the margin to 27-14, only to give up a touchdown with just over four minutes remaining. When the Yellow Jackets struggled to run out the clock, North Carolina had not one, but two late chances to score the winning TD.
Everyone at Bobby Dodd Stadium stirred nervously in their seats before Georgia Tech clinched the win with a pair of interceptions.
In a critical season for the coaching staff, Gailey said his team has performed largely as he expected. Sure, a few tweaks are needed here and there, but no major areas of concern have cropped up at this early point in the season.
``We've got to get better in some phases of our running game, get better in some phases of our pass defense,'' Gailey said. ``Other than that, I sort of knew where we were. I had a feel for where we were before the first game, after the first game, before the second game and after the second game. No major surprises, no revelations, just little things that you work on.''
Clearly, the Yellow Jackets are doing a better job protecting the ball. Last season, they had a minus-13 turnover margin an unacceptable stat that was blamed largely on Ball's 18 interceptions.
So far this season, Georgia Tech has a single turnover and a plus-7 margin the sort of number helps a team win games week after week. Auburn picked off one of Ball's passes, but he doesn't think that was a major mistake on his part.
``The cornerback made a great play on the ball. Sometimes, you're going to have those type plays,'' Ball said. ``I want to make sure I don't have any interceptions because of misreads or trying to force the ball in there. I think that's a big key why we're moving the ball and scoring more points than we have in the past.''
(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
Wednesday
March 26th, 2025
9:52AM
