How three points and one man changed football in Georgia
Paul Johnson exulted as UGA fell and the tides turned. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Three points on a rainy day when 87 were scored. Three points that halted a seven-year run of losing for one side and induced an abject reversal for the other. Three points that changed the state of college football in a state that lives for college football.
Georgia Tech beat Georgia 45-42 on Nov. 29, 2008, and never has one skinny victory assumed such heft. Tech is now the champion of the ACC Coastal Division and has been ensconced among the nation’s top 10 teams for a month. Georgia has had its worst season under Mark Richt and could be bound for Shreveport. You can argue that a different result 12 months ago wouldn’t have affected anything that has occurred in 2009, but you’d be wrong.
We stopped seeing Tech as hopeless during the first seven minutes of that famous third quarter. The Jackets went from 28-12 behind to 35-28 ahead in the time it took you to say, “There goes Dwyer!” And when it ended, Tech having won for the first time since George O’Leary was coaching against Jim Donnan, this much was clear: Mark Richt wasn’t coaching against Chan Gailey anymore.
Gailey tried six times against Richt, lost six times. In 2006 he even had the better team. Didn’t matter. There was something about Gailey that made you believe he could go 0-for-100 against the Bulldogs. Paul Johnson needed only one swing. Paul Johnson, as we now know, is different.
The Tech booster (and former co-captain under Bobby Dodd) Taz Anderson tells the story: Not long after Johnson was hired, he and Anderson were playing golf. The format was alternate shot. Johnson stood over the second shot on a par-5 hole. Anderson said, “Might want to lay up, Coach.” Johnson said, “Oh, I don’t know.” And knocked the darn thing on the green.
Just as faint heart never won fair maiden (really old saying), a timid Tech wasn’t going to unhorse Georgia. Tech stopped being timid the day Johnson strode — PJ doesn’t so much walk as he strides — through the door. Here’s a man secure enough to use an offense that supposedly ran its course decades ago, secure enough to run an actual play on any fourth-and-you-name-it. Johnson doesn’t care what you think of him. He’s so secure in himself and his methods that he needs no endorsement.
Nor, to hear him tell it, does he necessarily need to beat Georgia. “I’m not making it out to be the Super Bowl the way you guys are,” he said at his media briefing Tuesday. “I’m not going to let one game define our season.”
And then: “I don’t want to leave the impression that it’s not important. It is important. But I’m going to get Georgia Tech to the point where our program is bigger than one game.”
It helped that PJ won that one game on his first try. (”Been there, done that,” he said Tuesday.) Richt was no longer the scourge of the heated series but the guy who’d lost to the guy with the high school offense. Willie Martinez was the coordinator who couldn’t stop an offense that completed one pass (that on the game’s first snap). Georgia was no longer mighty, Tech no longer meek.
Had Georgia won on Nov. 29, 2008 — the 2009 Georgia media guide, perhaps inadvertently, lists the score of the game as 42-42 — the Bulldogs would have rounded off a disappointing season by at least reasserting their in-state dominance. Instead they laid themselves open to question, and in the succeeding Richt has seemed to have no answers. The guy who works at North and Techwood has hijacked every answer.
And now PJ and his program move from strength to strength, while Richt is under heavy pressure to change something, anything. Johnson’s team could play in the Orange Bowl. Richt’s just lost at home to Kentucky. Johnson’s team is the rising power, Richt’s the fading light. Three points did all that. Three points and one cocksure coach.
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577 comments Add your comment
Richt is Great
November 24th, 2009
12:38 pm
All of you UGA fans are correct. Richt is the greatest coach that ever lived. Please keep him….and also Bobo and Willie….and bring back Donnan. Let the Streak continue
GO JACETS!!!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
November 24th, 2009
12:40 pm
Wow talking about jumping on the Bandwagon! WOW, had no clue so many Tech fans existed since the PAST 8 Years the have handed it to them. No ONE victory, ONE, and they are unstoppable. Simply amazing. I cannot wait to read the post game crying blogs of Tech Nation after the beating they will receive Saturday night. Thats right, they simply will disappear again like they have for the past DECADE! This is stopping Saturday Night!
Bubba's Tanning Salon
November 24th, 2009
12:40 pm
So glad I changed my salon back to my original name! Coach Richt greased up my tanning beds like you wouldnt believe, and then left the parking lot in a chevy truck! Well honk my hooter I thought he was a Ford man, guess he has really dissapointed them ford fellers! Either way I know MR will be back to tan, from twice a day to once a day and an eyebrow wax once a month, we love the business, keep it coming buddddy!
