Why stop now? Here’s Tech’s checklist for BCS title game
After tearing down the goal posts following their upset of No. 4 Virginia Tech Saturday night, can't the Jackets dare to dream a little? (Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com)
This is where the same team that you wondered about after the opening slumber against Jacksonville State, the near collapse against Clemson and the full collapse at Miami may start to dream.
Paul Johnson doesn’t want to hear this, or read this. “Let’s beat Virginia next week,” he would tell you, and that’s probably a good place to start since the Jackets haven’t won in Charlottesville since 1990 (0-8 since).
But Tech fans tore down goal posts Saturday night after upsetting Virginia Tech. (See the photo above and the video below.) The win enabled the Yellow Jackets to take a huge leap in the polls Sunday. They also opened at 12th in the first BCS rankings of the season — rarefied air for a program in only its second season under Johnson, who runs that minor-league offense of his. (That was a joke.)
So why not imagine the unimaginable: Tech in the BCS title game.
OK. Hang with me for a minute.
First here are the top 15 teams in the BCS standings, so you have something to look at:
1. Florida (6-0) 2. Alabama (7-0) 3. Texas (6-0) 4. Boise State (6-0) 5. Cincinnati (6-0) 6. Iowa (7-0) 7. USC (5-1) 8. TCU (6-0) 9. LSU (5-1) 10. Miami (5-1) 11. Oregon (5-1) 12. Georgia Tech (6-1) 13. Penn State (6-1) 14. Virginia Tech (5-2) 15. Oklahoma State (5-1)
This is not a prediction. It’s a checklist. But it’s hardly a completely outrageous checklist. These are the 12 things that probably have to happen for the Jackets to land in the BCS championship in Pasadena Jan. 7. So click your heels together three times and here we go . . .
♦1.) Win out. This qualifies as a “duh.” A two-loss team is not making it. So this means Tech, which already has lost to Miami, needs to beat Virginia (which would give it a tiebreaker edge over the Cavaliers in the ACC Coastal Division), then beat Georgia again, then win the conference title game. The rest of the schedule: Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, Duke.
♦ 2.) Miami, which holds a ACC Coastal tiebreaker edge over the Jackets, needs to lose once in the conference. The best chance of that happening on the Hurricanes’ remaining schedule is next week against Clemson or in four weeks at North Carolina. Other games: at Wake Forest, Virginia, Duke, South Florida.
♦ 3.) Win the ACC championship over the Atlantic Division team, and that’s a weak lot right now (every school has at least two losses).
♦ 4.) This is just a safe assumption: The winner of SEC title game will be ranked No. 1 by the BCS. The loser will not be No. 2 because voters will not want a repeat game for the BCS title. So this shouldn’t be an issue for Tech.
♦ 5.) Texas needs to lose once. The Longhorns were unimpressive in a 16-13 win over Oklahoma, which was missing quarterback Sam Bradford for most of the game. They still have to play at Oklahoma State, home against Kansas, and, if make it there, the Big 12 title game (probably against Kansas or Nebraska)
♦ 6.) Boise State has to lose. This may be the biggest long shot of all. The Broncos opened the season with a win over their toughest opponent (Oregon). They finish with a dessert tray: Hawaii (2-4), San Jose State (1-5), Louisiana Tech (3-3), Idaho (6-1), Utah State (1-5), Nevada (3-3), New Mexico State (3-4). The toughest foe there obviously is Idaho.
♦ 7.) Cincinnati has to lose. The Bearcats still have two difficult games left on their schedule: West Virginia and the season finale at Pittsburgh.
♦ 8.) Iowa has to lose. But come on — it’s a Big Ten team! The Hawkeyes’ most likely faceplant is at Ohio State Nov. 14. (The Buckeyes already have two losses, so its doubtful they would leapfrog Tech.)
♦ 9.) USC has to lose. Not a problem. The Trojans play at Oregon in two weeks, then at Arizona State, still have a rivalry game against UCLA — which filled the spoiler role well a few years ago, to the benefit of Florida — and then finish against Arizona.
♦ 10.) TCU has to lose. Like Boise State in the WAC, this is another potential BCS buster from the Mountain West Conference. But TCU still has two ranked teams left on its schedule — BYU (next week) and Utah (Nov. 19).
