Tech’s Paul Johnson: A coach who dares to be great
Josh Nesbitt after scoring the game-winner in overtime. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
The surprise wasn’t that Paul Johnson went for it on fourth-and-inches with Tampa on the line. The surprise was that, for half a minute, it seemed Paul Johnson wasn’t going for it on fourth-and-1 with Tampa on the line.
Down three points in overtime, ball nuzzling the 5: What else would PJ do? “If we can’t get half a yard,” he said, “we don’t deserve to win.”
First Georgia Tech faked everyone out. The Jackets lined up as if to run a play but did the ol’ draw-’em-offside bit to no avail. They called timeout and trotted to the sideline, and your first thought was, “PJ just chickened out.” But PJ doesn’t chicken out. He talks the talk and goes on fourth down.
“If you ask the kids to play to win,” he said, “you’ve got to play to win.”
He’d asked his quarterback what he thought, and Josh Nesbitt, who’s as bold as his coach, said: “I can make it.” And PJ said: “I know you can.” And then Nesbitt did, and one play later he was in the end zone and Tech had climbed a couple of rungs up the BCS standings and drawn within one win of the ACC title game. So you can’t say there was nothing at stake. But PJ’s way is to play to win no matter the consequences, no matter the history.
Four times Tech had gone on fourth down already, and four times it had failed. Nesbitt had fumbled the snap and slipped in the backfield and gotten stopped at the line and thrown a pass Anthony Allen dropped. One more slip and Tech would lose. But this time nobody slipped. This time Nesbitt ducked his head and got the yard.
Tech wobbled Saturday. It started nicely but began to commit penalties at a Georgia-esque rate, and a quick 10-point lead became a 17-10 halftime deficit. It could have been worse, but Dave Wommack’s underwhelming defenders stopped Wake Forest at the end of the first half and then limited the Deacs to one first down over the next 25 minutes.
And then, even after Wake tied it, the D made a stand near the end of regulation to force overtime, and once beyond 60 minutes, PJ and Nesbitt weren’t going to let the Jackets lose. “You just will your way to win,” Johnson would say, and that’s what happened here.
Derrick Morgan had three sacks, all essential. Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 189 yards, 59 coming on Tech’s first snap of the second half when he burst up the middle on a tweaked play for the tying touchdown. (”Something I saw,” said Johnson, the archduke of adjustments.) Wake being Wake, it would never simply slink away into the gathering dusk, but Tech matched the Deacs in heart and trumped them in skill and gall.
Into overtime. Tech held Wake to a field goal and the game was the Jackets’ to win or lose, which meant it was PJ’s and Nesbitt’s, and was there ever any doubt how it would end? Said Johnson: “I don’t think [his players] expected anything else [than going for it on fourth down]. Our defensive guys knew we were going for it.”
Said Dwyer: “Who wouldn’t want to play for a coach like that?”
Before the game, Johnson had given his men an impassioned speech. He told them “not to put the horse before the cart” and ponder what might be waiting down the road. This prompted someone to ask: Doesn’t the horse generally go before the cart?
“Horse before the cart, cart before the horse,” Johnson said. “Maybe that’s why we came out flat.”
No matter. It all worked out in the end. PJ dared and Nesbitt made it work and Tech’s cart and horse, in whichever order you prefer, drew another hundred miles closer to a title game in Tampa.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
552 comments Add your comment
BEANO COOK
November 8th, 2009
10:59 am
Georgia Tech is the best one loss team in the nation Mr. Beamer.
GT For You And Me
November 8th, 2009
11:00 am
Booger man:Bold type is for wimps,as I’m sure you are…….
Pi$$onaDawg
November 8th, 2009
11:01 am
Hi Booger
Joe Schmoe
November 8th, 2009
11:01 am
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
10:43 am
TOO BAD WEAK FORMOST DIDNT STUFF THE GREAT ONE ON 4TH AND 1 …………….DAWGS AND CLEMSON KICK TAT A$$ THIS TIME
I cant contain my lauging about the dogs kicking anyones azz, let alone GT.
