It was a very good year at Georgia Tech
Some random thoughts before I get on the plane to West Coast, where it is warm and sunny:
1. It’s been a very good year at Georgia Tech. While last night’s loss to Iowa in the Orange Bowl was a disappointment to Georgia Tech and its fans, at some point today it will be time to put it into perspective with the rest of the season. Georgia Tech ran into a big, athletic defense that had had over 40 days to prepare. When quarterback Ricky Stanzi was healthy, Iowa was the best team in the Big Ten and would have likely gone undefeated if he had been available for the Northwestern and Ohio State games.
In just two seasons Paul Johnson has made Georgia Tech a player again on the national stage with an ACC championship, a BCS bowl, and a win over Georgia. While it can’t be a great year unless you beat the state rival, this was a very good year at Georgia Tech.
2. Time to give the Big Ten its props. The Big Ten has gotten beat up during bowl season lately, going 1-6 last year. Iowa was the only Big Ten team to win a bowl last season when it beat South Carolina. But this season the Big Ten has posted four pretty impressive wins: Ohio State over Oregon to snap the Big Ten’s six-game losing streak in the Rose; Penn State over LSU in the Capital One; Wisconsin over what was supposed to be a faster, more athletic Miami in the Champs Sports; and finally Iowa over the ACC champs in the Orange. Northwestern had several chances to beat Auburn in the Outback before losing in overtime.
3. Kudos to Rich Brooks. The former Falcons assistant coach has decided to step down at Kentucky after seven seasons. One of his goals when he took the job was to leave the program in better shape than he found it. On that point he was a huge success. The program was devastated by NCAA probation when he got there and after struggling (9-25) in his first three seasons there were a lot of people who wanted to get rid of him. But athletics director Mitch Barnhart and President Lee Todd stuck with Brooks, who then took the Wildcats to four straight bowl games, something never done in the football history of the school. I will never forget Kentucky’s upset of No. 1 LSU in Lexington in 2007. In fact, that season I went to Lexington three times to watch Kentucky play and saw three great games, including a four-overtime loss to Tennessee which put the Vols into the SEC championship game over Georgia. Brooks turns the reins over to offensive coordinator Joker Phillips.
4. Bama looking for first win over Texas. There is a lot of history that says No. 2 Texas can beat No. 1 Alabama in tomorrow night’s BCS championship game. The two storied programs have met eight times in history with Texas holding a 7-0-1 mark:
Year———————Winner
1902———————Texas, 10-0 (Regular season)
1915———————Texas, 20-0 (Regular season)
1922——————–Texas, 19-10 (Regular season)
1947——————–Texas, 27-7 (Sugar Bowl)
1960——————–3-3 Tie (Bluebonnet Bowl)
1964——————–Texas, 21-17 (Orange Bowl)
1972——————–Texas, 17-13 (Cotton Bowl)
1981——————–Texas, 14-12 (Cotton Bowl)
I’ll be in Los Angeles on Thursday where I will give you my five burning questions about the BCS Championship game.
5. Urban Meyer wasting no time. For a guy who was supposed to be taking a leave of absence, Florida’s Urban Meyer has been a busy boy this week. He has lost four assistant coaches since the end of the regular season—Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong along with assistants Kenny Carter and Vance Bedford are all headed to Louisville. Offensive assistant Billy Gonzalez left before the bowl game to go to LSU. He has been replaced by Zach Azzani of Central Michigan. Meyer and interim coach Steve Addazio have hired former Gator assistant Stan Drayton, who left for Tennessee with some hard feelings in 2007 saying that he wanted to coach in a more conventional offense. Drayton is a good recruiter and Florida needs that to hold this class together. D.J. Durkin, who coached the past three seasons at Stanford, has been hired to coach the linebackers, which was Strong’s position. We’re still waiting to hear on the defensive coordinator’s job although published reports say that current assistant Chuck Heater has a shot.
