Saturday’s game caused me to think a little bit about last year’s North Carolina game, the wild last-possession-wins 48-43 loss in Chapel Hill, N.C.
After that game, it appeared that, despite how well the offense was playing, the season might be in jeopardy because the defense evidently was a bit of a mess. I think you could have won a lot of bets on the night of Oct. 18 wagering on Tech finishing the season with an Orange Bowl victory.
What made me think about the game was that the games were similar in at least one regard besides their taking place in the Research Triangle. In large part because of the play of one unit and in spite of another, Tech had a chance to win inside the final three minutes. Saturday, it just happened to be the unit that hasn’t typically played that role in recent years.
I think with football fans in general but perhaps maybe Tech fans particularly, given the long run of success the Jackets have had scoring and moving the ball under Johnson, it is probably more aggravating or dispiriting to lose because the offense isn’t producing rather than because of the defense.
I imagine most fans, if their team had to lose, would rather go down 45-42 than 9-6. But, perhaps that’s the Jackets’ fate this season. It may be that this turns out to be a year that the offense just doesn’t function at the high rate that it has often had with Johnson and that the season is a flipside of the way many of his teams have been – can the defense play well enough, with the offense kicking in some plays here and there, to win?
(That said, just like Tech’s offensive performance can be weighted against Notre Dame and Duke’s strong defenses, the Blue Devils offense is probably not a juggernaut.)
I would think the offense would come around sooner or later. The track record is too long to ignore. But in the meantime, the Jackets may have to look to the defense to lead the way. It’s not the norm. But it may be how the season unfolds.
