College Football

Straitjacketed
Georgia Tech's swarming defense took the sting out of No. 5 Clemson

Last season the Georgia Tech defense ended the Heisman trophy candidacy of Yellow Jackets quarterback Joe Hamilton when Tech lost games 41-35 and 45-38. Starting three to four freshmen on defense, the Yellow Jackets forced only 12 turnovers and had just 16 sacks. Painful as it was to watch, coach George O'Leary didn't panic and never wavered from his decision to have his young defenders learn on the job. "You understand they're going to make mistakes," he says, "just as long as they're full-speed mistakes. We tell them, Take a picture and get to the ball. Don't run blind. See the field.' "

Last Saturday, O'Leary got his Kodak moment as Georgia Tech upset fifth-ranked and unbeaten Clemson 31-28. The Tigers gained a season-low 354 yards and scored fewer than 30 points for the first time this fall. That was partly because the Yellow Jackets, led by quarterback George Godsey, who threw for three touchdowns and a career-high 454 yards, controlled the ball for 38:15. But when Clemson did have the ball, it was often stopped by the sort of big plays Georgia Tech is starting to make with consistency.

Yellow Jackets defensive coordinator Ted Roof shied away from using a lot of pressure at the start of the season, and Georgia Tech had a total of seven sacks in the first three weeks. "When I went back and looked at things," Roof says, "I saw we were better on the move." He turned the defense loose, and it has produced 27 sacks in the last five games, including four on Saturday. Last year's weakness is now a strength; Georgia Tech allowed 30.3 points per game in 1999, but has given up 30 points just once this season.

In particular, ends Nick Rogers and Greg Gathers and linebacker Recardo Wimbush have excelled. Rogers and Gathers have combined for 19 sacks. Wimbush, who led Georgia Tech in tackles as freshman a year ago, is looking like a star. "I understand the defense much better," he says. "The [opposing] offense will give you a jump start on what you're going to do if you focus."

In the second half against Clemson, the Yellow Jackets' defenders found someone younger to pick on: Tigers freshman quarterback Willie Simmons, the third-quarter replacement for starter Woody Dantzler, who had aggravated a bruised ankle. Simmons completed 1 of 6 third-down passes and finished with 131 yards in the air, including 65 on one completion.

O'Leary speaks like a man who has come through a storm and is now enjoying the sun. "They've come a long way," he says of his defenders. "They're tackling better, and they're young. Only three seniors are in the two-deep."

Arizona State's Gamble
Going for Two Doesn't Add Up

With his Sun Devils a PAT kick away from forcing a third overtime against Pac-10-leading Oregon last Saturday, Arizona State coach Bruce Snyder says he acted out of prudence, not hubris, when he called for a fake kick that his team had practiced "hundreds of times." Junior tight end Todd Heap wasn't able to make a one-handed catch of a pass thrown to the back of the end zone, though, giving Oregon a wild 56-55 road victory and leaving Snyder to spend a sleepless night pondering a missed opportunity.

"With [kicker Mike Barth] in pain [with a stiff back] and our defense on its heels, that play seemed like our best shot to win the game," Snyder said on Sunday. "I believe that Todd's right hand was being held by a defender, but no interference penalty was called."