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588 comments Add your comment
m is for mullet
January 6th, 2010
10:01 am
Erin Andrews Landing Strip is really m.
m are you out there?
What a way to end the season!!!!!!
Frank B
January 6th, 2010
10:01 am
I forgot
(((((((((( 30-24 ))))))))))
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
10:01 am
Buckhead Dawg,
i love it. keep ‘em coming!
Otto
January 6th, 2010
10:02 am
IA fan, Until you live here you wouldn’t understand. I’ve been to over half the SEC stadiums for games and never been taunted as much as I was at GT this year. GT defines themself by hating UGA do some research on everything from the fight song, whats the good word, to their school colors. Nerds is not for their academics, it is a description of the social schools from many on North Ave.
Georgia Hawkeye, I agree Iowa was better all the way around. Iowa and UGA would be a very good game.
Fact I found interesting:
Iowa front 7 started every game together this year.
crabapplejoe
January 6th, 2010
10:02 am
All of this Tech/Georgia back and forth is so much BS. Iowa would have beaten either team last night…..and probably beaten Georgia even worse….they have too much speed and athleticism for either the SEC or ACC.
3-letters in the alphabet(you choose)
January 6th, 2010
10:03 am
Oh, I’m a rancid wreck from Georgie Tech….
Frank B
January 6th, 2010
10:04 am
SEC is 5-4 in bowls (2 losses to ACC, 1 to big 10, 1 to Big East).
Ark and Aub had 2 MIRACLE wins against ECU and Northwestern (powerhouses)- or else they’d be 3-6.
And they want to dog other conferences? Numbers dont lie….
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
10:04 am
Ditto, FLJacket. There is no national award named after an Iowa coach either.
Atticus
January 6th, 2010
10:05 am
Tony GT would NEVER make the BCS without being in the ACC.
It is a joke the way the ACC performs in the BCS bowls. Play some tough teams and on the road and then see if you win 11 games. The schedule determines everything in the “exhibition” that is college football.
I will say congrats to Paul Johnson for a very good season though. GT is a 7 or 8 win program historically and he has raised the level. Now he just has to find a better defense and a QB that can throw a little.
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
10:06 am
Frank B,
you’re correct — numbers do not lie. shall we look at your numbers from last night? season low, might i add.
i am just busting your chops.
jfowl
January 6th, 2010
10:06 am
IA Fan,
This is between us (Tech & UGA). If you don’t like it keep you carpetbagging #$% where it is. Although after working in your state I can understand why you want to leave it. Just do us a favor, move on to another state. We take our rivalries to heart, nothing personal against a techie, I’ll still play golf go fishing/hunting with them and still give them hell for the next year. GATA!!
Frank B
January 6th, 2010
10:07 am
Otto – “Iowa and UGA would be a very good game”
If by good game you mean seeing UGA lose by 40, then yes, I agree with you.
mike
January 6th, 2010
10:07 am
haha I’M A TECH FAN WE LOST I ADMIT IT IOWA AND THE BIG TEN ACTUALLY DID GOOD IN BOWL GAMES THIS YEAR! DUDE ON A COMMENT SAID GA TECH NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME PLAYERS WE GET 3 N 4 STAR PLAYERS N COMPETE WITH THE 5 STAR PLAYERS.. LAST COUPLE PLAYERS CALVIN JOHNSON, MICHAEL JOHNSON AND TASHAD CHOICE ALL DOIN GOOD IN THE PROS.. SO WILL D MORGAN, MORGAN BURNETT, AND D THOMAS AND DWYER, TO THE DAWGS RECENT STAFFORD AND MORENO. N ATKINS WHO ELSE ON THIS YEAR TEAM CAN MAYBE GET IN THE FIRST 2 ROUNDS FOR G.A IN THE NFL DRAFT.. NOBODY..
BuzztheKiller
January 6th, 2010
10:07 am
It is very telling that the only life UGA fans on these boards have is to laugh when Tech falters. No discussion of their own disappointing season, only giggles when Tech loses. Yep, we got beat. We at least man up and admit it. Iowa played better when it counted. Unlike the dog whiners, no excuses about the refs or the coaches or the weather or the color of the helmets.