♦11.) LSU may not be an issue. Here’s why: The only way the Tigers stay ahead of Tech is if they win out. That means beating Alabama and getting into SEC title game. But then I refer you to No. 4 on the checklist.
♦12.) Oregon is only percentage points ahead of the Jackets. But they may need to lose again, depending on how the whole strength-of-schedule thing weighs out. The Ducks still have some difficult games left on the schedule: at Washington, home against USC, at Arizona.
So there it is. What do you think? Is this a completely crazy scenario?
Meanwhile, here’s the YouTube video floating around the internet of the goal posts at Bobby Dodd Stadium being torn down. Students carried the goal posts out of the stadium and toward university president George P. “Bud” Peterson’s house.
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488 comments Add your comment
Delbert D.
October 18th, 2009
11:27 pm
FALCONS!!!!!!
Recruits.com
October 18th, 2009
11:28 pm
yes—birds are 4-1—–i hate the saints
jumbeauxtiger
October 18th, 2009
11:29 pm
I meant there’s alot of football to be ‘played’.
Drunkdawg
October 18th, 2009
11:29 pm
I don’t have a dog in the hunt since I did not go to GT or UGA. I pull for both teams since I was born and raised in GA and they are my favorite teams. I just don’t like it when someone bashes either team since both has had good and bad years.
Hank
October 18th, 2009
11:33 pm
Ever since LSU won a mythical BCS National Championship with TWO losses, I realize anything is possible.
Joe Schmoe
October 18th, 2009
11:33 pm
I want to hear all the Jackets fans getting “All the way turnd up!” Man that song is catchy for critical situations!
George P
October 18th, 2009
11:34 pm
If LSU beats Alabama and makes it to the SEC championship game, that opens the door for a Florida/Alabama big game. That would be a huge ratings win.
Delbert D.
October 18th, 2009
11:37 pm
George P – thats smells of a conspiracy….
RCdawg
October 18th, 2009
11:37 pm
No way, no how do the DAWGS lose to the bugs again. Maretinez may suck but coach Richt will get things together! Speed kills that lameoffense and UGA has more speed than Yech can handle.
Delbert D.
October 18th, 2009
11:38 pm
Enter your comments here
Delbert D.
October 18th, 2009
11:39 pm
Oops..I’m gone….
toh3llwithgeorgia
October 18th, 2009
11:39 pm
I’m sorry it’s just not gonna happen this year. The BCS is too flawed, but if we would have won at Miami we would probably be at number 4 and would only need Texas to loose. So we can’t really blame anyone but ourselves, look for us to be in a
Paul Ball
October 18th, 2009
11:40 pm
The Birds are 4-1, The Jackets are 6-1, and that team in Athens beat vandy-who cares. THWG!!!!!!!
Pago Flyer
October 18th, 2009
11:47 pm
Hard to believe that gt will be in the BCS!? But, they will…
Joe Schmoe
October 18th, 2009
11:48 pm
RCdawg, you hardly have the speed VT has, and speed doesnt mean squat if you overrun the man you are supposed to defend ala VT yesterday. Please stop drinking the kool aid!
bigstack19
October 18th, 2009
11:48 pm
If Tech plays for the BCS National Championship I will eat a nest of Yellow Jackets covered in the poop of the guy who has to spend game day in the bee suit.
JR
October 18th, 2009
11:55 pm
You Techies amaze me, don’t you realize that the average UGA fan has a lower IQ than their mascot?
For the Record
October 18th, 2009
11:56 pm
“Since the BCS began in 1998, the worst initial ranking for a title-game participant was LSU in 2003; the Tigers were 12th in the first BCS standings that season. The 12th-ranked team in the first standings this season is Georgia Tech.”
Bobbie Stoopie will not leave the building
October 19th, 2009
12:00 am
Oklahoma has THREE losses and is ranked #25 in the AP and Harris polls.–Who are these idiots ?
Spencer
October 19th, 2009
12:04 am
The best one loss team in the nation got beat by the third best one loss team in the nation.
