After a 35-20 win over Virginia Tech on Oct. 11, Georgia Tech defensive end A.J. Hoffler was asked to explain the identity of the Yellow Jackets’ defense.
“Bend but never break,” he said.
Saturday, after the Jackets had beaten Duke 27-18 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, Tech safety Omar Daniels was asked about the team’s defensive performance.
“Bend don’t break. That’s all we talk about; Bend don’t break,” he said. “If we can hold ‘em to 3 (on a possession), they can drive all game. If we can hold ‘em to 3, they ain’t gonna win the game with the offense we have.”
And so it has been, and perhaps it shall be down the stretch, as Tech goes into its final game of October still unbeaten, still bending defensively but never completely breaking.
Tech’s bend-don’t-break defensive identity was on display again Saturday against the Blue Devils. The Jackets (7-0, 4-0 ACC) gave up a lot of yards, first downs and chunk plays, but not a lot of points.
“I thought BG (Tech defensive coordinator Blake Gideon) did a really good job in preparation with some of the packages, too,” Tech coach Brent Key said. “They were running guys on and off the field every play, making us do the same because we’re matching personnel with ‘em. We had no issues.
“It was a good job by him putting the packages together to have the right people in the game at the right time.”
Duke had averaged almost 43 points per game during its three-game winning streak coming into Saturday’s contest. Quarterback Darian Mensah fronted a dangerous unit that had proved the ability to score on the ground and through the air.
And at the game’s outset, it looked like Tech’s defense would be in for a long day against that unit.
Duke, on its opening offensive possession, drove to the Tech 1 where it had a first down. But the Jackets stood tall on consecutive runs up the middle, then Mensah fumbled the ball when he tried to keep the ball on an option run play on third down.
Daniels found the loose ball resting on the 5, scooped it up and raced 95 yards the other direction for the score — a sign of things to come.
The Jackets also halted a Duke drive at the Tech 25 later in the opening quarter. The Devils botched the execution of a 42-yard field-goal attempt and came away pointless.
Duke had opened the second half with a draining and demoralizing drive that once again had the Devils knocking on the door at the Tech 1. But three straight runs up the middle for no gain and an illegal substitution penalty on fourth down pushed the ball back 5 yards, forcing a 22-yard field goal.
Duke wouldn’t score again until there was 1:13 left on the clock in the fourth quarter and Tech leading by 17.
“It’s really on our practice style and our mentality. We focus on finishing. We brand ourselves on finishing,” Tech defensive back Jy Gilmore said. “So I feel like our style of play in the second half reflected our day-to-day mindset.”
Gilmore was part of a Tech secondary that was missing one of its best members in Ahmari Harvey, who was injured against Virginia Tech. Daniels said the Jackets told themselves, “at the beginning of the game, if we play with the passion (No.) 3 have and played the game like he plays it, we were gonna come out with the win.”
Harvey wasn’t present Saturday for Duke’s win, but his No. 3 jersey was hung up in the visiting locker room.
Against Tech’s secondary, Mensah threw for 373 yards and two touchdowns and completed 10 passes of at least 15 yards, which probably would have been more than enough to lead Duke to a win on any other day. But Tech recorded five key pass breakups, hurried Mensah four times and had two sacks to make him just uncomfortable enough.
“We set out defensively, really, to accomplish a couple things: No. 1 was to stop the run. I thought we did a great job of that. The D-line made a major step forward today,” Key said. “Then we said we had to affect the quarterback.
“Affecting the quarterback’s not always just getting pressure. It’s also changing things up in the back end. (Mensah’s) a dadgum good quarterback, but we forced him to do what we wanted him to do and that was roll, get out of the pocket, scramble, get happy feet. Changed things up on the back end and were able to make some plays on some balls.”
Tech ranks 10th in the ACC in total defense, last in rushing defense (despite holding the Devils to just 68 yards on the ground) and sixth in passing defense. But the Jackets are allowing just 20.6 points per game, fourth best in the ACC.
Duke found out the hard way that latter number is really all Tech cares about.
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