See you next season dog lovers! We will be headed for our second straight ACC Championship and you will probably be third in the East again and struggling for a bowl bid!
Atticus
January 6th, 2010
10:07 am
Frank B, look at the SEC record in BCS bowl games the last 5 years. Look at national championships. Look at how many DIFFERENT teams have played in the BCS. You are correct, numbers don’t lie.
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
10:08 am
Okay, now it is time for the entire board to gang up on crabapplejoe.
Harry's Balls
January 6th, 2010
10:08 am
Tony,
As I tell my 5-year-old, what an imagination you have. Tech would lost to Texas A&M. Iowa is NOT that good, Tech is that BAD. Georgia would have a 50/50 shot at beating Iowa. 90 yards offense by the middle of the third quarter…wow…I almost felt sorry for Tech.
Srsly?????
January 6th, 2010
10:09 am
So, I was confused last night when I turned on the T.V. and saw Tech playing. I thought Tech had already gone 12-2 from reading all the posts about how their season wasn’t defined by the loss to Georgia. Now it’s not defined by the Orange Bowl either. So their season is defined by winning the ACC Championship? Really? Two teams that lost to mid level SEC teams just one week before the highly unattended ACC Championship. Nice job jackets! By the way, could you call last year’s seniors and have them send over the “State Championship” rings?
m is for mullet
January 6th, 2010
10:09 am
crabapplejoe that comment is way out there, read your comment back to yourself.
Will
January 6th, 2010
10:09 am
Big Tone,
Yesterday I took a couple of cheap shots at GT on this blog and for that I am sorry. I was having a bad day at work and wanted to release some anger. I was actually hoping Tech would come back in the 4th but it was not to be. Throwing the ball only 4 or 5 times per game is not going to get it done in big games. D Thomas must be wondering how in the hell is he going to get to the NFL in that offense. I guess the question is why would any good recruit who is not a qb or rb go to Tech? They are the only positions involved in the offense. CPJ like CMR has to make some changes to that D, way too much talent to get manhandled like that against UGA, Clemson and Iowa.
REALIST
January 6th, 2010
10:10 am
Please extend Johnson’s contract….
Tom Davis
January 6th, 2010
10:10 am
Tech needs to get their ACC Championship rings and put the DAWGS’ Score on it. So everytime one of the NERDS looks down they can remember who the real men are.
JaxDawg
January 6th, 2010
10:10 am
Bad night for Tech fans, although it did remind me of when we destroyed LSU for the SEC CHampionship and then turned around and got beat by WVU in the sUGAr bowl.
Still the SEC is 13-5 in BCS bowls in comparison to 2-10 to the inferior ACC. ouch
Atticus
January 6th, 2010
10:11 am
Buzz, don’t be so naive. Both schools revel in the other teams failures. If you don’t think so you are kidding yourself. The same thing happens all year when GA loses.
Congrats on a good year, but you are using the same logic. GA has won 80 games in 8 years, 2 SEC titles and is 11-2 in bwol games the last 13 years and has beaten Tech 7 of the last 8 years. COme on earn some respect before you brag on an ACC Championship. GT would never have made a BCS in the SEC.
Harry's Balls
January 6th, 2010
10:11 am
@ Dawg Fud:
Crabapplejoe is an idiot. Iowa was not impressive this year. Half the SEC would have beaten them. Maybe Iowa finishes 7-5 or 6-6 in the SEC.
m is for mullet
January 6th, 2010
10:12 am
BuzztheKiller you only read Ga comments, you really don’t follow all the negative replies from the GT fans, please.
IA Fan
January 6th, 2010
10:12 am
I’m an Iowa alumnus, class of ‘99, grew up in Iowa, not far from Minnesota. I am a nerd, though, I’ll admit to that. This is an eye-opening blog, though. Your rivalries are insane compared to ours.