Georgia Headlines – 11/24/09 | MrSEC.com
November 24th, 2009
12:40 pm
[...] week’s matchup.3. This writer says “(Paul) Johnson’s team is the rising power, (Mark) Richt’s the fading light.”4. And this writer says Johnson did a better job of developing a quarterback than Richt has [...]
Coach Richt to Jesus
November 24th, 2009
12:41 pm
Jesus,
Forgive my critics who bash me as I try to serve you in a humble way. Help me learn from my mistakes. My critics might be jaded because of pain on their life, please comfort them. They’ve grown to be cynical because they’ve been hurt too many times in the past. I know you love my critics, so help me to do the same. I’ll continue to try and represent you well, and to finish well.
P.S. Jesus, if you want to give me 10 Natl Championships like you did my fellow Christian Coach John Wooden, or even 1 like fellow Christians Tressel or Dungy, that’d be great, if not, I’ll just keep giving 100% effort.
TechGrad08
November 24th, 2009
12:41 pm
To PJ is No MR- The last time a triple option coach won a national championship? I assume that you’re referring to one other than Urban Meyer? If so, I point you to 1999 and 2000, when CPJ did it with GA Southern. Or to the Nebraska teams of the 90s.
Also, PJ has won 124 games in 12+ years as a head coach.
Burdell
November 24th, 2009
12:41 pm
Shane– Your Rib Shack sucks…and so do your Bulldogs.
Hedgepruner
November 24th, 2009
12:41 pm
HERE ARE THE FACTS :
game time 8 pm ABC
Home field :Tech
visitor: uga
score ???
SPECULATION:
uga upsets tech (possible chix filet bowl)ends season 6-6 but wins braggin rights once again Tech wins big (ACC Championship next weekend in Tampa & possible BCS Orange Bowl) top 5 finish and next year preseason top 5…
braggin rights again
who has more to lose , GT does and all of us that support Tech know this and are praying for a win (close or blow out doesnt matter) ….
We now understand what most uga fan base have felt and experience over MR tenure and it is a great place to be but like uga it can come and go like the wind…..that is reality !!
Not Disappointed
November 24th, 2009
12:41 pm
mark, daddy has blog all day. can he take me shopping now?
Flappy
November 24th, 2009
12:42 pm
If the damn refs woulda called 25% of Tech’s holds on us, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
We’re gonna bite those bees Saturday
b.davis
November 24th, 2009
12:42 pm
Even UGA VII left town.
juvenal
November 24th, 2009
12:44 pm
i am taking my family & i will warn you one time before getting an usher or a police officer-everyone please have a safe trip..
BJohnDawg
November 24th, 2009
12:45 pm
Dawg fan here
Coach Johnson is a fine coach and has and will continue to have success at Tech. But that does not mean that one or even two wins by Tech signals football dominance. Example: The Gators have owed my Dawgs the past 18 years. If the Dawgs won the next two it does not mean Georgia dominance over Florida, just would mean we won the last two.
Dominance is consistently winning a majority. 7 of the last 8. 15 of the last 19 those types of numbers. Until then it is just a win or two.
Georgia may be down for a year or even two. But not forever. They will get quality talent. And if its CMR or someone else coaching, will be back on top in the state of Georgia.
chazzo
November 24th, 2009
12:46 pm
With all due respect, I would say your assessment is way premature.
LRF
November 24th, 2009
12:47 pm
Well said Dean. As a current student, I’m happy for our boys in the Old Gold and will be glad to welcome the Puppies into town. Its unfortunate what has happened to their football season, and I wish the best to CMR and his staff and hopes it gets settled soon. I’m tired of reading the AJC and how bad the coaching staff is there. I’m expecting a good game, and will hopefully get one with our Yellow Jackets singing their fight song proudly with the W.
Ghost of Mark Bradley Past
November 24th, 2009
12:48 pm
Bradley in 2003 wrote:
“Georgia turned this bitter series by hiring Mark Richt. So long as Richt stays in place, it’s hard to imagine Chan Gailey — or anyone else employed on North Avenue — turning it again.”
Pappy O'Daniel's staff to the Nerd Herd
November 24th, 2009
12:48 pm
Gonna paddle a little behind.
Ain’t gonna paddle it – gonna kick it, real hard.
No, I believe we’s gonna paddle it.
I don’t believe that’s a proper characterization.
Well, that’s how I’d characterize it.
I believe it’s more of a kickin’ sitcheyation.
Ted
November 24th, 2009
12:49 pm
The ACC 5 teams in the BCS top 25. The SEC has 4. AL or FL could lose this week….probably FL
Dean
November 24th, 2009
12:51 pm
Thanks LRF, it’s good to get some reasonable fans on these blogs. You know what was one of the coolest things I ever saw and I think CPJ should implement to inspire your D. Remember in the 80’s when Curry had the black watch defense. Those players got recognition for great play by getting a blacked out GT on the helmet. That was cool! I don’t know how you couldn’t get fired up to have a specialized unit to strive for within the D itself. Good luck and Go Dawgs!
GTman
November 24th, 2009
12:51 pm
Too bad Dawg fans. I told you at the beginning of the season that it was going to suck to be a Georgia Bulldog football fan. When you start the season knowing the best you can do is play for 2nd place in your half of the conference and that you will lose to your in state rival – it has to suck (much like your football team).
I also told you that you would be at least a five loss team – well make it six after Saturday. You just have to live with the fact that UGA is no longer a premier football program and as long as Meyer stays at UF and CPJ stays at Tech you will always be playing for second place while we contend for National Championships.
THWG! 45-42 only the beginning! WE WILL BE ‘ALL THE WAY TURNT UP’!!
Lakeisha Twanisha
November 24th, 2009
12:53 pm
Richt doesn’t have 4 losses, he has 5 and is looking toward 6 and possibly 7. What will he do after a 5, 6, or 7 loss season? He will put out a QB who by the time the first game starts next year hasn’t played in a game in almost 2 years……..in high school. Send your cards and gift baskets down to Gainesville in admiration of your friends the Florida Gators and their 21 game winning streak.
Stir it up
November 24th, 2009
12:53 pm
Not even close Mark…
The NERDS won one game in 8 years, how does that equate to a power shift?
Chris
November 24th, 2009
12:53 pm
The only time I’ve ever read anything about how UGA should’ve won the 2007 Championship was today. Did I miss that season? It was 2008 when you played for a national championship…and it was baseball…and you lost. As I look back I see that UT played LSU in the SEC Championship. So you didn’t win your conference either. I don’t understand. I’m not going to give any smack talk about the game this weekend because we’re Tech and we’re never guarunteed a win against anyone, but I absolutely don’t get the MNC talk I see on here.
GTGooner
November 24th, 2009
12:53 pm
While it is nice to talk smack before the game and I enjoy watching CPJ work, our defense has the potential of making Cox look like Colt McCoy.
Mark Bradley
November 24th, 2009
12:54 pm
For late tuners-in, please note that the above post has been updated to include some pretty interesting PJ quotes.
How three points and one man changed football in Georgia | Mark … N Zoo
November 24th, 2009
12:56 pm
[...] post: How three points and one man changed football in Georgia | Mark … By admin | category: football | tags: argentina, bradley, friday, georgia, georgia-tech, [...]
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 24th, 2009
12:56 pm
1st on the revised post?
going going gone
November 24th, 2009
12:57 pm
BEST 2ND HALF HILITES EVER!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJPTYTswPCI
This based off of 1 head to head win to the NERDS???
November 24th, 2009
12:57 pm
So then you would say the AFC West is the best Conf in the NFL since they put down the two best teams in the AFC North this past weekend right?? Yeah I don’t think so Marky
going going gone
November 24th, 2009
12:59 pm
with all the talk about the demise of Notre Dame and soon to be firing of Weiss, it would great if CPJ would offer Tenuta a place on the staff and Tenuta returns….
RAMBLE ON!!!
November 24th, 2009
1:00 pm
YES!!!
We can build on this.
Alabama Jack
November 24th, 2009
1:01 pm
Respect all, fear none.
Tech should pound the puppies Saturday night but….
if they lose, they go on to Tampa to play for a Conference Championship while
the dawgs wait to see if it is Shreveport, Nashville, or Birmingham.
I think I’ll stay with Tech.
LRF
November 24th, 2009
1:01 pm
GTGooner – Or Jonathan Crompton for that matter. :/
Dean
November 24th, 2009
1:02 pm
And does somebody have GT playing for a MNC this year? I’m starting to see this talk. Good season this year but you haven’t ‘finished the drill” as we like to say. Your lopsided loss to an average Miami team will keep you out of the BCS title game. Learn how the math works in the BCS pests! How about you focus on winning your in state game and the conference that you haven’t won in what- 18-19 years? Then you can complain about the unfair system that doesn’t reward the teams playing the best ball at the end of the season as my 2007 Dawgs were.
That was no fluke; Johnson let up!
