Paul Johnson says SEC’s superiority all about perceptions
Paul Johnson says the SEC isn't the overwhelming beast it's made out to be. (Johnny Crawford)
The same week that the top of the BCS rankings are punctuated with three SEC teams and the overwhelming shadow beast of Athens prepares to bring its football team to Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson said precisely what we’ve come to expect from him.
To capsulize his thoughts: Whatever.
Johnson, whose weekly news conferences can be relative standup comedy dotted with sarcastic jabs, was unusually low key Tuesday. But afterward, he addressed perceptions of the SEC’s Godzilla to the ACC’s Bambi, which filters down to the annual Georgia-Georgia Tech game. This subject has been one of Johnson’s pet peeves since he arrived at Tech in 2008 (and won at Georgia in his first season, after the Jackets had lost the previous seven in the series).
“It’s all perceptions,” Johnson said. “People will think what they’re going to think. There’s nothing I’m not going to do to change their mind.
“Personally, I think the conference thing is way overblown. How are you going to evaluate? Are you looking at the top two teams in the conference or are you going to take the conference as a whole? There’s four SEC-ACC games Saturday. Let’s see what happens. Who’s favored in the Clemson-South Carolina game? Who’s favored in the Florida-Florida State game? Wake-Vandy? I don’t know. But you see what I mean? Now, if we’re just talking about Alabama and LSU, that’s different.”
Johnson makes a point. While you can make a case that the SEC is the nation’s superior conference, the strength at the top – and certainly five consecutive BCS titles – exaggerates the differences between conferences from top to bottom. Not to diminish the accomplishments of Georgia during this nine-game winning streak, but even the most ardent Dogs supporter recognizes that the East Division is down this year.
Perceptions certainly play into this week. Johnson figures to milk this for all its worth to players. He’ll talk about how nobody’s giving Tech a chance, how Georgia’s already looking ahead to the SEC title game, how the Jackets have punched the Dogs in the mouth before and they certainly can do it again.
“Every coach does something,” he said, without getting specific. “You always take anything you can find or post, things that you think will get your guys ready to go.”
This is Johnson’s fourth season. Tech’s senior class is 34-17, including 1-2 against Georgia. In 2008, the Jackets won 45-42 as an underdog in Athens. In 2009, they lost 30-24 as a favorite in Atlanta. In 2010, as a 12½-point underdog in Athens, they accumulated 512 yards in offense but committed four turnovers and trailed 35-34 (on a missed extra-point attempt) until a touchdown by Washaun Ealey with 1:29 left.
The point being, there hasn’t been much difference between the two programs over the past three years.
Two years ago, Tech was where Georgia is at this week. The Dogs will pay for the SEC championship next week. In 2009, the Jackets had secured a spot in the ACC title game. The Georgia game was secondary in importance (as foreign a concept as that may be).
When asked if that played a role in the loss, Johnson said, “I don’t think that played into it at all. That was the week we had the NCAA [investigators] in here. That played into it a great deal. That played into it far more than [looking ahead to] the ACC championship.”
This year, there’s no question. This is Tech’s final game before a bowl. Johnson spent part of Tuesday reaffirming that while he thinks the Dogs are good, it’s not like Tech has been facing middle schools.
He was asked about the strength of the Dogs’ defensive line. He responded with some praise but added, “I don’t know. We’ve played some really good players. [North Carolina's] Quinton Coples is a first-round draft pick. [Clemson's] Brandon Thompson is a pretty good player. This won’t be the first good players we’ve seen.”
He was asked about Georgia tight end Orson Charles. He responded with some praise but added: “We’ve played against other tight ends who are really good. The tight end at Clemson [Dwayne Allen] is probably an early-round draft pick in the NFL.”
Johnson realizes his words won’t change perceptions. But the last thing you’re going to hear from him is any suggestion that his overshadowed program from the overshadowed conference can’t win Saturday. And, truth is, the past three meetings have affirmed as much.
By Jeff Schultz
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1,026 comments Add your comment
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:33 pm
Georgia is consistently among the upper echelon of mediocrity.
Paul in NH
November 22nd, 2011
9:33 pm
MADawg
November 22nd, 2011
7:25 pm
I wish all this chest-thumping about toughest conferences would just stop already.
As a lifelong UGA fan, let me say to the rest of the SEC: I hate all of your guts. I want you to lose every game you play. Hate you all.
—-
MADawg – You are my kind of guy. I want to see UNC, Duke, WF, State and most of the others to lose every B’ball game they play.
wolfman
November 22nd, 2011
9:33 pm
@Chris: Glad to hear it. I assume that you will have the grades to get in a school better than those it the SEC (Vandy excluded).
Rick Strickland
November 22nd, 2011
9:34 pm
@Chris Yes, you were a national contender last year! LOL Let me call Coach O’Leary @ Central Florida for a 2nd opinion. Again, hit me back Sat night.
Mike Adams
November 22nd, 2011
9:34 pm
Im impressed at the Georgia Tech alumni in here that can converse in english as a second language. I was really expecting a lot of India and Chinese dialect. Must have taken summer classes on North Campus.