As to Iowa’s football relevance – I think the records speak for themselves. Iowa is 3-1 against the SEC in recent history, including wins over LSU, Florida, and So. Carolina, and we nearly beat Florida a second time. The SEC’s is .556. Maybe you should refrain from commenting until the SEC solves Iowa, not the other way around. This year, The Big 10 has a victory percentage of .571 this year in bowl games, the SEC’s is .556.
It’s obvious from your castigation of “nerds” that you don’t care much for facts and knowledge, but while you’re gloating vicariously over the perceived shortcomings of other conferences, just bear in mind that you’re … you know. Wrong.
Comeuppance
January 6th, 2010
10:14 am
I’m a UGa guy, but a part of me was in CPJ’s corner, until his real-men-go-for-it-on-4th-down comments after the Wake Forest game. Way too much self-regard in this guy. Glad to see such a take down.
LHardingDawg
January 6th, 2010
10:14 am
IA Fan –
Stay in Iowa, we don’t need you down here. As far as Tech is concerned, I was pulling for them and the state last night. Plus, we’ll (the Dawgs) will play a Big 10 school, any time, any place and win 8 out of 9 (pun intended).
Bo
January 6th, 2010
10:15 am
Good lord, the vast majority of posters here are losers. To my fellow Dawg fans, how can you run your mouths about Tech losing to Iowa when they had a much better season than us? Yes, I know their fans came out of the woodwork to act like jackasses when they beat us in ‘08 but that doesn’t mean we have to behave that way. Have some class, people…that’s what being a GA fan is about. I know that 2 bad years in 10 is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things…start acting like winners and you will be one. In football and in life.
To the Tech fans, congratulations on 2 good years. You have a long way to go before you can claim to be the premiere football program in the state…indeed, Paul Johnson is off to a great start. I wish you luck and want to beat a quality opponent in every game we play. That includes the UGA/GT game.
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
10:15 am
Harry’s Balls,
I have to give the Big 10 some credit this year. Ohio St, Penn St and Iowa are all quality teams and won their bowls.
LSU’s team speed was marginalized by the crappy field conditions and eseentially turned that game into a Big 10 slugfest.
I would like to see Florida play Ohio State but I know how that story reads. Bama and Iowa would be a great matchup.
I like Iowa as the Big 10 champ and Rose Bowl berth next season.
ANF!
BlackAndGoldRoll
January 6th, 2010
10:19 am
These 2 comments from GT “stars” say it all:
“You watch them on film and kind of get a feel for them, but it’s nothing like standing next to them,” linebacker Steven Sylvester said.
“They were good and they had some good players,” Dwyer said. “But I really think that we just shot ourselves in the foot, man. We were just nervous.”
Good luck with Duke, Vandy, N Car, and Wake F next year. Don’t worry, other conferences will beat the good teams for you, like Wisconsin beating Miami….
Gatorzone
January 6th, 2010
10:21 am
I think if Tech had ANY passing threat, this offense would be more successful. Probably still wouldn’t win the big ones, but better than last night.
Josh Nesbitt is terrible, and a ball hog to boot! Get rid of him and your o improves
DILLIGAF
January 6th, 2010
10:22 am
Hawkeyes linbacker Angerer quoted as saying “we certainly thought we would see the dominating offense that we had been watching on tape but they were slightly better than our scout team”.
Ouch.
Bigger Fish
January 6th, 2010
10:23 am
Iowa? Really? Iowa?
Dawg Bone
January 6th, 2010
10:24 am
Dawgs: beat the ACC champion in football, beat tech in basketball, more fans, more money, better stadium—-the list goes on and on. It’s hard to be humble, when you’re a dawg fan!!!! Tech—the party’s over–minor bowls on the way next year, while the Dawgs win the SEC east and go to the BCS!!!!!!
