NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It sure sounds like Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson has something against the Southeastern Conference.
“We’re not supposed to be able to compete,” Johnson said of SEC teams.
He’s doing better than that.
Johnson and his Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coast Conference went 2-1 against the SEC last year in his inaugural season, and he already has a second straight victory over Mississippi State this season. Now 11th-ranked Georgia Tech (7-1) visits Vanderbilt (2-6) tonight before the annual grudge match against Georgia to wrap up the regular season. Georgia Tech was a charter member of the SEC but left the league in 1964.
The Yellow Jackets currently sit atop the ACC Coastal Division, and he said it is important for a program in the heart of SEC country in Atlanta where that league plays its annual championship game.
“Our guys take pride in it because they hear all the time about how tough the SEC is and how much speed and those kind of things. It’s something we look forward to measuring our guys against, I think,” Johnson said.
The Yellow Jackets are off to their best start since opening 7-0-1 in 1990 on their way to a national title. They have won five straight and a victory tonight would give them their longest winning streak since 2000. They haven’t been ranked this high since 2001.
Vanderbilt is struggling with four straight losses, and another ends the Commodores’ bid at the first consecutive bowl appearances in school history. The Georgia Tech coach is focusing on Vandy’s defense, which allows only 17.8 points per game.
Commodores coach Bobby Johnson knows the spread option used by Paul Johnson well from their days coaching against each other in the Southern Conference. But stopping the run is the one weakness for Vandy’s defense. The Commodores rank 85th nationally and allows 164.1 yards rushing per game.
“The main thing you do is don’t give up the easy plays,” Bobby Johnson said. “If they make the easy plays and then they keep it for eight or nine minutes the next time, you just don’t have a chance to catch up.”
That isn’t good against an offense that runs for 291.6 yards per game, second in the country. That is why Georgia Tech leads the country in time of possession, and the Yellow Jackets are coming off a 34-9 win at Virginia in which they rolled up 447 yards and held the ball for more than 42 minutes.
The Commodores are eager for the challenge, especially with the return of defensive end Steven Stone from a broken foot a week ago in a 14-10 loss to South Carolina. Tackle Greg Billinger loves the challenge of the Yellow Jackets’ offensive line, which features big guards and athletic tackles.
Then there’s running backs Jonathan Dwyer, who ran for 125 yards last week, and Anthony Allen, who had 103. Junior quarterback Josh Nesbitt ran for a pair of TDs in the last game, while Demaryius Thomas leads the ACC with 93.4 yards receiving per game.
“It’s a lot of smash-mouth football,” Billinger said. “With that, they put in a lot of things to keep you off balance, like sweeps and stuff like that. You can be caught unaware.”
That means Vanderbilt will have to do something it hasn’t done much of this season: Hold the ball. The Commodores haven’t scored more than 10 points in any SEC game, and they are 117th nationally holding the ball for 26 minutes, 42 seconds.
“We’ve been averaging around 70 or so plays,” Vandy center Bradley Vierling said. “So that’s what we’re going to shoot for.”