Larry Bowie
November 22nd, 2011
9:34 pm
Ugly coach….ugly fans.
Mudcatjoe
November 22nd, 2011
9:34 pm
Ga. Tech is the 2nd best team UGA has faced this year! Dawgs have no chance Saturday!
GADawgs
November 22nd, 2011
9:35 pm
Hey techies, stop the schedule bs. That schedule was made three to four years ago just like tech’s. You play who they schedule in advance. They did not make the schedule last year.
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:35 pm
how have we been mediocre??? other than out 7-5 and 6-7 season? And dont say im living in the past cuz we are 9-2 which isn’t mediocre
wolfman
November 22nd, 2011
9:35 pm
Hasn’t GT won a national championship more recently than UGA???
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
9:36 pm
Nice. Mike Adams just hit on another tired “joke.” And he’s a xenophobe. The UGA fans are killing it tonight!
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:36 pm
strickland I said we sucked last year and thats true! I dont believe i said we were national championship contenders
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
9:37 pm
No, wolfman. The Coaches’ Poll doesn’t matter.
Wait, what?
GADawgs
November 22nd, 2011
9:37 pm
Hey look at GT’s 2012 schedule. They have only posted three games so far. BYU, Middle TN State, UGA. Oh, they show the ACC championship game on the schedule also. Nothing like counting your chickens before they hatch!
Rick Strickland
November 22nd, 2011
9:38 pm
@ Chris You played 5 teams in the Sec East and the worst 2 in the SEC West. In Georgia, Region 8-AAAAA > SEC (L)east!! Again, come back Sat night.
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:39 pm
Mudcatjoe
November 22nd, 2011
9:34 pm
Ga. Tech is the 2nd best team UGA has faced this year! Dawgs have no chance Saturday!
Third or fourth best, in my unbiased opinion.
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:35 pm
how have we been mediocre??? other than out 7-5 and 6-7 season? And dont say im living in the past cuz we are 9-2 which isn’t mediocre
Alabama had a down year in 2010. What was the final record of their hugely disappointing season?
doo doo ley
November 22nd, 2011
9:39 pm
I listened to the entire press conference and did not hear CPJ say anything the way you have quoted him but golly gee what a surprise it gets turned around in the AJC
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:40 pm
our schedule is equal to tech’s strength of schedule minus boise st and usc. With those two i know we lost but our schedule even on a easy schedule year for an sec school its better than tech’s schedule
doc
November 22nd, 2011
9:40 pm
if uga comes out like they did against kentucky it could get ugly for Georgia—–what in the h—-ll were they doing when they played Kentucky??—–Richt better hope he wins this game——the fire has not been removed from you know where—I would say if Georgia wins out and I mean totally—he will be back next year———-no for sures on the other scenarios. I like PJ but I like Georgia better. Dawgs better come out swinging or its going to be a long day—–Go Dawgs!!
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:41 pm
rightnow we aren’t an alabama year in and year out perception is reality. Tech doesn’t have down years cuz they rarely have up years
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:42 pm
doo doo ley
November 22nd, 2011
9:39 pm
I listened to the entire press conference and did not hear CPJ say anything the way you have quoted him but golly gee what a surprise it gets turned around in the AJC
“Johnson, whose weekly news conferences can be relative standup comedy dotted with sarcastic jabs, was unusually low key Tuesday. But afterward, he addressed…”
One must understand the meaning of the word “afterward” in order to properly comprehend this article, I suppose.
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:43 pm
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:41 pm
rightnow we aren’t an alabama year in and year out perception is reality. Tech doesn’t have down years cuz they rarely have up years
I agree. UGA is the big brother in this rivalry. Tech is the red-headed stepchild.
Bama fan
November 22nd, 2011
9:44 pm
yes chris you are not an alabama year in and year out but ill admit yall are good. I dont think or dislikeeither teams im just a college football fan. I say uga’s d is too good and they will win by 2 to 3 tds
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:45 pm
hopefully its 3!!!! haha
EX-Tech
November 22nd, 2011
9:46 pm
Johnson, you shame the name, Bobby Dodd…
Scorekeeper
November 22nd, 2011
9:47 pm
LSU 35, Athens Institute for Morons and Dummies 3
DILLIGAF
November 22nd, 2011
9:48 pm
George Stein, you could most possibly be the most annoying blogger on the AJC blogs. You might possibly be the “real” George Stein because you obviously have too much time on your hands and you couldn’t possibly have a real job with as much time as you spend trolling the sports blogs, acting as both mediator and commentator while annoying most everyone with your constant drivel. I apologize for any disrespect but you, like George Stein, come across as ambulance chasers as you shove your business card into the collective crowd’s face. You do have some good points on occasion but I’m just astounded as how you cover every topic on here with great consistency. I can’t read ten consecutive posts without seeing your handle.
I guess you’re enjoying yourself but don’t take yourself so seriously, internet attorney.
BTW…
Go Dawgs! GATA!
