Posts Tagged ‘Georgia Tech’

Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory didn't see much that pleased him in the team's first ACC game of the season. (Phil Skinner/AJC)

Given the most important of metrics – wins and losses – Georgia Tech started the season impressively: 10-2. It was a record so good after a season that was so bad (11-20) that the Yellow Jackets technically could have gone 1-18 the remainder of the season and still not taken a step back from the first one under Brian Gregory.

But what we witnessed Saturday might have provided more clarity about just where Tech sits in this rebuilding process.

In the Jackets’ first ACC game of the season, they were competitive early against Miami (17-17), withered at both ends of the court for the remainder of the first half (outscored 16-6), fell behind by as many as 23 points and eventually lost by a not-so-humiliating 13 (62-49).

“You just have to look at it and say that on Jan. 5, they’re a better team than we are,” Gregory said.

Odds suggest he will be …

Continue reading After 10-2 start, Georgia Tech gets an ACC reality check »

Roddy White catches a 44-yard touchdown behind ex-Falcons cornerback Chris Houston. (AP photo)

DETROIT — You know by now that the Falcons beat  the Detroit Lions and clinched the No. 1 seed and home field through the NFC playoffs. Here’s a link to my column off the game, and I’ll have a new column later today with more comments from players. Until then, here are my three “Short takes” from the game:

1. Matt Ryan ascending to elite: The Falcons’ quarterback had a string of average-to-bad games beginning in November, including the five-interception day against Arizona. But for the last two weeks he has looked like the MVP candidate he was inthe season’s first-half. He was the Falcons’ best player in significant wins over the New York Giants and Detroit, combining for 48-of-60 passing (including 22 straight completions) for 549 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Tony Gonzalez said of Ryan: “The talent has always been there. It was just a matter of when, not if, he …

Continue reading Short takes: Matt Ryan back to MVP level in last 2 games »

Can you hear SEC commissioner Mike Slive? "Yes, I am king. Are there any questions?" (AP photo)

While it’s easy to understand why any fan of a conference not named the SEC grows tired of hearing and reading about the SEC, the evolution of this year’s conference championship match-ups screams why the landscape is so lopsided.

This came home Monday when Miami announced that the football program was going to self-impose a bowl ban (hoping to beat the NCAA to the punch) and therefore would not accept a bid to the ACC championship game. This allowed Georgia Tech to back through the door as Coastal Division “champions.” The Jackets will face Florida State for the ACC title.

This isn’t meant to pick on Georgia Tech. It’s not the Jackets’ fault they have been given this opportunity, despite a relatively crummy season. But if you want to know why the SEC commands the attention it does, just look at how the ACC and other conference championship games compare.

Here are the conference …

Continue reading Wonder why SEC on top? Look at other conference finals (with video) »

In a bizarre turn of affairs — which should not be confused with anything that might be going on in a broom closet at the Pentagon with a CIA director, his smokin’ but psychotic biographer, a general (not that general, the other general), a Florida socialite, Snooki, Ashley Dupre, Donna Rice, Camila Parker (Duchess of Cornwall), Kim Kardashian (Duchess of … never mind), the UnReal Housewives With UnReal Enhancements of Atlanta, Anne Boleyn, King Charles VII, Bacchus (Greek god of Debauchery), probably a few Kennedys, Marilyn (duh), Fabio, the Thomas Crown Affair, An Affair to Remember, Family Affair (never trusted Mr. French) Glenn Close and that poor bunny rabbit, and, sorry, there’s just no room in here for Tiger Woods — Georgia Tech may play in a BCS game.

I'm just a hopeless romantic. (Art work via says-it.com)

(If you need to take a breath, re-read, digest, grab a snack, that’s OK. I’ll wait here. Still waiting. OK…)

Back to Georgia Tech-Duke, which isn’t nearly as …

Continue reading Predictions: Jackets, Dogs, Falcons and lust triangles »

As we head down the stretch of this football season and attempt to answer the age-old question, “Who whines more: SEC football fans after losing a game or Republicans after losing an election?” — and this is why I always check under my car for suspicious wire before starting it — it’s time to check in on the remains of Gene Chizik.

Two years ago, Auburn won the national championship. Now the Tigers are 2-7 overall and 0-6 in the SEC.

The governors of Colorado and Washington.

Or, as Karl Rove would put it, they’re trending upward and on the verge of conquering the SEC West, the conference, the BCS, Ohio (don’t it make my red eyes blue?), Hawaii, Alaska, Manitoba, the dangling chads of Florida, the clogging anchors of Fox, the Western Hemisphere, the Eastern Bloc (Commies! We’ll hunt ‘em all down!), the Peoples Republic of Cheech and Chong (Colorado and Washington just legalized marijuana — so, yes, we have confirmation that Doritos has lobbyists) and even the educated, …

Continue reading Predictions: This time it’s all red — Dogs, Falcons win »

According to legend, and also Wikipedia, my two favorite sources when I have other things to do, the expression, “Eureka!” dates to the Greek scholar Archimedes, who noticed that when he stepped into a bathtub the water level rose and he exclaimed, “Eureka!” because, I dunno, “Wow,” just didn’t sound scholarly. Archimedes then continued this research into volume by seeing what would happen if he sat in a hot tub with five co-eds from Palermo State, but that didn’t work out so good, he lost his grant and now can be found teaching sociology at junior college in Poughkeepsie.

