Never a doubt

Uh huh. At no point did I think we were going to lose the game. Nope.

Okay, none of that is true.

Box Score

Watching this team play football--even during a win like tonight's--is still like getting a route canal. If nothing else, I have to admire our consistent stupidity: another game, another ten penalties. Including a running into the kicker call that netted GT a first down. I can't get enough of those, let me tell you.

Jay Davis, you are a girly man, but I love you anyway. Why does the ball sail on you at the worst possible times?

The officiating in the early stages of the game, which included two apparent turnovers (one that counted and one that didn't), was ghastly. Both calls went Tech's way, not that I'm surprised, because it seems like those calls always go the other way.

The first--a supposed Jay Davis INT--pretty clearly hit the ground. Was there a stoppage for review? Nah.

Later, Reggie Ball fumbled before his arm started moving forward. The officials called it a fumble on the field, there was a review this time, and, naturally, it was ruled an incomplete pass (total bleeping BS). Fortunately, Georgia Tech's kicker missed his chip shot attempt on that drive, so the Jackets didn't get anything from their pair of breaks.

There aren't a lot of good things to take from the game other than the outcome, but hey, that's more than enough for me.

The offense was pretty terrible tonight, especially in the second half. Tech held the ball for 18:00 in the second half, and their offense started moving consistently as our defense tired. The Jackets ran more than 90 offensive plays compared to NC State's 56. They outgained the Pack 443-286. We've outgained so many opponents on the way to losing over the last 15 games that I have no sympathy.

Reggie Ball was a laughable 6-25 in the first half, but he did manage 15-28 in the second. That makes him 30-80 with 5 INTs against NC State in the last two years.

As I noted in my rundown over at Golden Tornado, we haven't run the ball effectively against the Jackets over the last four years. That didn't change tonight: 56 net yards rushing.

Surprisingly, we saw absolutely no Darrell Blackman in the backfield. Toney Baker got almost all of the carries (I have no problem with this at all). Toney did the best he could tonight and showed some good vision and footwork. Even on the plays that were blown up by terrible blocking, Toney fought for yards and often broke tackles. He's a good one.

BC! Holy crap, holmes. It's nice to see us make some big plays through the air. I thought Jay Davis was going to get crushed on the flea flicker, but he somehow managed to get the ball off ahead of the hit. And that throw to BC on the slant...thing of beauty.

I can't blame Davis too much tonight. His first interception should have been reviewed and overturned; his second was another overthrow, which although a mistake, was not a poor read. It would be nice if he could get through a game without being responsible for a turnover...

TJ Williams: thanks for fighting for the tough yardage and getting some significant first downs. You rock.

The defense was excellent in the first half, forcing the Jackets to punt on 5 of 7 possessions. Ball threw an INT on another and the Jackets also missed a field goal (on a drive that started around NCSU's 40). Unfortunately, it appears that Miguel Scott, who made the pick off Ball in the first half, has broken his ankle. Major bummer. Now we'll see more JJ Jones...that ain't good.

I am disappointed in the lack of pressure on Ball; then again, pressure isn't a requisite for Ball having a bad game.

Good effort by the special teams tonight aside from the obligatory dumbass penalties. Deraney did a good job pinning the Jackets with punts and made his only field goal attempt.

What an unbelievable finish. I mean, we caught a break! Us! NC State! Seriously.
Calvin Johnson was in the midst of a brilliant performance, so I figured there wasn't much chance that he'd drop the ball. Marcus Hudson put enough of a hit on him to knock it loose, and Garland Heath was johnny-on-the-spot.

Two missed chip shot FGs and a last-second INT off of a tip. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou.

On to Clempson.