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LOUISVILLE, KY. –
Georgia Tech earned a well-deserved victory by blowing up Louisville 66-31 on Friday night at Cardinal Stadium.
Running on 65 of the 67 games played, the Yellow Jackets punished the Cardinals with their option play, racking up 542 yards rushing. In coach Paul Johnson's term, this is the second-highest rushing rush in a game, behind only the 604-yard explosion against Kansas in 2011.
This is one of Johnson's most decisive victories in his 11 seasons at Tech against the FBS. The Techs tied for the second time the most goals scored by the Jackets against an FBS opponent under Johnson (68 points against North Carolina in 2012) and the 35-point differential was the sixth of the biggest defeats against an FBS team.
"We were beaten, we were beaten badly," said Louisville coach Bobby Petrino. "It's as big a loss as I've had with the dashboard. We did not have any answers for their offense. "
Tech scored his first nine offensive wins, including eight touchdowns, before kneeling at the end of the game. That followed an equally strong performance against Bowling Green last Saturday, when the Jackets scored nine touchdowns on their first 10 wins before a kneeling streak.
"This is probably the best rope I've seen in 40 years of training," said Johnson, whose training includes four I-AA Division National Championships at Georgia Southern (two as offensive coordinator and two as head coach) and another record. seasons in Hawaii, Marine, Georgia Southern and Tech.
Quarterback TaQuon Marshall was effective on his options, taking care of the ball and reducing the ground to win. Marshall ran for 175 yards in 23 runs, scored twice and did not fumble.
"Our quarterback was playing well and he was doing a good job allowing us to play the right games against the good fronts, and the kids played hard and executed," Johnson said.
Marshall injured his lower body in the third quarter near the end of Tech's second possession in the second half and left the match. He was allowed to return, but gave way to the backup, Tobias Oliver, to carry through the rest of the rout.
The jackets did not feel once in 67 presses and were only penalized four times. For the second consecutive game, Tech did not return the ball, but for the third time in Johnson's tenure, Tech has not seen a turnaround in consecutive games. Penalties and fumbles have weighed heavily in Tech's three-game losing streak.
"Offensively, if you have no penalties and you have not missed assignments, you have a chance, and that's a bit what we've eliminated, do not have the balloon on the ground, "Johnson said.
With the win, Tech (3-3, 1-2 ACC) returned to 0.500 early in the second half of the season, starting with a home game against Duke on 13 October. He also broke a series of six defeats on the road and ended a three-game losing streak in the ACC games. Tech has also improved to 15-1 in its rotating cross-play against the Atlantic Division.
Tech also entered the game with five defeats in which he let slip a double-digit lead. There was no such luck on Friday night. Before scoring 31-17 at half-time, the Jackets wore 79 yards for a touchdown of the first possession of the second half, eating nearly seven minutes from the end, then forced a fumble on Louisville's side to possession. subsequent Cardinals, leading to another touchdown. and a 45-17 edge.
"That kind of was off," Johnson said.
Players and technical coaches have recognized the importance of the game to gain ground and bring the record to a tie. With a busy schedule over the remaining six games (three against three in the top 25 of the AP), the Jackets have won a big win, allowing them to qualify for the cup.
Louisville (2-4, 0-3) was virtually unable to put an end to Tech's race. Coach Paul Johnson has certainly had a great win against Louisville defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, who would have denigrated Johnson's optional attack when he became Georgia Southern's coach before the 2006 season and defeated the Jackets in 2015 as defensive coordinator at Notre Dame.
"They run fast, they run the trap, they run the trap option, they run the triple option," Petrino said. "Even in platoon formation at the end of the match where they headed the quarterback, we had already practiced that, so it's just a matter of we've been outmatched and outmatched."
The Cardinals managed to move the ball in the first half after a fall behind 21-0, thus reducing the lead to 31-17 at halftime. Louisville earned 251 yards in just 34 games in the first two quarters.
However, the unit's defensive coordinator, Nate Woody, contributed to more turnovers, adding three more for a total of 13, three more than the Jackets did last season.
Defensive wing Anree Saint-Amour continued its productive season with two forced fumbles – recovered by linebacker Charlie Thomas, who was making his career debut – to give the ball to the offensive twice in Louisville territory once in the first quarter and once in the third. Both turnovers led to touchdowns.
"The good thing about the defense is that we've had turnovers," Johnson said.
Safety Juanyeh Thomas finished Louisville with a 95-yard interception return for a touchdown, tied for the school's fourth-longest interception return.
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