UGA/85′
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:49 pm
i think we have a small 20% chance to beat lsu. I have watched a lot of yalls games and yall are incredible but with our defense lsu will be held under 20 and if aaron murray plays big we will be champions. its a small chance but its achance
DAMON
November 22nd, 2011
9:50 pm
Is it true that UGA offers a bachelor and MASTER in lawn cutting….BSLC
The real story
November 22nd, 2011
9:51 pm
And it came to pass that Mark Richt brought billions of people from Mungo to Earth in spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes, and detonated hydrogen bombs in the volcanoes. The Dawgs then clustered together, stuck to the bodies of the living, and continue to do this today. Society’s biggest problem is to isolate and neutralize the Dawgs and their companions, the fleas.
Gamecocks and Gators have had great success in this.
Most people didn’t know this.
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:51 pm
@Chris
I like Georgia. Truth is that both UGA and Tech have rich football traditions and both schools offer excellent academic opportunities.
Unfortunately, I am afraid that this “Cinderella” year, in which Georgia’s traditional powerhouse rivals have found themselves in dire straits, will leave you guys stuck with a coaching staff that isn’t going to add anything of significance to Georgia’s football legacy in the future. Ironic, huh?
GT
November 22nd, 2011
9:52 pm
Stop crying rednecks…. Sat will break you hearts. Go Jackets!!!!!!
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
9:53 pm
You find me annoying because I rip apart all the nonsense you fools write. You show me one place where I wrote anything derogatory about the kids at UGA, the school, or the football team, or the coach and you won’t see me here again. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your response.
What’s sad is that you graduated in 85, which puts your age around 45 and you can’t seem to put a coherent thought together.
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:53 pm
GT from atlanta to not a redneck
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:53 pm
Football is nice, but the parties are better in Athens.
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:55 pm
George Stein dont listen that abnoxious dawgs fan. its a blog and you can be on as much as you want. Like i have been on for 30 minutes while watching tv. Cuz i love uga football. And you love tech football and thats cool! Keep blogging! I enjoy talking football
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
9:55 pm
The sad part, DILLIGAF, is that I’m actually quite reasonable with folks that want to engage in rational discussion. But the second some moron starts with the high school offense, nerd, high school stadium, foreigners, weak conference, etc. stuff is the second I’ll start hammering them.
GT Fan
November 22nd, 2011
9:56 pm
Chris,
at 9:21 you said UGA outplayed USC, but turnovers killed the Dawgs.
Kinda like GT last season … undone by turnovers. It is what it is.
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
9:57 pm
Thanks, Chris. It’s a rainy Tuesday night during the week of the biggest game of the season. Not sure what the heck else I’m supposed to be doing.
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:57 pm
@George Stein
That’s just what happens around here. I think you’re supposed to respond by asking them for additional fries with your burger?
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
9:58 pm
BTW I am not the real George Stein. It’s probably a poor attempt at humor, but I adopted this handle after the Damon Evans thing. Whatever.
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:58 pm
george stein i apologize for DILLIGAF don’t let him reflect the uga fan base as a whole he is being a jerk on something meant for enjoyment
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
9:59 pm
Also its thanksgiving other than bowl season ITS THE BEST TIME FOR COLLEGE AND NFL FOOTBALL
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
9:59 pm
See, I hate that crap, too, Perception. I have as little tolerance for the idiots on my side as I do for the UGA morons. I think there are several folks that would back me up on this. I hammered GTJoe for acting like a clown on the Blawg not too long ago.
InsectInside
November 22nd, 2011
10:00 pm
Most of the Dog fans calling CPJ arrogant have probably never heard him talk. They place the context that they want on the words. They parrot nothing but rehashed buzz words, talking points and tired insults. The Lord loves the “common” man so he gave them Sanford Stadium….the biggest collection of “common” in the world. Being called arrogant by the most delusionally arrogant fan-base in the country…..how….uh…common.
SEC East Champs
November 22nd, 2011
10:00 pm
Ranking Richt’s wins over tech in the last 10 years…
1. 51-7
2. Reggie Ball 4th and Dumb
3. Stafford to Massakwa
4. Tony Taylor recovering Ball’s fumble for a TD
5. Minter and Oliver stone-cold locking Calvin “2-Catch” Johnson down?
6. Justin Houston’s INT last season to seal the Dawgs’ 42-34 win
7. Reshad Jones picking off Jayblow Shaw to secure the latest win in ATL
8. Reggie getting kicked out of the second half while David Greene lit up the Tech D
9. DJ Shockley struggling but Greene coming in to relieve him and wrap up yet another Dawgs win!
I concur with the above!
Chris
November 22nd, 2011
10:00 pm
amen to that Georgie
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
10:00 pm
I don’t, Chris. Most of my friends are UGA grads. The overwhelming majority are good people. Anonymity makes acting like a big shot a lot easier.
davidinloganville
November 22nd, 2011
10:01 pm
Perception is Reality
November 22nd, 2011
9:57 pm
oh boy that was a good one what’s next “I’m going to be your boss”
George Stein
November 22nd, 2011
10:01 pm
I’m actually George Costanza.