I wanna teekit
October 19th, 2009
12:13 am
Anyone know when WF returns unsold tix and they’re released to the GP? Sat in 211 last nt & it wasn’t as bad as it looks on paper…Just a bunch of drunk VT fans shakin their car keys, lookin for someone to drive them back to VA.
How about when UGAg returns their unsold tix for the 11/28 game? (lol)
Also, found this tonight and the SOS looks way whack:
http://realtimerpi.com/football/ncaaf_Men.html
GT SOS at 16 & UGAg at 61??? Has UGAg ranked #45, but figure it’s a typo & should be #145, right?
Tech sucks
October 19th, 2009
12:17 am
Tech will lose at least 2 more games and get blown out again in their bowl game. Overrated.
I wanna teekit
October 19th, 2009
12:20 am
If you’re referring to GT beating VT, GT is the fifth best 1-loss team in the nation (according to the BCS) and VT is of course the best 2-loss team now.
Anyone else see Beamer mouth the F-word after they failed to recover the onside kick…..Sucks to be him today.
George P. Burdell
October 19th, 2009
12:23 am
I remember that game in 1990 at VA. Virginia was ranked No. 1 in the country and was walloping TECH. From our dorm (Techwood), we watched the most incredible 2nd half comeback and VA was topped by a last 2nd field goal by kicker Scott Sisson..41-38. Even though it was an away game, we had the goal posts down inside of 5 mins on Grant Field!
I wanna teekit
October 19th, 2009
12:24 am
WOW….Guess overrated is something UGAg doesn’t have to worry about hearing this year, huh?
GT GRAD
October 19th, 2009
12:26 am
GT has a better chance at a NC game next season……everything is falling in place and we are a VERY young team……it is simply too difficult to get there in this stupid system if you are not highly ranked during the early weeks of the season.
GT would have a shot this season if there was a fair playoff system. Use all of the existing bowls……..match up the top 8 teams in the BCS games (1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc)……..two weeks off then two games using the 4 remaining teams……..two weeks later (weekend prior to the Superbowl) we have a TRUE NCAA National Championship game. No Changes to existing bowls, only three extra games, two weeks to recover & prepare, students could be required to be free from practice/coaches for 7 days after BCS game, only affects 4 teams each year (only one extra game for two teams & only two extra games for the two teams which play for the NC). Just think about how much interest there would be in the 4 BCS games and also in the 3 additional games!!!!! AND we would have a true NC using a fair system!
macrotech
October 19th, 2009
12:32 am
Ben….according to the BCS polls, TECH is more important than your little leg-humpers! THIS is when the polls start to matter, not during the preseason. Way to represent the butt sniffers!!! GO TECH!!!
I wanna teekit
October 19th, 2009
12:33 am
Same thing happened in 1984 when we won at Athens 35-18…..Partied under the traffic light and the chant started……GOAL POSTS! GOAL POSTS! GOAL POSTS! Within minutes we rushed Grant Field, tore em down and marched em through the streets of ATL. Will never forget looking up at the bldgs & seeing all the folks cheering us on…..The kids only made it to the Prez’s house last night…..Bunch o’ wimps!
Missed one
October 19th, 2009
12:49 am
Sorry Jeff, you missed one on your checklist. Even if everything happened like you’d want it too, you’d still need Penn State to lose another game…which isn’t going to happen. Tech has no one left on their schedule to impress voters. Penn State at least has Ohio State, who although they got stomped by Purdue, is still ranked in the BCS. And face it, if it came down to choosing between the bumblebees and Joe Paterno, Paterno would get the # 2 slot hands down. But thanks for playing.
I wanna teekit
October 19th, 2009
1:23 am
That sounds eerily similar to the kind of talk going on this time last year…..Sounded pretty good right up until Penn State lost at unranked Iowa.
Dan A.
October 19th, 2009
1:32 am
LOL, and Techies think UGA fans are delusional. This is the most absurd suggestion I have heard since Bobby Bowden said he wanted to win another National Title before he retired. Tech has a snowball’s chance in hell of being even in the DISCUSSION of national title contenders, much less the actual title game.
Big B CH 99
October 19th, 2009
1:40 am
If that is true, how is Florida 8th on SOS & Bama 43rd.