November 24th, 2009
1:04 pm
Mark call that a “skinny victory”….surely looked a beat down to me.
dogs got 42 with staff and noreno…what you gonna do without?
Not Disappointed
November 24th, 2009
1:07 pm
Great Read Mark! This should be a good game. My brother, the dawg among dawgs, is going with me. It should be fun.
Ramblin Wreck!
Bubba
November 24th, 2009
1:07 pm
“it would great if CPJ would offer Tenuta a place on the staff and Tenuta returns….”
Yes, that would be great…for Georgia fans. And if Tanuta won’t come back maybe you could hire his montor, Joe Lee Dunn.
Bud
November 24th, 2009
1:07 pm
Easier said, but always have a great (not just good) quarterback if you are going to compete in thr SEC ! This should be #1 priority in recruiting. Maybe Coach Richt should get more involved in working with just his quarterback and let Bobo work on the rest.
BIG SouthGeorgia DAWG
November 24th, 2009
1:09 pm
Enter your comments here
Ted
November 24th, 2009
1:09 pm
does MNC stand for makebelieve national champion?
Uga VII
November 24th, 2009
1:09 pm
So glad I kicked the can before that Kentucky game.
Earl
November 24th, 2009
1:11 pm
Just a bad year for the Dawgs. Nothing bad last forever and nothing good last forever. Keep working.
Sonny Clusters
November 24th, 2009
1:11 pm
Clusters was never one to brag about winning a game but winning is what is remembered unless losing hurts so bad you remember that more. They is some hurt feelings here and that is apparent and whatever happens at this year’s game may or may not erase all those hurt feelings. And nobody here got hit in the face with a 12-pound ham. May feel like it after the game, though.
The World According to UGA Fans
November 24th, 2009
1:14 pm
1990:
We dont care if Florida hires Steve Spurrier.
He runs that gimmick pass offense. WE OWN the Gators.
1993:
We dont care if Tennessee hires Phil Fullmer.
He’s an idiot. WE OWN the Vols.
2005:
We dont care if Florida hires Urban Meyer.
He runs that gimmick spread offense. WE OWN the Gators.
2007:
We dont care if Alabama hires Nick Saban.
He wont stick around long. WE OWN the Tide.
2008:
We dont care if Tenneessee hires Lane Kiffin.
He’s an idiot. WE OWN the Vols.
2008:
We dont care if Tech hires Paul Johnson.
He runs that gimmick spread offense. WE OWN the Jackets.
Same story. Same a-hole UGA fans. Same results.
Dean
November 24th, 2009
1:15 pm
My respect for Tech fans will increase dramatically if you all start throwing ham onto the field.
Dean
November 24th, 2009
1:17 pm
2001- We don’t care about Tech
2002- we don’t care about Tech
2003- we don’t care about Tech
2004- We don’t care about Tech
2005- We don’t care about Tech
2006- We don’t care about Tech
2007- We don’t care about Tech
2008- It’s about time you showed up!
Ted
November 24th, 2009
1:17 pm
I’m making Paula’s potato soup right now…perhaps I’ll throw some ham in there.
Barry from Eastenders
November 24th, 2009
1:18 pm
Mark — I understand that the binary conclusions make for a more simple narrative, but such lack of sophistication in logic and analysis demeans both you and the reader. So, if by change UGA actually wins on Saturday, and if we apply the same simple logic you just put, are we to conclude that the whole thing has just flipped again? GT will suddenly be on a glide path of unmitigated decline, Mark Richt will suddenly be the better coach and we will have borne witness to the dawning of a new ascension in UGA dominance?
Come on man, THINK Mark THINK, you really can do better than this. Writing is hard, I will give you that, but you can do it. Surely you can come up with a less predictable angle on this deal. What you offered up today is the same gratuitous, warmed over tripe that we have read from you and Brother Schultz no less than 30 times since last November — which is…..Martinez is horrible, Richt is too nice and lost his way, PJ is working magic with a “high school” offense and Paul Johnson is Clint Eastwood in Tech drag, blah, blah, blah. We get it. Okay? We get it. Can you at least attempt to share a unique perspective?
Earl
November 24th, 2009
1:18 pm
I hope we’re working Aaron Murray’s butt off right now!
Ramblinwreck83
November 24th, 2009
1:19 pm
Dean
I’m sure you now as well as anyone (being a DAWG fan) about the chest thumping that fans do. I’ve heard it many years from UGA and since you haven’t been able to do it lately, you start pointing the finger @ the team that’s having success. You should remember when the shoe is on the other foot.