Virginia's three-game winning streak came to an end on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Scott Stadium, as No. 11 Georgia Tech defeated the Cavaliers 34-9 mostly on account of its highly-touted triple option offense.
Using their formidable rushing attack and little else, the Yellow Jackets (7-1, 5-1 ACC) more than doubled Virginia's (3-4, 2-1 ACC) time of possession. This lopsidedness in Tech's favor allowed the squad to dominate every other aspect of the game.
"That's been the story of every team that's played them," Virginia coach Al Groh said. "Last week, [then-No.4 Virginia Tech] had the ball for just 22 minutes."
A trio of juniors - receiver Demaryius Thomas, running back Jonathan Dwyer and quarterback Josh Nesbitt - accounted for the majority of Georgia Tech's 447 offensive yards.
"Dwyer, Nesbitt and Thomas are clearly the engine that drives that train, and they are a powerful engine," Groh said. "We knew throughout the organization it would be critical to not let those guys have the best of days."
The Cavaliers succeeded at that goal early on, as the Yellow Jackets struggled to put points on the board during the first quarter. But as the game and rain progressed, the Cavaliers' defensive plans seemed to unravel and Tech's running attack became nearly unstoppable.
"A very high percentage of [Georgia Tech's] points coming into this game were scored in the first quarter relative to the other three quarters," Groh said. "We wanted to try to minimize the opportunity for that, which obviously we were able to do."
Virginia also found itself struggling to score in the first quarter. The game's early scores came in unusual situations that matched the sloppy conditions. The Yellow Jackets scored on a field goal only after recovering a Cavalier muffed punt on Virginia's 11-yard line. Virginia then answered, as sophomore kicker Robert Randolph kicked a career long 49-yard field goal that needed a bounce off the cross bar to get through the uprights.
In the second quarter, though, the Cavaliers struck first and took their only lead of the day after taking advantage of a Yellow Jacket turnover on Tech's own 25-yard line. After a 23-yard completion from senior quarterback Jameel Sewell to senior utility player Vic Hall, the squad had a first and goal situation.
The Cavaliers were forced to settle for a field goal, however, and their inability to turn good field position into touchdowns became a theme from that point forward.
"We knew in this game that three points every time down there was not going to add up," senior running back Mikell Simpson said. "Eventually their offense was going to score [touchdowns]."
Georgia Tech did just that on its very next possession, when it compiled a 10-play, 60-yard drive capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by Nesbitt. Another field goal as the half closed put Georgia Tech ahead, 13-6. The Yellow Jackets then opened the third quarter with the game's defining drive.
Starting from their own 18, the Yellow Jackets began an 18-play, 82-yard journey to the end zone that sapped 10:47 off the clock.
"When we had that 11 minute drive ... we're coming in looking at the lineman across from us," Georgia Tech junior running back Anthony Allen said. "[They looked] dog tired. We knew we had them, right then."
Nesbitt and the Yellow Jackets compounded their control of the game in the second half by steadily rushing the ball. By game's end, Georgia Tech had rushed on 71 of its 79 offensive plays.
"You'll notice that, if they've got the ball and they get two first downs, by the time the other team gets it back there's usually a substantial amount of time that has come off the clock," Groh said.
In the fourth quarter, as the Cavaliers ran short on time, Virginia lost its balance on offense and was forced to pass the ball.
"They were taking 10-minute drives and eight-minute drives," Simpson said. "At that pace we can't come out and run the ball because we are going to get into a time [problem]. So we just tried to come out and score quick and moving the ball through the air was the best way."
Virginia's passing attack failed to provide a spark, though, as Sewell completed only 18 of 32 attempted passes - including several key incompletions in the end zone - for 168 yards.
The loss, which marked Georgia Tech's first win in Charlottesville since 1990, also moved Virginia out of the top spot in the ACC Coastal Division standings.
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