Florida played absolutely NOBODY, NOBODY OOC. Sure the SEC is tough, but Bama also has to play in the SEC, maybe their SEC ain’t as tough as UF’s but Bama did play VT OOC.
And to UgaY fans saying Tech will always be 2nd fiddle, I have one Question for U:
1.) How many NC’s have y’all won & how many have GT won?
I don’t care what U want to say about prestige or what, the answer to that ? is:
GT: 4
UgaY: 1.
UgaY fans think that they’ve historically been a Top 10 team most yrs, & the FACT is: Except for a few periods here and there (Herschel & Richt), U have never been a consistent Top 10 team, that honor falls to: OU, Texas, ‘Bama, Ohio St., Michigan, & USC.
UgaY is almost always a Top 25 team, & many yrs Tech has been as well. Tech fans will be happy if we can average 8+ wins a yr, which normally will result in a decent bowl game as well as being close to a Top 25 ranking, & can beat UgaY every 2-3 yrs, we don’t expect to be a Top 10 team every yr, competing for a NC.
GA Tech Insider
October 19th, 2009
7:09 am
As many of you are listing awards named after GA Tech coaches (John Heisman – Heisman Trophy for the Nation’s top College Player, Bobby Dodd, the Dodd Trophy for the Nation’s top College Coach), we need to add Frank Broyles, former GA Tech player and Assistant Coach under Bobby Dodd who went on to become Head Coach and AD at Arkansas, and has the Broyles Award named after him for the Nation’s Top Assistant Football Coach.
These are three of the top honors awarded in College football today; all named after GA Tech “men”.
Now regarding the “meat” of the article, I would agree that Paul Johnson is concentrating solely on Virginia, reminding the team that last season, they were in the exact same position as they are this year, and Virginia came to Atlanta and beat them on Grant Field, on Homecoming no less. Then, Coach Johnson is going to remind the team about the ghost past of the many losses in Virgina that have haunted the Jackets through the years since 1990. Finally, Paul is going to remind GA Tech’s players that Saturday evening’s victory will be meaningless if they lose to Virginia on Saturday because they will then have two losses in conference.
No, Paul Johnson has plenty of things to talk about with the team going into Charlottesville, and then into the Wake Forest and Duke games (not to mention Vandy and UGA for the matter).
Required Reading | Hard Knox Sports
October 19th, 2009
7:14 am
[...] Check list for a GT BCS berth. [AJC] [...]
grady
October 19th, 2009
7:17 am
Glad to see you back on Sports, where you belong. Not a bad checklist, but you are forgetting one thing; The media (ESPN) hates Tech. You can tell when they do their broadcasts. More than that, they hate the ACC. Look at all the negative talk to begin last year, which was only to cover their butts since they propped up Clemson to begin the year only to watch them get demolished. The ACC sends ten teams to bowl games last year and they still talk about how weak we are. Our three best teams only losses are to each other and one to the number 1 or 2 team in the nation. Isn’t that the same as the Big 12 from last year. Yes, all this stuff could happen, but the bias would keep us out b/c we aren’t UGAy.
'Bama 1
October 19th, 2009
7:28 am
You are an idiot!
Buzz
October 19th, 2009
7:34 am
I have a novel idea,let’s play them one at a time and see where it all shakes out. Hopefully the team is focused on the here and now. The last time they were receiving pats on the back LSU beat us senseless.
Sautee Dawg
October 19th, 2009
7:56 am
Congrats for beating Va Tech, one post stated above that Va Tech was overrated, maybe not. several teams in the 1st BSC rankings are.
Don’t matter who wins out or what happens Florida Gators are the media darling, they could lose 2 remaining games and still sneak into the BCS game.
The strength of schedule that AZ Jacket posted is a joke. Gators played Charelston Southern, Troy, and have Florida International coming to Gainesville at the end of the season. The only team they have played and beaten that is currently in that BCS ranking is LSU.
With Techs remaining sched they could win the rest of their games but regardless of who else wins or loses, they are not going to pass a 1 loss Fla, or SO Cal, or Ala, or Texas.
