Originally published Friday, November 21, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
College Football Notebook | Ga. Tech runs over Miami 41-23
This is the way they draw up the triple option. Ruining Miami's return to national prominence, Georgia Tech ran for a staggering 472 yards...
ATLANTA — This is the way they draw up the triple option.
Ruining Miami's return to national prominence, Georgia Tech ran for a staggering 472 yards — the second-most ever allowed by the Hurricanes — and romped to a 41-23 victory Thursday night that gives the Yellow Jackets a chance to pull out an Atlantic Coast Conference divisional title that no one seems eager to win.
Jonathan Dwyer ran for 128 yards despite playing only one half, two other players came up just short of 100 yards, and the Yellow Jackets left No. 23 Miami dazed and confused.
"We executed at a high level," said Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson, architect of the scheme that hearkens back to an era when offenses such as the wishbone were all the rage. "When you do those things right, you can have some big plays. It's just the nature of the beast."
Dwyer ripped off a 58-yard touchdown against a Miami defense that looked as though it had never even seen film of Georgia Tech's unique attack. Two linebackers got caught out of position, and Dwyer was off to the end zone.
By the end, the Hurricanes (7-4, 4-3) could do little more than huddle around heaters on a chilly night in Atlanta, totally outclassed in their first game as a ranked team in more than two years.
"That's option football," coach Randy Shannon said. "It's assignment football, and when you don't play assignment football, bad things can happen."
The five-time national champs, who came into the game with five straight wins, could have clinched at least a tie for first in the Coastal Division with a win. Now, the race is more confusing than ever.
Georgia Tech (8-3, 5-3) takes over first in the convoluted Coastal, but the Yellow Jackets will need some help because three other contenders would win on a tiebreaker. Still, it was an impressive display by the triple-option offense, which piled up the most rushing yards ever on the Hurricanes other than a 536-yard effort by Auburn in 1944.
Raiders getting defensive
LUBBOCK, Texas — Texas Tech coach Mike Leach knew something had to change when the Red Raiders rolled up 718 yards last year against Oklahoma State — and lost.
The offensive wizard's days of merely tolerating defense were over. It turned out that all he had to do to fix things was walk a few doors down the hall to the office of a coach who came with him to Lubbock seven years earlier.
![]()
Ruffin McNeill's promotion to defensive coordinator after that deflating 49-45 defeat transformed the Texas Tech defense perhaps more than Leach could have imagined. The No. 2 Red Raiders won't be confused with the defensive stalwarts of the Southeastern Conference, but they don't have to be when they pass for 400-plus yards and score at least 40 points nearly every week.
Across-the-board improvement by the defense under McNeill played a major role in positioning Texas Tech (10-0) for a run at the national championship, the next step coming Saturday night at No. 5 Oklahoma (9-1).
McNeill's plan wasn't complicated. In fact, it was simple — as in simplifying schemes, defensive lineman Jake Ratliff said.
"He wanted us to quit thinking and go play football," Ratliff said. "That's the way it should be: When in doubt, just go attack. There's no thinking involved."
Rutgers rapped
in report
Rutgers failed to provide proper oversight of its athletic department as it tried to build its football program over the past five years, according to an independent panel.
A 35-page report detailing the study, which was requested in July by school president Richard McCormick, found that he and the school's board of governors failed to adequately oversee the athletic department's contractual agreements with football coach Greg Schiano and its dealings with the firm Nelligan Sports Marketing.
Schiano, whose contract this year is worth $1.6 million, gets an additional $250,000 per year from the sports marketing firm, which employed the son of athletic director Robert Mulcahy. The payment is guaranteed by Rutgers if sponsorships don't cover it.
While the nine-member committee found no evidence of wrongdoing or actual conflict of interest, it did conclude that Mulcahy "pursued his charge with vigor but also in an increasingly insulated and ultimately counterproductive manner."
Pac-10 picks
Washington 27, WSU 13: If anybody can get a running game going, it ought to be Huskies
Oregon State 27, Arizona 23: Some 'Zona upset history in November, but Beavers just look like the better team
Stanford 24, California 20: Simply a vote for which team needs it more
Last week: 5-0. Season: 42-14.
Bud Withers
Pac-10 power rankingsBy Bud Withers, Seattle Times college football reporter
| Team | Comment | |
| 1 | USC (9-1) | During bye, shopping for parents' condos |
| 2 | Oregon State (7-3) | Riley shows up late to parties, too |
| 3 | Oregon (8-3) | Accessorizing new uniforms with feather boas |
| 4 | California (6-4) | Danger is, looking past Stanford to Huskies |
| 5 | Stanford (5-6) | In odd note, Gerhart naming first daughter "Amelia" |
| 6 | Arizona (6-4) | At team meeting, explained what a bowl is |
| 7 | UCLA (4-6) | NCAA investigators renting next to Neu's house |
| 8 | Arizona State (4-6) | O-line now called "5 Dollops of Cool Whip" |
| 9 | Washington (0-10) | Also planning side trip to Steptoe Butte |
| 10 | WSU (1-10) | Just took out three-year lease on this space |
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
More College Sports headlines...
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
UPDATE - 12:02 AM
Men's college basketball | San Diego shuts down Stanford
NEW - 10:10 PM
College football | No. 5 Cincinnati beats West Virginia, rises to 10-0
UPDATE - 11:20 PM
Women's college basketball | Gonzaga loses opener in overtime
NEW - 11:56 PM
NW Briefs: NW Briefs: Washington volleyball falls at USC
UPDATE - 11:14 PM
UC Davis stymies Seattle U. women

Opening day at Crystal Mountain
Skiers crowded the slopes at Crystal Mountain for one of the resort's earliest openings.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks
- Razor found in muffin an accident, 'mortified' baker says
- Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
- Suspect's family shaken by slaying of police officer
- Mountlake Terrace woman reports razor in muffin
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
631 - Seattle man to pack a pistol into community center to protest mayor's ban
189 - Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
177 - GOP clueless as families struggle with health care
162 - KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
128 - ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
125 - Mariners sign Jack Wilson to 2-year contract
115 - Prosecutor weighs death penalty in police slaying
103 - Wright State game thread
97 - Person of interest in custody in connection with Greenwood arsons
94
- Light rail to airport to begin Dec. 19
- Homeless man, 46, arrested in Greenwood arsons
- Ivar's undersea billboards a hoax devised as marketing ploy
- Steve Kelley | ESPN's Bill Simmons gets us: He hates Clay Bennett, too
- Washington in race for federal education funds
- KVI talk radio host off the air as of Thursday
- Police investigate videotaped arrest
- Goodwill's Glitter Sale is Nov. 14-15
- Boeing: 787 fix is complete on first plane
- Seattle U. Men's Hoops | Big recruit goes from Huskies to Redhawks








