First Hokies, now Cavs, as Jackets cruise toward ACC title

CHARLOTTESVILLE

November came early for Virginia football.

The Cavaliers' Octoberfest of victories, a seven-game streak that went back to last season, was cruelly interrupted Saturday by the same relentless Georgia Tech ground game that dashed Virginia Tech's national championship hopes seven days before.

The twin-killing of commonwealth teams was committed in methodical fashion by a triple-option offense that isn't widely imitated and often isn't especially entertaining - but one which may dictate the ACC's balance of power.

This week, Georgia Tech has a stranglehold on the Coastal Division race. After giving Virginia Tech its only conference loss so far last Saturday, and with its only remaining ACC games against Wake Forest and Duke, Paul Johnson's team - now 5-1 in league play - is expected to cruise into the conference title game.

It's funny now to think that when Johnson left Navy for Atlanta two years ago, people wondered if his option offense could be effective in a BCS conference.

We've got our answer. With the 34-9 victory over U.Va., Johnson's record at Tech is 16-5.

Even Saturday's conditions favored the visitors' style of play. With rain coming down in sheets at Scott Stadium, the option proved more impervious to the soggy conditions than U.Va.'s conventional offense.

Not that the problem with U.Va.'s offense is its conformity. Or any one thing. The Cavaliers have had trouble all year capitalizing on red-zone opportunities. This time, they settled for field goal attempts after reaching the Tech 2, 18 and 13.

This allowed Georgia Tech to stick to what it does best and systematically churn up water-logged real estate to the tune of 362 rushing yards.

"We came out and knew we were basically playing for the championship" of the Coastal Division, said running back Anthony Allen, one of two Tech backs to rush for more than 100 yards. "We had to take it to them."

Nobody in the ACC takes it to an opponent quite like Georgia Tech does. Probably no team in the country is as good at eating up clock, and throwing second-half panic into opponents who wonder if they'll get possession of the ball often enough to score.

Tech ran 35 more plays than U.Va., and had possession of the ball for 42:43 compared with the Cavaliers' paltry 17:17.

While the stats and score support a one-sided affair, U.Va. held its own in the first half.

"I think we had a lot of good plays on defense," Al Groh said. "There were a lot of 1- and 2-yard plays."

Virginia seemed to have the dives and option pitches figured out, but the day was still young. It was only a matter of time before the pounding and constant pressure to plug the gaps took their toll.

"Coach said we were going to run our base plays," Allen said. "We were going to make them stop us."

The game turned at the start of the third quarter on a Tech touchdown drive that took a remarkable 10:47 off the clock. Johnson's offense covered 82 yards on 18 plays, all but one a run.

Virginia wasn't the same after that.

"It definitely took a lot out of us," said defensive end Zane Parr. "They kept running the ball."

That's what Georgia Tech does as well as anybody. And the bad news for the rest of the ACC is that Johnson is just getting started.

With quarterback Josh Nesbitt and the rest of the starting backfield returning next year, the future for defenses forced to contend with Georgia Tech's unorthodox offense should resemble Saturday's weather and U.Va.'s mood - gloomy.

Bob Molinaro, (757) 446-2373, bob.molinaro@pilotonline.com