ESPN and the ones with influence will see to it.
jacketnation
October 19th, 2009
8:10 am
I am so glad the Jackets won. I am all for celebration after the game too. But lets think about something here. How much does it cost to replace the goal posts after the are torn own? 50,000? I don’t know. I suppose this comes out of the athletic fund, and if so, could that mean we Tech is having to spend money that should / could be used for athletic scholarships? It just seams like storming the field would be celebration enough without vandalizing our own stadium and costing the school lots of money in repairs.
Comment please
calvin
October 19th, 2009
8:23 am
Writing like this hurts the team, Schultz. Is that
your motive? It’s very simple; as Tech continues to
win, good things will happen. We don’t need articles
like this one.
Jim Rockford
October 19th, 2009
8:26 am
jacketnation- I disagree. Tearing down the posts is traditional after a big win. How often does it happen?
doggy
October 19th, 2009
8:34 am
My checklist for the tech to make the title game…
1. Monkeys need to fly out of Jeff’s butt
2. Gay marriage is finally state approved
3. Obama appoints Fox News as the voice of his party
Tech82
October 19th, 2009
8:39 am
Sautee Dawg – I agree with you. If Tech wins out, we will get a great bowl bid (possibly the Orange Bowl) and maybe a top-5 finish but the powers that be will never allow us to leapfrog Florida or Alabama.
The good news is that we have very few seniors on this team and we are setting the table for a truly great season next year.
I wanna teekit
October 19th, 2009
8:44 am
On the goal posts coming down:
If the Event Staff Bouncers were not eventually told to yield, there were going to be some people HURT! They were MANHANDLING students and fans to the point of looking like Riot Police who were just missing their Riot Shields (I’ve got it on video if you doubt). We watched as they were physically picking up and throwing everyone getting near the goal posts once the field was stormed…Perhaps you’d prefer headlines of “Dozens of Injured Tech Fans & Students File Suit Against GT Athletics & Event Staff” instead of the press of Tech Fans pulling down the posts and marching them around campus? The Internet videos capture the moment of them coming down…..A moment that doesn’t happen often at Grant Field (ONE victory over a Top 5 school in 47 yrs!)
Those videos and press coverage not only capture the moment, but they pay dividends. Recruits see them coming down, donors see them, Alum see them, former season ticket holders see them, NEW potential ticket buyers see them, and on and on…Even if it is $50k to replace, it’s money well invested when you’re trying to fill up your stadium.
Gold face
October 19th, 2009
8:47 am
For the retarded delusional mutt fan. You continue to look like an idiot and say who does tech play. who have they beaten? Right now our strenght of schedule is ranked 7th hardest in the country. That’s HARDER than YOUR schedule(10). It’s also A LOT harder than UF(46) and bama (26). Oh and VT who we beat? They have the #2 toughest schedule right now. So when you say who have you played, you are telling everyone on here how ignorant you are.
UGASlobberknocker
October 19th, 2009
8:48 am
The chances of all of that happening are about the same as the odds that a Tech male student bumps into a good looking woman walking thru campus….about a 20,000 to 1 shot. (this calculation assumes one good looking woman is on Tech campus although that may be a stretch).
Tokyo jacket
October 19th, 2009
8:53 am
Am I the only one who wants to see an LSU GT rematch? I know CPJ hasn’t said it, but I think that dude has been wanting to play Les Miles for about 293 days. For this to happen UM would have to win out, LSU would have to beat Bama and Auburn and probably Florida. Then, we get an at large berth to play LSU in the Sugar Bowl. That’s what I’ve been wanting to see!
Tokyo jacket
October 19th, 2009
8:55 am
Teekit, last time I remember them coming down was after a victory over #7 (as I recall) UVA in 1998 the week before the FSU game. I was actually on ESPN that night because I was standing at the front of the goal post. Definitely one of my very best memories in college.
Gold face
October 19th, 2009
8:55 am
This is the best ranking system i see from sagarin. This shows the true sos. not from some website that was probably created by a gator.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/sagarin/fbt09.htm
F-105 Thunderchief
October 19th, 2009
8:59 am
Tech will not lose again. That’s all they can control. And that’s enough.