FACTS
November 8th, 2009
11:02 am
Alabama (Tennessee) and Florida( (Arkansas) both had close games with unranked teams.
iptay
November 8th, 2009
11:05 am
Clemson will lose to NC State and never see Tampa.
Joe Schmoe
November 8th, 2009
11:06 am
Didnt Alabama score only field goals to beat lowley Tenn?
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
November 8th, 2009
11:07 am
#1 GT Fan … you apparently don’t keep up with other teams. Yesterday Iowa LOST to an unranked team … yet they will probably remain in the top ten. USC lost to an unranked WASHINGTON team earlier in the year, yet remained in the top ten. Last year’s UF team lost to an unranked Ole Miss team … but it didn’t hurt them too badly at the end of the year.
I’ll admit, most teams that LOSE to unranked teams don’t STAY in the top ten … but there is certainly no damage in achieving a close WIN against ANY opponent. Obviously, it would be far less risky to build up a big lead in these games. Still, every win is a good win, regardless of the score or the circumstances.
Go Jackets!
Pi$$onaDawg
November 8th, 2009
11:08 am
I will try again. Booger I see you have not sobered up from yesterday. Clemson still has 3 games in a row with the ACCCG game as a 4th. Spiller was beat up last night and USC will give the Tigers a game. Tech needs to handle DUKE and enjoy some rest. I wouldn’t mind resting the guys some during the UGA game. UGA don’t matter that much but TAMPA does. We will see how good Vandy is when they play UT, but we already know how not UGA and UT are. Booger I bet you wear a Black UGA shirt and purple & orange Clemson underware.
dabow.com
November 8th, 2009
11:08 am
Clemson will end up 6-6 this year.
Jacket3
November 8th, 2009
11:09 am
Somebody has been drinkin too much of that good ole lake hartwell pcb water…
I agree that Spiller is a great RB. Maybe with luck and determination we can shut him down again.
Don’t forget GT is 2-0 with FSU and Clemson this year again, so I don’t see a beatdown at all. Just pure guts and a will to win with a great Coach.
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:11 am
TO GT FOR YOU AND PEE………BOLD TYPE SO YOU GET THE POINT…DONT WANT YOU TO MISS IT
GT Alum
November 8th, 2009
11:11 am
Again, Clemson fans, to be the man you’ve got to beat the man.(and Dabo can’t hold Paul Johnson’s jock strap) Space Mountain baby! Wooooo!!
GT Alum
November 8th, 2009
11:14 am
By the way, Clemson fans, you’ve got to be embarrassed having your fans rush the field after beating a bad FSU team. I realize any win against FSU is a good win, but its not a “everybody storm the field” win. They’re not even ranked for Christ sakes!!
GT Alum
November 8th, 2009
11:15 am
Let me guess, Booger Picker, you’re a UGA fan and a Clemson fan?? That has inbred written all over it..
GT Alum
November 8th, 2009
11:15 am
Throw in the Hartwell bit and you may be the guy that played the Banjo in the movie Deliverance.
Joe Schmoe
November 8th, 2009
11:16 am
GT Alum
November 8th, 2009
11:14 am
By the way, Clemson fans, you’ve got to be embarrassed having your fans rush the field after beating a bad FSU team. I realize any win against FSU is a good win, but its not a “everybody storm the field” win. They’re not even ranked for Christ sakes!!
That is exactly what I said last night. And then the Clemson fans mocking FSU team by doing the tomahawk chop and chanting. Very Classless.
Joe Schmoe
November 8th, 2009
11:18 am
I said the same thing about the Clemson fans rushing the field against FSU last night. I also thought Clemson fans were clasless doing the tomahawk chop and the chanting that goes with it to taunt FSU.
GT For You And Me
November 8th, 2009
11:22 am
Booger man: The only point you’ve made,is that your an idiot……….Reinforced by your bold type!
JoeSchmoe
November 8th, 2009
11:22 am
I said the same thing about the Clemson fans rushing the field agaisnt FSU, that would have been like us rushing the field against Wake. Clemson fans were classless by chanting and doing the tomahawk chop to intimidate FSU at the end of the game. tasteless.
