TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Email Print

Wake-Up Call: ACC Championship could be a homecoming for Jesuit's Allen

Georgia Tech junior running back Anthony Allen rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s 34-9 win at Virginia.

ADVERTISEMENT

By JOEY JOHNSTON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 26, 2009

The Wake-Up Call greets you each weekday with news, views and a few Tampa Bay area sports offerings to anticipate for the day and night. We encourage suggestions and contributions.

Good morning!

Nice weekend for Georgia Tech junior running back Anthony Allen (Jesuit).

He rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 34-9 win at Virginia – incredibly, the Yellow Jackets' first victory in Charlottesville since 1990.

Then, a few hours later, he learned about Clemson's 40-37 overtime victory at Miami.

The upshot?

If Georgia Tech takes care of business by defeating Wake Forest and Duke, Allen will be coming home to Tampa's Raymond James Stadium for the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5.

After Saturday's turn of events, Georgia Tech (7-1, 5-1) controls its fate in the ACC Coastal Division.

Its hopes seemingly took a major hit on Sept. 17 – a 33-17 loss at Miami (5-2, 2-2) – but the Yellow Jackets are back on top. Georgia Tech holds the head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over the Coastal Division's other major contender, Virginia Tech (5-2, 3-1).

Allen, a transfer from Louisville, has been a major reason why Georgia Tech's triple-option offense has been so effective.

On the second half's opening drive, Allen scored with a 1-yard touchdown to cap an 18-play, 82-yard march – 17 runs and one pass – that took 10 minutes, 47 seconds off the clock.

As Allen put it, "We're coming in and looking at the guy lined up across from us and they're just dog tired. And we know we have them right then.''

Allen had a very successful freshman season at Louisville – scoring 13 touchdowns, including one in the Orange Bowl victory against Wake Forest – but then Coach Bobby Petrino left for the NFL. Allen never seemed to fit in Coach Steve Kragthorpe's offense and looked for a new home.

He found one at Georgia Tech – and especially in its intricate offense that Coach Paul Johnson has refined in his second season with the Yellow Jackets.

"With the triple option, they have to stop three valuable assets to the game,'' Allen said. "They have to stop the dive. They have to stop the quarterback. And they have to stop the pitch. Sometimes, you can tell that they get weary going to stop one part, while they are trying to get to another part.''

Although Allen is an understudy to Jonathan Dwyer, last season's ACC Player of the Year, his contributions have been valuable.

Allen is the ACC's seventh-leading rusher with 470 yards (and a whopping 10.9-yard-per-carry average) and five rushing touchdowns. He has 29 career touchdowns – 25 on the ground and four receiving.

"Things have gone well,'' he said.

And after the weekend, with Georgia Tech now firmly in control of a trip to Allen's hometown, they just took a turn for the better.

McCluster shows up (in a big way)

Ole Miss running back/receiver Dexter McCluster (Largo) was having a very quiet senior season.

Until Saturday.

McCluster led a 30-17 victory against Arkansas, finishing with career-high numbers in rushing (22 carries for 123 yards) and receiving (seven catches for 137 yards). His 260 combined yards were the best for an Ole Miss player since he had 268 against Memphis in 2006.

Oddly, after McCluster accounted for 1,280 yards last season, he hadn't been seeing the ball much in recent games. He had seven carries against Vanderbilt, six against Alabama and just one against UAB.

After beating UAB, Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt approached McCluster on the field.

"We're getting ready to take off, I hope you're ready for it,'' Nutt said.

McCluster's retort: "I've been ready for it.''

It may be too late for Ole Miss (5-2, 2-2), but its remaining SEC opponents (Auburn, Tennessee, LSU, Mississippi State) should be forewarned.

Dexter McCluster is back.

Another 300-yard game for Garcia

University of South Carolina sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia (Jefferson) was 22 of 33 for 312 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday night's 14-10 victory against Vanderbilt. Garcia moved into 14th place on South Carolina's all-time passing yardage list with 2,606 yards, passing Dan Reeves, the former NFL head coach, who had 2,561.

Bonner goes deep

Florida Atlantic University receiver Chris Bonner (Gaither) only had two catches on Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette, but they were memorable.

Bonner had touchdown receptions of 70 and 64 yards from quarterback Rusty Smith, helping the Owls past the Ragin' Cajuns 51-29.

Overall, Bonner has 21 catches for 432 yards (20.5-yard average) and five touchdowns.

Longoria makes Sporting News team

Rays third baseman Evan Longoria was selected to The Sporting News' American League all-star team.

Longoria had 33 home runs and 113 RBIs in his second major-league season. This team always has special meaning because it is selected by 333 major-league players, 22 managers and 33 general managers/assistant GMs.

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols became only the third repeat winner of the magazine's Player of the Year award, joining Ted Williams (1941-42) and Joe Morgan (1975-76).

Here are the complete teams:

American League

Catcher – Joe Mauer, Twins.

First base – Mark Teixeira, Yankees.

Second base – Aaron Hill, Blue Jays.

Shortstop – Derek Jeter, Yankees.

Third base – Evan Longoria, Rays.

Outfield – Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners.

Outfield – Jason Bay, Red Sox.

Outfield – Torii Hunter, Angels.

Designated hitter – Hideki Matsui, Yankees.

Starter – Zack Greinke, Royals.

Reliever – Mariano Rivera, Yankees.

National League

Catcher – Yadier Molina, Cardinals.

First base – Albert Pujols, Cardinals.

Second base – Chase Utley, Phillies.

Shortstop – Hanley Ramirez, Marlins.

Third base – Mark Reynolds, Diamondbacks.

Outfield – Ryan Braun, Brewers.

Outfield – Matt Kemp, Dodgers.

Outfield – Jayson Werth, Phillies.

Starter – Tim Lincecum, Giants.

Reliever – Ryan Franklin, Cardinals.

Birthday wishes

Happy belated birthday to former Bucs running back Jimmy DuBose, the organization's first player with a 100-yard rushing game (109 vs. New York Giants on Oct. 15, 1978). DuBose, the former Sarasota High School player, was a star at the University of Florida and finished fifth in the 1975 Heisman Trophy voting. Sunday, DuBose turned 55.

The Answer Man

Here's the answer to Friday's trivia question:

Coach Earl Garcia's Hillsborough Terriers reached the Class 6A state title in 1996, becoming the first Hillsborough County public-school team in 25 years (since 1971 Robinson) to play for a state football championship. Miami Carol City defeated Hillsborough 21-7 in that 6A final during 1996.

Monday trivia

Here's our daily sports trivia question, featuring a Tampa Bay/Florida spin. Try your luck by commenting below.

Former Jesuit running back Anthony Allen, now at Georgia Tech, set the University of Louisville single-game rushing record with a 275-yard effort in 2007. Which team was Louisville's opponent that night?

Check for the answer in Tuesday's Wake-Up Call.

ADVERTISEMENT

Coupons and Deals

Games, Puzzles & Trivia

Advergaming and Branded Media

Oops! Your email could not be sent because of the following errors: