6 Plays Equals A Game

Photo Credit: Johnny Crawford / AJC

As you know by now Tech dropped it's second straight ACC game to Virginia Saturday. It seems the curse of Charlottesville lives on and the rumblings among Tech Fans can be heard loud and clear. It's easy to understand, every year it seems Tech has this type of hiccup and in the end we seem to come out with an average record and an average season. Regardless of how great last season was, the way it ended left a bad taste for Tech fans. Dropping 3 straight to UGA, Wake and West Virginia. The loss to Virginia surprised me where as the loss to BC did not. Football is an amazing game and so many times a win or a loss can be broken down into a handful of plays.

Play 1 - The Strike
I got the feeling that after the long touchdown strike on the opening drive where Bennett hooked up with BayBay, the Jackets may have dropped their intensity a little thinking that beating up on Virginia was going to be much like the Samford game. I have no evidence to support this "feeling", as I was not on the sidelines, but I do remember Taylor saying in a post game interview that they didn't come out with the intensity they needed. Without that intensity to enforce their will upon Virginia, a 7 point lead quickly became a 7 point deficit after Virginia marched and placed 14 on the board quickly.

Play 2 - The Bat
Fluke play, bad luck, the breaks beating the boys? Call it what you want, but the Jackets try to mount a comeback when one crazy play digs the hole deeper. Taylor Bennett attempts to throw a pass which is batted down. Nothing unusual, happens all the time. But as the ball floats through the air Bennett makes the correct heads-up call and attempts to knock the ball to the ground and force the incomplete pass. The ball hits a player's helmet, bounces back up into the air directly into the arms of a Virginia player. With nothing but open real estate in front of him, 14-7 quickly becomes 21-7.

Play 3 - The Muff
Give the Jackets credit, they made some adjustments and fought back to regain the lead. But when a jacket player went to receive the ball from a punt, it was muffed, dropped, fumbled. The recovery by the Cavaliers meant they took the lead one play later. It's always said that if you win the turnover battle, you win the game. It holds true here as this was the difference in the game.

Play 4 - The Injury
Once again we attempt to rally, during a drive on 3rd down Corey Earls throws a block for Taylor Bennett. What follows is one of the most frighting moments in sports, the moment you realize that not only is a player hurt, but they may have sustained a serious head, neck or back injury. With the recent spinal injury to Buffalo Bills player Kevin Everett fresh in the minds of players and fans, the minutes that ticked by had to weigh heavy on the hearts of Yellow Jackets players. Looks like Earls is going to be ok, he stayed in a Virginia hospital overnight and was transported by car back to Atlanta the next day.

Play 5 - The Jump
After the injury to Earls the game resumed with the Jackets looking at a 4th and 1. Now it has to be difficult to get your head back in the game after seeing a potential serious injury to a friend an fellow player. 20-30 minutes go by and all of a sudden you have to dial back up the intensity, almost instantly to fight for one long yard. Would you want to go out and hit opposing players, and hit them hard, after what you just witnessed? The harsh reminder that life can change with every hit. With that it's not surprising what happens next. A freshman player gets called for a penalty before the ball is snapped. It's times like this where experience is invaluable and even the slightest break in concentration can change a game.

Play 6 - The Drop
Now facing 4th and 6, the game. BayBay Thomas is all alone, no one around for 5 yards. Catch the ball and the Jackets drive remains alive as do their hopes for a last minute win. It's dropped, it's obvious that BayBay wanted to run before he had control on the ball. Something every wide receiver has to learn the hard way, and you can bet he'll never do it again. Sadly the great game that Thomas had put together until then was erased in the minds of fans and I'm sure in the mind of #8 himself, with that one play. Don't be too hard on him. I seem to remember a bobbled catch by the immortal Calvin Johnson that turned from a game winning TD to a game losing interception vs NC State and how often do we remember that?

The season is not over, this team needs our support. It's time to quit the rumblings and remind the players that we are still here cheering them on. We are asking the team to step up, well, then we need to do the same as fans. Be at the Clemson game, fill the stadium with gold, scream for the Jackets until you lose your voice. STEP UP.