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:23 am
GT ALUM…………..PROBABLY THE CLOSEST YOU EVER GOT TO EDUCATION AT TICK WAS ROLLING VARSITY DAWGS AND LICKING FLOSSIE…..WAIT UNTIL YOU GET YOUR NEXT FROSTED ORANGE FROM CLEMSON
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:25 am
GT FOR YOU AND PEE……COME ON YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT
GT For You And Me
November 8th, 2009
11:25 am
Clemson thought they had won the NC……….At least that’s the way they acted..
GT For You And Me
November 8th, 2009
11:28 am
It’s OK Booger man..Your welcome here anytime.Honest!
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:28 am
GT FOR YOU AND PEE…… YOUR GRANNY WAS AN IDIOT…SHE LIKED THE BOLD TYPE….NO PUN INTENDED
drmiked
November 8th, 2009
11:30 am
Unless I missed other posts, J. Dwyer isn’t getting credit for the fantastic block he made that got Nesbitt in the end zone for the win.
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:30 am
ITS CAPITAL M FOR MAN,THANK YOU
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:31 am
WHO CARES ABOUT HIS BLOCK
JoeSchmoe
November 8th, 2009
11:32 am
LoL, a uga teenager posing as a clemson fan. The inferiority complex at UGA is roaring its ugly head again.
Pi$$onaDawg
November 8th, 2009
11:33 am
Clemson will have 3 games in a row and USC will give them a game. If Clemson makes it to the ACCCG that will be 4 in a row. Spiller was beat up after the FSU game. I love Clemson it is like Auburn with a Lake.
GT For You And Me
November 8th, 2009
11:36 am
I guess the best thing to do is to just ignore him Joe. They usually leave after a while…
stiggywiggy
November 8th, 2009
11:41 am
Hey BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL. So you’re dawgie fan AND a clemson fan? Yeah, yeah. I get the “booger” reference now. It’s a bit far fetched but yeah, yeah I get it. You’re referring to how inbreds often have pushed in noses (see Persian cats and inbred bulldogs) and secrete boogers autonomously via oozing. I’ve seen it. The only question is who licks the boogers off your face: OTHER dawgie and Clemson fans? Or do you do it yourself?
But on another subject, how does the dawgie half of you feel about your miserable team’s slide into Baylor-ville?
GT For You And Me
November 8th, 2009
11:41 am
I think we won our trap game yesterday. It was a great lesson for our team. I believe the ghost of the past will be put to rest now……..
Pi$$onaDawg
November 8th, 2009
11:41 am
I think our O-Line did great considering how we were patched together. Barrick says he might not make it back this season. We moved guys around and we have not had a BYE yet. I am so proud of how Tech overcame the penalities to keep the game in hand and get a great win. I hope the WAKE game stirred the Yellow Jacket Nest to have them PI$$ED and ready to SWARM the Blue Devils.
GA Tech Insider
November 8th, 2009
11:44 am
One more comment – Everyone slamming GA Tech’s defense from our Game against Wake Forest. No one seems to remember that the week before, they cranked out 555 yards of offense against Miami, but just a tad over 300 against the Jackets, with a lot aided by second chance opportunities through penalties.
All things considered, the boys on the defensive side of the ball stepped it up a notch. They only gave up 7 points in the second half, not counting the 3 points in overtime; but Wake started out in field goal range, so not giving up a touchdown was another win for the defense in that situation.
stiggywiggy
November 8th, 2009
11:45 am
Opps.I said “inbred bulldogs.” I guess that’s a bit redundant. Sorry. But at least I know BOOGER EATER FROM HARTWELL will be too stupid to catch the mistake.