So last week, Georgia punched Florida in the mouth, and I’m certain I heard Mark Richt exclaim, “Eureka! No more Mr. Nice Guy!” See, because I’m sure the Bulldogs played tough because they were angry at being called “soft” by teammate Shawn Williams.

So coddling days are over. This week Richt called in appropriate inspirational speakers to address his players:

"Bring me the broomstick of Nick Saban!"

Oz: …

Continue reading Predictions: Smelly, incompetent, soft Bullldogs win again »

Dan Radakovich fired Paul Hewitt but he hired Paul Johnson. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)

(UPDATED: 1:30 p.m.)

Dan Radakovich is leaving as athletic director at Georgia Tech, where he had thousands of empty seats at football games and needed to search between couch cushions for funding, for the same job at Clemson, where he won’t have to worry about either.

So don’t blame Radakovich for leaving. He has been rumored for previous vacancies — most recently Tennessee and Texas A&M — and the wonder is that he didn’t leave before for a more lucrative option. The fact Radakovich is filling a position at another ACC school may upset some Tech fans, but it’s a slam dunk of a career move.

The question many already are asking is: What does this mean for Paul Johnson?

The answer: Probably nothing. At least in the short term.

Nor should it.

Tech is having a bad season: 3-5 overall, 2-3 in the ACC and coming off a 41-17 home loss to BYU. This follows going 2-5 down the stretch last season after a …

Continue reading Radakovich’s exit won’t affect Paul Johnson (for now) »

It was a much easier day for T.J. Barnes and the Georgia Tech defense. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)

The last time Boston College came to Atlanta in 2007, Matt Ryan threw for over 400 yards, Georgia Tech lost and dropped six of its next 10 and Chan Gailey lost his job.

Boston College’s latest season visit to Georgia Tech intersected with a firing again. It was only the defensive coordinator (Al Groh), not the head coach, who lost his job this time. Groh didn’t even make it through October. But if something had gone haywire Saturday, Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson wouldn’t have had anybody left to point a finger at. Serious questions that would’ve seemed implausible after Johnson’s first two seasons would’ve been asked.

Was his program spinning out of control?

Were players, who had followed Johnson’s lead for an ACC championship and 20 wins over 2008 and 2009, now not listening to him?

Was the talent really that bad?

The panic is on hold for now. Georgia Tech crushed Boston College …

Continue reading Georgia Tech stops the bleeding but assumes nothing »

Redshirt freshman quarterback Vad Lee finishes off his 24-yard touchdown run. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)

I’ll be back with a column on Georgia Tech’s 37-17 victory over Boston College shortly. Until then, here are my three “Quick Hits” on the game:

1. POST-GROH PROGRESS REPORT: OK. Don’t get too excited. Boston College entered the game ranked 79th nationally in total offense and 84th in scoring. And it looked the part.  But the Jackets appeared far less confused for most of four quarters after allowing 42, 49 and 47 points in the previous three games (all losses), which led to Al Groh’s firing. Boston College was held to a lone field goal in its first eight possessions before scoring two second-half touchdowns. So, alas, Tech had some movement in the right direction.

2. VAD LEE MAKES HIS CASE: If redshirt freshman quarterback Vad Lee wasn’t ready for significant playing time before, he certainly seems to be now. Tech might even have itself a little quarterback controversy. On …

Continue reading Quick hits: Tech defense better, Vad Lee impressive »

Paul Johnson's team needs to scramble in second half of season just to become bowl eligible.

Of all the directions anybody could have expected Georgia Tech would go under coach Paul Johnson, this wasn’t one of them: He is getting involved in the defense.

Johnson fired his second defensive coordinator in 4½ seasons when he canned Al Groh after a 47-31 loss at Clemson two weeks ago. Athletic director Dan Radakovich gave Johnson a vote of confidence following the Groh firing, but Johnson obviously feels some pressure (internally and externally) to turn around the Jackets. They’ve lost three straight since a 56-20 win over Virginia (allowing 138 points in those three games) and have fallen to 1-3 in the ACC.

There is still a chance to salvage something out of this season. The remaining conference games (Boston College today, Maryland, North Carolina, Duke) certainly all are winnable, and BYU next week isn’t overpowering. Georgia is the most difficult game left on the schedule. The …

Continue reading LIVE: It’s desperation time for Georgia Tech (and defense) »