IA Fan = shamed nerd fan
January 6th, 2010
10:26 am
Speaking of needing facts and knowledge, clearly you are unaware of UGA’s record against the Little 11. You look pretty foolish. Yes, the Little 11 has had a good bowl season. But are you seriously trying to convince anyone on here that it erases the past 5 years? The Little 11 is nearly as pathetic as the ACC in BCS games. What you obviously don’t know, is that the SEC is more times than not, the lesser ranked team in their bowls. Meaning, it’s pretty common for a mid to bottom tier SEC team to play a first, second or third place team from another conference. If it were at all possible to line up the SEC teams against any other conference by order of where each finished in their respective conference, it would never be a contest.
m is for mullet
January 6th, 2010
10:27 am
Bo is really m too. Thanks for the sermon.
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
10:28 am
IA Fan,
i think the perception about the Big 10 is mainly due to the fact that Ohio State has been billed as the premier team from the conference the past decade and it has an 0-9 record against the conference.
ANF!
Dawg Fud
January 6th, 2010
10:29 am
0-9 record against the SEC.
Harry's Balls
January 6th, 2010
10:30 am
IA Fan:
Iowa beat a pathetic Tech team and Ohio State wins against Oregon and now the Big 10 has risen from the dead??
Experts agree the SEC is the most powerful conferrence in college football. But, oh yeah, we’re all wrong, and you’re right. Just another arrogant Yankee who needs to go back north from whence he came.
Since you’re a self-admitted nerd who likes stats, here are a few just for you:
Iowa All-Time Record: 569-510-39 (.527)
Overall Bowl Record: (12-10-1) .545
Georgia All-time Record: 731-389-54 (.653)
Overall Bowl Record: 26-16-3 (.619)
hahahhahahaha!!!!!
January 6th, 2010
10:30 am
What little bit of “talent” Yech has is going bye-bye!!!! I look for the Joke by Coke to go 5-7 next year!!!! Great basketball team too, btw, LOL!!!
ACC Chumps!
January 6th, 2010
10:32 am
Winning 1 SEC Championship is equivalent to winning 2 ACC Championships!
Think about it! The Top 2 teams in the ACC account for 8 losses. That’s really sad and pathetic. The Top 2 teams in the SEC takes 3 years for that many losses (if not more).
Harry's Balls
January 6th, 2010
10:32 am
@ Bo:
Suck my [insert name here]
DILLIGAF
January 6th, 2010
10:32 am
crabapplejoe:
‘All of this Tech/Georgia back and forth is so much BS. Iowa would have beaten either team last night…..and probably beaten Georgia even worse….they have too much speed and athleticism for either the SEC or ACC”
Dude, crack kills. Put down the pipe.
Bigdawg48
January 6th, 2010
10:33 am
mike,
Let me run down the list…
CHAMP BAILEY
BOSS BAILEY
RICHARD SEYMORE
MARCUS STROUD
RANDY MCMICHAEL
TIM JENNINGS
BEN WATSON
JONAS JENNINGS
THOMAS DAVIS
REGGIE BROWN
CHARLES GRANT
MATT STINCHCOMB
KNOWSHAUN
STAFFORD
PAUL OLIVER
PATRICK PASS
…………………………………………………………….
What is your point about who puts more guys in the League?!?!?!
guess what I smell.....
January 6th, 2010
10:33 am
Back to the Smurf Bowl next year for the tools to get waxed by yet another WAC team!!!!!
Bigdawg48
January 6th, 2010
10:34 am
BTW…THAT IS A SHORT LIST!!
Atlanta Gator
January 6th, 2010
10:34 am
Georgia Tech needs a reliable passing game and a revamped defense. The Jackets cannot rely on their option running scheme to win every game, especially against well-coached defenses. The triple option, in its current form, leaves their offense too one-dimensional.
just tech
January 6th, 2010
10:35 am
Tech did have a good year. Congratulations guys. Looking forward to next year. UGA fans just have to have something to talk smack about. Who cares!! We had a great season and they are just jealous. No one can take that away from us. 11 wins! GO TECH!!