I’m thinking PJ sees a real title as bigger than beating UGA
Paul Johnson and Josh Nesbitt can still be champions. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
I had this conversation with a Georgia Tech booster last night: If Paul Johnson had to pick between beating Georgia and winning the 2009 ACC title, which would have chosen?
“As fans, we’d always pick beating Georgia,” the booster said. But that’s from the fan’s perspective, which isn’t the same as a coach’s. And if I had to guess — and I don’t have to guess, but just for grins I will — I’d say PJ would take being the champion of a BCS conference. (Yeah, yeah. Even if it is only the ACC.)
I base this on something PJ said last week about beating Georgia — “Been there, done that” — and on his stated desire to win championships at Tech. “We almost did it last year,” he said, and the Jackets did. They shared first place in the Coastal Division but lost to Virginia Tech on a tiebreaker. And now the moment is here. Beat Clemson in Tampa and the Jackets will play in the Orange Bowl in Year 2 under Paul Johnson. And that’s pretty darn impressive even if they did lose to the hated mutts.
A year ago, I think PJ would have chosen the other course: He needed to beat Georgia to establish credibility among his constituency. And that had to come first lest he run the risk of turning into Chan Gailey. (Who was fired because he couldn’t beat Georgia, fired 51 weeks after he played for the ACC title in Jacksonville.) Having done the deed in Year 1, Johnson has more global goals.
Which is why, I submit, he talked down the rivalry last week. (Indeed, he came tantalizingly close to channeling Reggie Ball and saying of Georgia: “It’s just a game, dog.”) PJ said this flat-out: “I’m going to get Georgia Tech to the point where our program is bigger than one game.”
Georgia fans will crow that the ACC title game now holds no currency, but that’s not true. (The Tech fan’s comeback: “So who are you playing this week?”) Tech was the best team in its conference, which isn’t to be confused with the SEC but isn’t the New York-Penn League, either. And that was the Jackets’ stated goal from spring practice on — win the ACC.
Remember Tech’s rings from last season? They weren’t presented for beating Georgia, although they did bear the famous score. (I’m pretty sure this year’s rings won’t be engraved with “30-24.”) The rings were for tying for the Coastal title. This year GT and PJ don’t have to share a division with anyone. This year they can win the whole conference. And I’m thinking, in this coach’s mind, that was Job 1 all along.
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1,540 comments Add your comment
30-24 GO DAWGS
November 30th, 2009
4:00 pm
SOME ONE PLEASE HELP ME! FOR THE LIFE OF ME I CAN’T FIND MY ALMA MATER ON THIS LIST???? BUT I SWEAR WE’RE THE BEST EVER! OUR EDUMACATION IS BETTER THAN YOURS! HAVE I GONE BLIND? I CAN’T FIND US!!!
OUR NAME IS GEORGIA TECH (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH GEORGIA OR GEORGIA STATE): http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/06/best-public-colleges-opinions-colleges-09-top.html
LET ME KNOW WHEN YOU SEE US!
C from Marietta
November 30th, 2009
4:03 pm
To: WTFyousay
Fla and Bama can’t play to 3 to 3 tie. There is no more ties in College Football.
BTW.. 30 to 24 and 313 yards rushing. Ha Ha
GT IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM
November 30th, 2009
4:05 pm
GT IS A 4TH RATE HIGH SCHOOL TEAM IS HERE TO STAY. HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHA AND MORE HAHHAHHAHHAHH AND MORE HAHAHHAHAHHHAAHHA FOREVER. AND EVER.
Solid Gold Dancer
November 30th, 2009
4:08 pm
I was shocked to see Tech only dropped 3 spots. I was thinking on the lines of mid-teens. What ever the case may be, I’ll take the “no harm, no foul” loss the BCS has granted.
TAINT SIMONS
November 30th, 2009
4:08 pm
All you techies listen up. IF you havent figured it out by now, Learn your role. Like it. Get over it. AND STFU when adressing the DAWG NATION. STATE CHAMPS!!! HOW SWEET IT IS> I HOPE YOU LIKE THAT IM WRITING THIS IN ALL CAPS! nerdS, nerDS, neRDS, nERDS, NERDS NERDS NERDS!
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:09 pm
Love it. We’re BCS top 10, still, and the leg humpers are so happy to beat us! It was ya’lls Super Bowl, eh?
Fact is, the UGA game meant a lot last year, but no more. Just another non-conference game. Means less than the FSU, VT, Miami or Clemson game to us.
But it WOULD mean a lot if we weren’t in the hunt for a conference title or BCS bowl game… kinda like UGA nowadays, eh?
Nesbittch
November 30th, 2009
4:11 pm
30-24
Love-
Bulldawg Nation
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:11 pm
I guess getting $hit beat by every SEC team makes you really want to beat GT.
Got news for you: the VT game (when they were #4) was the biggest win for GT in the past 2 years. Bigger than beating Stafford and Moreno. Your biggest win in the past 2 years? Against us. Sad but true.
