Georgia Tech can't help but notice Notre Dame's big win

<p>Georgia Tech was feeling a little better about its loss to Notre Dame after seeing what the Fighting Irish did Saturday.</p><p>After opening the season with a 14-10 win in Atlanta, the fourth-ranked Fighting Irish crushed No. 19 Penn State 41-17.</p><p>"As the game today showed, that's a good team we faced last week," offensive coordinator Patrick Nix said after the Yellow Jackets evened their record with a 38-6 rout of Division I-AA Samford. "We played well and gave ourselves a chance to win."</p><p>Nix sounded a bit perturbed that Notre Dame's close win last week was viewed as a poor showing by the Irish _ who dropped two spots in this week's Associated Press poll _ rather than a strong game by the Yellow Jackets.</p><p>"We knew they were a good football team," he said. "We didn't need anything to verify it. But maybe this will show some of the sportswriters and people who vote in the poll how good they are."</p><p>___</p><p>NO HUDDLE: The Yellow Jackets spent much of the first half in the no-huddle offense, and Nix liked the way it worked out.</p><p>"We were not sure how long we were going to use it," the offensive coordinator said. "As the game went on it was going well, so we just decided to keep in the no huddle."</p><p>Even though the no-huddle looks a bit harried, Nix believes it actually improves the communication between quarterback Reggie Ball and the rest of the offense.</p><p>Also, it keeps the defenders on their heels when run properly.</p><p>"They're not sure of our tempo, whether we're going to go fast or slow," Nix said. "We can use that to our advantage."</p><p>___</p><p>NO LETDOWN: Georgia Tech showed no signs of a letdown after the emotional loss to Notre Dame.</p><p>The Yellow Jackets raced to a 35-6 lead at halftime and cruised the rest of the way using backups.</p><p>"We could have sat down and said, 'Oh, we're playing Samford,' and we could have took it a little bit easy," defensive end Adamm Oliver said. "But we didn't. We sucked it up, we practiced just as hard as we did for Notre Dame, and we got better."</p><p>Georgia Tech won its 15th straight game against I-AA schools, the last two coming against Samford. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Alabama team 28-7 to open the 2004 season.</p><p>"I'd say Samford's a good team for a Division I-AA school," Oliver said. "We could have definitely just tried to roll our helmets out there and thought we already had a win, but we didn't play like that. We still played intense. We still went out there with a little of fire. And that's what we have to have, no matter who we play."</p><p>___</p><p>EXTRA POINTS: Georgia Tech allowed only 11 yards rushing, the 10th-best performance in school history. ... It's the 26th time in 52 games under defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta that the Yellow Jackets have allowed less than 100 yards on the ground. ... Georgia Tech scored its most points since a 51-14 win over Syracuse in the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl. ... Eight freshmen have played in Georgia Tech's first two games. TBs Jamaal Evans and Tyler Evans and WRs Miles King and Jonathan Malone joined the list Saturday. ... WR Calvin Johnson has 16 touchdown catches in his career, moving into sole possession of third place on the Georgia Tech list. Only Kelly Campbell (24) and Kerry Watkins (22) have more.</p>