After four games of offensive struggles, over which the Commodores had recorded a total of four touchdowns, Ted Cain’s unit exploded on Saturday night to match that amount in the first half.
Unfortunately for Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech’s offense exploded as well.
On a chilly night in Nashville, the Commodore attack cooled in the second half. To the contrary, following a dead-locked score at intermission, the Yellow Jackets continued at their fast pace through the fourth quarter, rallying from a 31-28 deficit with four straight touchdowns to roll to a 56-31 victory and send Vanderbilt to its fifth straight loss.
It was the most points allowed by a Vanderbilt team under head coach Bobby Johnson since he took over in 2002, and the second-half collapse officially ended any hopes of the Commodores reaching a bowl game.
Two second-half fumbles proved costly as the Yellow Jackets took advantage both times.
“They took it to us,” Johnson said. “We hung in there for a while, but when you get in the second half and you have two turnovers and a short punt, you’re just asking to get beat.”
The Vanderbilt defense prepared to stop Tech’s vaunted triple-option offense. Yet, the Yellow Jackets had plenty of other options.
“We didn’t run a lot of triple-option plays,” said Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson. “They decided they were going to take that away, and they did. We tried to play with our auxiliary stuff and it worked out well.”
Georgia Tech ran a staggering 81 plays from scrimmage, to hold the ball for nearly 40 minutes. Moreover, of the 597 total offensive yards gained, 404 of those came on the ground.
“We did a much better job in the second half of getting them off the field and we got some turnovers, which helped turn the game,” Paul Johnson said.
Running back Jonathan Dwyer helped turn the game, as well. The junior registered a career-high 186 rushing yards, and three touchdowns, on 22 carries.
“I think I’m running with a purpose,” Dwyer said. “Ever since last week, a couple guys on the team challenged me to run the way they know I can run. Every time I touch the ball I just try to make plays.”
In addition to Dwyer, running back Roddy Jones and quarterback Josh Nesbitt added 81 and 56 yards on the ground, respectively, and combined for three touchdowns.
“We have a lot of weapons on the offense, so each and every week somebody has a breakout game,” Dwyer said.
To support the ground efforts, Nesbitt added 193 passing yards, completing six of 13 passes and a pair of touchdowns. His longest was an 87-yard score to wideout Embry Peeples, who notched 117 receiving yards on two catches. He lined up in the slot and ran past the secondary, catching the ball by his fingertips and winning a footrace to the end zone.
“That was a spur-of-the-moment type thing,” Nesbitt said. “We saw the safety was in close and we knew our receiver could run right past him.”
The Nesbitt-Peeples connection, with just over 12 minutes to play in regulation, brought the Georgia Tech advantage to 49-31, effectively putting the contest out of reach.