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:11 pm
BCS Top 10.
Love-
Jacket Nation
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:12 pm
I wonder if the BCS thinks UGA is better than GT.
Nevermind.
dawggirl
November 30th, 2009
4:14 pm
Are you kidding me . . . the game didn’t mean anything to the Tech fans? Then please tell me why they were talking smack up until the start of the game . . . if UGA is as pitiful as all the Tech fans were saying, what does that say about Tech? OUT PLAYED AND OUT COACHED!!! Someone should tell the great CPJ that he had better get a clue about how important that game is to the program . . . or he just might not be around to see the “big picture”. As I have said all along . . . it is all about him and what will benefit him in the long run.
timthebrave
November 30th, 2009
4:16 pm
Winning a conference championship is more important but anyone that says losing to your in state rival is no big deal doesn’t know anything about college football. I would prefer to win a SEC title and beat Tech every year not just one or the other. Go Dawgs!
Roswell Dawg
November 30th, 2009
4:16 pm
Beating SEC opponents and winning SEC championship is more important to me than beating Tech but…GT letterman told me shortly after PJ was hired that he told the lettermen that “once we beat Georgia, we’ll beat them every year as long as I’m here.” This was in answer to the question, “When will you beat Georgia.” True or not?
Wonder if they’ll put this year’s score on their ACC rings? Nah, probably not a good idea.
Solid Gold Dancer
November 30th, 2009
4:16 pm
uga could not knock us out of the top 10.
The BSC has declared the the GT loss to uga as “no harm, no foul” game. Didn’t mean anything on the nat’l scale. How bout that!
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:17 pm
dawggirl: of course the UGA game means a lot. Just doesn’t affect our #1 goal of the season, to win the conference and go to a BCS bowl.
LAST YEAR, our #1 goal was to beat UGA. We’re in a different place now. Comprehende?
The Ghost of Wally Butts
November 30th, 2009
4:17 pm
GT Joe says GT got beat by a team the BCS says is worse.
30-24!!! Excuses hurt so good!!!!
julie
November 30th, 2009
4:17 pm
dawg foot, i’d like to put my foot right up your a$$.
dawggirl
November 30th, 2009
4:18 pm
I can almost guarantee you that Tech will not be ranked 10th on Sunday. Then what? That game didn’t matter either? What a bunch of pathetic losers . . . the games only matter when Tech wins?
iwillbeaugastudent'sboss
November 30th, 2009
4:18 pm
there are a lot of unemployed uga grads reading a gt blog
they are pretty excited i guess they deserve it they did manage to steal a win from a much better team.. congrats on your 7-5 season that’s something to be excited about
i like the capslock guy he sounds like the guy who cleans up my trash at work good job buddy you get a quarter!
big g nasty
November 30th, 2009
4:19 pm
WTFyousay. you’re an idiot, did you actually go to tech, if so i imagine your fellow bees are embarrassed by you. LSU is mud? really, you want a rematch after the a** stomping you took last year, guess PJ the genius didn’t think that game was important either? Your coach gagged at the end of the game saturday night, face it, 3 long passes, he panicked-he choked just like your team did. the only tractors I saw were pulling Ealy and King through your out manned, over matched and out coached D line. Try something else when defending you teams pi** poor effort, I’m embarrassed for you you little pencil neck nerd.
timthebrave
November 30th, 2009
4:19 pm
GT Joe, We can tell by your 30 comments in 5 minutes that the GA game doesn’t mean much to you. It’s real obvious how little it means to you
ATLshirt.COM
November 30th, 2009
4:19 pm
excuse me while I go take a Tech and wipe my ACC LOL !!!
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:21 pm
dawggirl: I’m gonna say this real slow so even you can understand.
Last year, after we beat UGA, CPJ was adamant about the fact that “we haven’t won anything yet”. And we hadn’t. By winning “something”, he means, conference titles, BCS bowls, maybe more.
This Clemson game is way more important than the UGA game. That’s for sure. Just like if the SEC title game was between UGA and Ole Miss, the title game would mean more to you than beating FL or Auburn or Tech. Got it now?
dawggirl
November 30th, 2009
4:21 pm
GT, yes I do think that I understand. You are full of it. So, if your goal wasn’t to beat UGA this year . . . guess what . . . you accomplished it. CPJ is a genius . . . he was just fulfilling another of his goals. Oh, I understand now. Duh. What is your number one goal for next year . . . beat Miami?
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:21 pm
UGA still sux… really, it does. Just sayin’
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:22 pm
Dawggirl – not many girls describe themselves as dogs. But then again, you probably are! Too easy.
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:23 pm
Hey dawggirl, do you know what they call a female dog? You gotta know what you are.
Hollis G.
