Nov. 5, 2002
Surging Georgia Tech (6-3, 3-3 ACC) tries for its third consecutive conference victory Saturday when it hosts slightly revamped, 17th-ranked Florida State (6-3, 5-0 ACC) at 3:30 p.m. (ABC Regional, WSB Atlanta) at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field.
After two consecutive losses (Miami, Notre Dame), the Seminoles turned to sophomore Adrian McPherson at quarterback last week against Wake Forest. He responded by going 28-of-44 for 278 yards and two scores in a 34-21 victory over the Deacs. He was not the only Nole to bring new energy to the line-up, as senior tailback Nick Maddox posted a career-high 122 yards and two touchdowns, including a 34-yard score late in the fourth quarter. Maddox saw increased time when junior Greg Jones, the ACC’s leading rusher left with a knee injury.
“The one thing that I’ve seen is that they have a lot of speed,” said Tech head coach Chan Gailey. “Now that they have McPherson and Maddox in the backfield, it wasn’t as if they didn’t give you enough problems, but those two guys are pretty electric. They are doing some different things on offense. Maddox is a little bit of a different runner and he creates a few more problems for you. So you have to deal with those and try to adjust.”
The Seminoles are averaging 218.1 yards per game on the ground, a figure that leads the conference and ranks 18th nationally, but they must now cope with the loss of Jones, who is averaging 104.2 yards per game but is out for the season.
FSU’s vaunted rushing attack will face a Tech team that leads the ACC in rushing defense. The Jackets allow only 117.3 yards per game on the ground. The defense may have had its most impressive outing a week ago, as it held NC State freshman running back T.A. McClendon to just 49 yards, 52 below his average.
In addition to stopping the run, Tech must also contain McPherson, who is a threat to make things happen outside the pocket. He replaced Chris Rix, who had started the first eight games of the season.
“They are not completely different, they did a few more roll out and bootleg type of things,” said Gailey. “They did not go and revamp their offense with him and Maddox in there. They are still doing what they do and they still have excellent receivers and a massive offensive line, so they are going to use those weapons as well. If you put the film of them on, you see a group of big athletic guys that do a nice job and they are rushing the ball for however many yards a game, which is just unbelievable. They’re doing some great things up front, but it goes back to cohesiveness and making sure that they’re all playing together. I don’t know that you could say that is their strength of their team, because they are strong in a lot of places.”
When the Jackets have the ball, FSU will face a confident offense, led by junior quarterback A.J. Suggs, who has been hot of late. In his last three outings, he has completed 75-of-122 passes (61.5 percent). He has thrown for 1,633 yards and nine touchdowns this season.
“He’s getting a great feel for what we’re trying to do offensively,” said Gailey. “I think he’s seeing things better and he’s getting a comfort level with the receivers even more so. The way he’s handled the no-huddle offense has been very good. I think it’s helped him, I think it’s helped us and I think that it has been a win-win in every respect.”
Taking the pressure off Suggs is senior tailback Gordon Clinkscale, who has averaged 7.8 yards per carry for 295 yards on the season. He had 94 yards and the winning score in the win over NC State.
“Slowly but surely, we’ve developed into this other type of offense because of Gordon and P.J. (Daniels) and the people like that,” said Gailey. “They seem to be able to make some plays in the open field. A.J. feels comfortable in the gun doing some things and our receivers are the strength of the team.
“We have evolved over the last four or five weeks into what we are today, and Gordon has been a big part of that. He has shown he can make some things happen in wide-open spaces with the ball in his hand. He can make people miss as well as run for tough yards when you need that. He has been a very pleasant surprise running and catching the ball. He is a prime example of don’t quit, keep fighting through and good things happen to people who do things the right way. You love to see that rewarded in the way he has fought through adversity and the tough times to get to where he is. It’s a credit to him and he is a great role model to young players that are going through tough times.”
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