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:46 am
TO PI$$…………USC CANT GET OUT OF THEIR OWN WAY……AUBURN HAS A DITCH RUNNING THROUGH IT DOWN STREAM FROM ATL FULL OF CRAP LIKE YOU….. BOOGER MAN IS A DAWG FAN THAT SEES TICK GO DOWN TO CLEMSON….TOO MUCH OFFENSE FOR BUGS TO STOP …DAWGS WILL GET THEM SOME JACKET A$$ TOO………
gtgreens
November 8th, 2009
11:47 am
boogerma’am, don’t be a dissuade. Caps and LOLs go well with your retarded black jerseys. Ugay won’t even be bowl eligible this year so take your pups back to Athens for some obedience training
Pi$$onaDawg
November 8th, 2009
11:47 am
Booger which half of you is going to drink the ANTIFREEZE first? The UGA VII side when Tech beats the Dawgs or the Clemson side when Tech beats you for a Second time this year? Do you wear a UGA Red and Black Jock under your Purple and Orange Silk Panties?
stiggywiggy
November 8th, 2009
11:49 am
“BOOGER MAN IS A DAWG FAN THAT SEES TICK GO DOWN TO CLEMSON”
Where did you see that? I know about 58,000 people who saw a different game in person. What the hell were you watching? A Tech-Clemson lady’s curling event?
Flowery Branch Yellow Jacket
November 8th, 2009
11:49 am
Let’s see … UF beat Vandy by 24, but Tech beat them by 25. UF beat MissSt by 10, but Tech beat them by 11. UF beat UGA by 28 … you do the math!
GT For You And Me
November 8th, 2009
11:49 am
That was funny Pi$$onaDawg!
stiggywiggy
November 8th, 2009
11:53 am
The BOOGER EASTER FROM HARTEWELL said, “DAWGS WILL GET THEM SOME JACKET A$$ TOO………”
Do you really think Josh Nesbitt and company will be interested in your homosexual advances? I doubt it. I think they’re only interested in knocking your crappy team around again this year. Try a fashion college. Maybe they’ll be interested.
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
11:55 am
IS STIGGYWIGGY A LIQUID RELEASE FROM PIGGLY WIGGLY ? CALL US DAWG OR DOG,DOESNT MATTER ……WHOS YOUR DADDY?…………COME ON ASSHAT YOU CAN TELL US……OR MAYBE YOU DONT KNOW!
Dawgfan1911
November 8th, 2009
11:55 am
You Tech guys think you’re so great with your 9-1 record. Just wait until Stafford, Moreno, and company get through with you. Oh wait … that was last year! oops
Pi$$onaDawg
November 8th, 2009
11:55 am
Booger hard liquer is for Staurday night noz Sunday mornizs. Do you think CJ Spiller is OK after the way he kep pulling up druing the last half of that game? I did hear Cox played great against Clarke County High School on Saturday. What do the mutts have left? Auburn is bad but so is Tennesse and you guys lost to the VOLS. You got a win against USA on the dawg luck. So what is UGA bringing to the table for youor last 3 and I do mean 3 games? UGA goes 1-2 to end the year.
stiggywiggy
November 8th, 2009
12:01 pm
BOOGER EATER FROM HARTWELL said: “CALL US DAWG OR DOG,DOESNT MATTER.”
You’re right. Doesn’t matter. What’s in a name? A dawg by any other name would suck just as bad. That’s a paraphrased Shakepeare reference, BOGGER EATER. No, not Bubba Shakespeare, your tractor mechanic.
BOOGER MAN FROM HARTWELL GA
November 8th, 2009
12:02 pm
TO PIGGLY WIGGLY SISSY…..LEARN TO SPELL BEFORE YOU TYPE OR THE VARSITY WILL NOT HIRE YOUR RETARD ASS……THEY WONT TOLERATE “WHAT DID YOU GOT” FOR LONG……ITS H A R T W E L L YOU ASS HAT!
Pi$$onaDawg
November 8th, 2009
12:03 pm
Sonny Silar has been beating UGA VII half to death to keep HIM from sucking on the “Saturday Built FORD Tough Model T Ramblin Wrecks” raidator. UGA VII wants to abdicate over Willie, but nobody will let Him.
GA Tech Insider
November 8th, 2009
12:04 pm
Correction on GA Tech’s defense – taking away Wake’s penalty yards, GA Tech’s defense only gave up 291 total yards to Wake Forest after they racked up 555 yards of total offense the week before against Miami. Not too shabby if you ask me…