November 30th, 2009
4:23 pm
Let me get this straight. PJ and the techies now say that the Ga game was just a game and not nearly as important as the ACC championship. I doubt they would be saying that if they had won. It would rank up there with their most important accomplishments. And you AJC writers who were touting PJ as the next football genius need to bend over, grab each ear and pull real hard. It should be a real interesting ACC matchup featuring two teams who could not beat mediocre (ajc’s words) SEC teams.
ATLshirt.COM
November 30th, 2009
4:24 pm
I have seen the ladies at both Tech and UGA, and I will say that the ladies at UGA are by far more attractive than those ugly betty’s at the Trade School !!
Warren
November 30th, 2009
4:24 pm
This is for the Techie nerd that wrote 45-42 Ha, Ha, Ha, last year. Let’s try 30-24 Ha, Ha, Ha this year.
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:24 pm
Well since you asked, our goal for next year is the same as this year: win the aCC, go to a BCS bowl, and perhaps go undefeated and win the national championship.
Beating UGA was #1 goal last year, but this and next, it ranks a distant 4th i’d say.
Yes, we want to beat UGA, it just doesn’t define our season anymore. It did when we were 7-5 every year. Just like the GT win defines your season this year since you are 7-5. We’ve moved up, you’ve moved down in expectations.
But again, nice win. Enjoy Nashville or Shreveport.
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:24 pm
Dawggirls are bitches. Some are even ugly bitches. Just sayin’
dawggirl
November 30th, 2009
4:25 pm
It is so funny to me to hear all of the Tech fans this year . . . doesn’t mean anything . . . Ok, so the game didn’t mean anything to UGA last year . . . we’re even now. What a bunch of nerdy cry babies. Boo Hoo . . . it only means something to us if we win. It wasn’t our goal to win this year . . . that is really a smart thing to say GT.
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:26 pm
All I have to say is – UGA still sux. Well, it does. Sorry Dawg fans – face reality. Your school sux. Your fans suck. Even your football team sucks this year.
Where's tha Luv ???
November 30th, 2009
4:26 pm
Hey People,
It’s just a friggin game !!!
Sports are supposed to be fun, but some of you people get too involved and get your emotions in it entirely too much. It starts to take all the fun out of it. Just give it a rest…and enjoy !!!
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:26 pm
Hey dawggirl – woof woof. I bet you get a lot of boys barking at you.
ATLshirt.COM
November 30th, 2009
4:27 pm
I wonder which Conference those nerds would run off too if UGA were to leave the SEC because it is to difficult for them to win in, and decided to join the weaker ACC so that we too can win a national championship ???
Shane
November 30th, 2009
4:27 pm
Champions of what?
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:27 pm
UGA = dumb inbred rednecks
dawggirl
November 30th, 2009
4:27 pm
Yea, good luck on that ACC and National Championship thing . . . Tech is not good enough to play the “big boys”. Although, I would love to see it. It might even be better than the Tech LSU game last year. Your right . . . UGA girls are much uglier than Tech girls. I’m sure a lot of people would agree with you on that.
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:28 pm
UGA = Redneck U.
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:28 pm
dawggirl: Once again, if you have a hard time reading, i said many times, OF COURSE UGA GAME MEANS A LOT. Just not as much as in the past. GT is competing for conference titles and BCS bowls now.
Also, please note that CPJ made his comments BEFORE THE GAME, not after: “we have bigger fish to fry”, “our season isn’t defined by the UGA game”, etc. BEFORE THE GAME.
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:28 pm
UGA = school of poor white trash
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:29 pm
Everyone agrees that dawggirl is ugly as a… dog!
ATLshirt.COM
November 30th, 2009
4:29 pm
oh no, UGA girls are much HOTTER than those snobby pocket protecting know it all females at Tech
GT Joe
November 30th, 2009
4:30 pm
UGA has hot chicks, that’s for sure. The drawback is: their average SAT score is about 140 points lower. And that’s a fact too.
CLEVON LITTLE
November 30th, 2009
4:31 pm
Jackets2009, The only reason UGA rushed for 339 yards is because they were playing an ACC team.
pilgrim
November 30th, 2009
4:32 pm
Some of you Georgia fans are funny. You don’t know the strength of your own team. I talked to one of you before the game and he said, “Not sure I’m going to watch it. I think Tech handles Georgia pretty easily.”
I said, “I don’t know. Your running backs look pretty strong.”
I thought anybody could see that if you got Ealey and King going, Cox would be able to make some throws. That’s exactly what happened.
You also don’t know the weakness of your own team. Up by two TD’s over your undersized but creative ACC opponent, you almost let the game get away – and now you boast the Dogs beat Tech down by six points!
But back to Bradley’s topic: Johnson simply sees the big picture.
Oh, and careful with the Gatorade bucket.
Solid Gold Dancer
November 30th, 2009
4:32 pm
Dawgirl, I bet Tech wont be ranked 10th Sunday as well. probably move a spot or two to 8 or 9. One of the benefits of playing in a championship game.
UGA Still Sux
November 30th, 2009
4:32 pm
http://www.atlshirt.com – where idiots work