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
CLEVON LITTLE
November 30th, 2009
7:58 pm
Hello TECH fans. You can Thank your fellow punks Yellow Fuzz, Saint Simons, Ramble On and a few others for your blog. Guess that’s what happens when you have twice the fans. Oh well, live with it.
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Atlanta Gator
November 30th, 2009
7:58 pm
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… the SEC owns football in the USA.
Dave from GT
November 30th, 2009
7:59 pm
You guys better look out for Bama. They are a sleeper.
Atlanta Gator
November 30th, 2009
8:06 pm
Dave from GT wrote: “You guys better look out for Bama. They are a sleeper.”
—
Agreed. They are a great team and Saban has done a tremendous job in the short time he’s been there. Our reign at the top could very easily be coming to an end. Especially if Coach Meyer goes to Notre Dame.
Bubber from Braselton
November 30th, 2009
8:07 pm
Player Cl G Car Yds Avg TDs Yd/G
Washaun Ealey Fr 8 112 639 5.7 3 79.9 vs 183
Caleb King So 9 98 534 5.4 5 59.3 vs 166
Lets see…you Tech folks are pretty good with math ain’t cha? Tell me then, if you divide Ealey’s yards in the Tech game by his total yards for the year what do you get? I might be able to do this…lets see here 183/639= 28.64 %. Are you tellin’ me he got almost a 3rd of his season’s yards all in one itty bitty game?….dang!
This adding/subtracting multiplying/dividing math stuff sho is cool. I’m gonna try it again with King…here lets see 166/534 = well looky there almost the same percentage 31.09%.
Boy! If I get any better at this here math stuff I might just need to enroll at Tech. Hmmmm…never thought about it. Whatcha y’all think? Math genius here or what?
HBTD
November 30th, 2009
8:10 pm
LUV and SUX. SOUNDS LIKE THE LOSS IS REALLY STARTING TO GET TO YOU. GOOD! GET USED IT. CLEMSONS TURN THIS WEEKEND TO ROLL THE NERD HERD DOWN AT THE A SHE SHE CG.
DAMN, CALEB KING JUST SCORED AGAIN!!
TECH FOOTBALL………………A SOUTHERN TRADITION JOKE!!!!!
Dawg Gone It
November 30th, 2009
8:11 pm
I wish the AJC would quit posting blogs about Yech…..been waiting a couple of days for Geek Squad to come by and mount flat screen to the wall. Those Yech geeks are so smart I hired myself two of them………
Dawg Gone It
November 30th, 2009
8:13 pm
Damn…….little nerds just arrived…….looks like a Halloween party with one dressed as Darth Vader and the other as Harry Potter…..going to have to run these little idiots back over to there bug mobile.
Bin Oboma
November 30th, 2009
8:14 pm
Funny….TECH fans are hiding in holes like those idiots in IRAQ. Wait….What did I say…I meant…
HBTD
November 30th, 2009
8:14 pm
DAWG GONE.
DON’T WORRY, THEY’LL BE BACK SOON. I SEE WHERE THERE IS QUITE A RUN OF YECH FAN GEAR BEING OFFERED ON E-BAY. SOUND LIKE ALL THE BANDWAGONERS HAVE CRAWLED BACK UNDER THEIR ROCKS. SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE.
RAID
November 30th, 2009
8:16 pm
Whoops….Yellow Jackets aleady dead…. Got run over by a DAWG.
Dawg Gone It
November 30th, 2009
8:22 pm
Looks like the Dawgs poured some gasoline in that little yellow jacket nest and lit it up…..no more insects to worry about this season. They’ll be back next year ready to be lit up again……..
ATLshirt.com
November 30th, 2009
8:23 pm
I can tell you that Georgia Gear is selling quite consistantly, but, that tech stuff never sells…
Dawg fans
November 30th, 2009
8:29 pm
Go fire your coach and head back into hidding. The worst fan base in the world, love to dis it out but hate to take it. All season all we have heard is how bad your team is now all we hear is how you ” kicked the crap out of us” realitly check. You won by 6 and you needed it way more than we did. Enjoy the motor city bowl losers and remember one more year of Sicky Willy. HAhahahah love it for you.
ATLshirt.COM, how about LASIK surgery?
November 30th, 2009
8:31 pm
No “ugly betty’s” here either:
http://ramblinwreck.cstv.com/view.gal?id=51242
Stumpknocker
November 30th, 2009
8:37 pm
You know on the bright side Willy M may have saved his job. I’m sure that his BFing buddie CMR will take a long positive look at Willy’s situation.
Dawg Central
November 30th, 2009
8:41 pm
UGA is better than the ACC champs, so the ACC championship game is a watered down high school girlie fight….Paul Johnson down played the Georgia game last week, because he knew UGA was gonna beat them…..Tech fans are so pathetic acting like the UGA game wasn’t of any consequence……thats usually how losers act when they get beat and buy rings when they win one time in eight years…….and the reason UGA is shoving it in Tech fans faces is because they were running their pie holes so much before the game…….guess UGA’s running game filled their pie holes with dirt off King and Ealey’s cleats…..lol………Dawgs, always!!
SanFran Jacket
November 30th, 2009
8:43 pm
Congrats to the Dawgs. You deserved to win on Saturday although I’m sorry to see the Jackets lose focus on what could have been a magical season. As it is, they still have lots to play for.
I haven’t read much of these blogs but it does appear that the UGA faithful are trying hard to catch up on the previous 12 months of taunts from Jacket fans. I’m not one of them by the way. Tech has a large alumni group here in Silicon Valley and we had about 60 people at Jillian’s on Saturday. We didn’t get the result that we were looking for but it was still a great event.
To all my fellow Jacket fans in Atlanta, hang in there! The Dawgs are enjoying some celebration and some payback. I must say that we are lucky out here. The Bay Area and Silicon Valley are Dawg-free zones. We never have to see the G-logo out here and Tech fans are everywhere, and highly respected locally. Looking forward to seeing my fellow Jackets in Tampa on Saturday. Go Jackets!
Solid Gold Dancer
November 30th, 2009
8:45 pm
Turns out the BCS doesn’t really recognize the Tech loss to uga. Only dropping 3 spots and remaining in the top 10 baby! The SoS for the dawgs improved so much after the Tech game, bad thing is Tech’s SoS dropped like a rock (12 before / 40 after).
HBTD
November 30th, 2009
8:51 pm
Tech fans seem to be living in a state of denial. Their team gets humilitated on National TV and all they want to talk about is the team’s SOS with a straight face. LMAO!!!! What a bunch of silly clowns. It will be fun watching Clemson take your boys back to the wood shed this Saturday. Like I said in an earlier post, this is 2006 all over for the bugs. LOL!!
ATLshirt.com has 20/20
November 30th, 2009
8:55 pm
Volley Ball team doesnt count, they are on scholarship, which means they do not need to post the 100 on the SAT like the rest of the student body
Stupid is as STUPID does
November 30th, 2009
9:00 pm
I sell T-Shirts with my UGAy degree:
Anthony Baldwin
2810 Summer Stream Dr
Kennesaw, Georgia 30152
(770) 598-4754
Fix my email account, ya $40k/year geek!
November 30th, 2009
9:02 pm
SanFran Jacket : yaaaawn…spare me, please?
PAUL HAS A SMALL JOHNSON
November 30th, 2009
9:03 pm
Im thinking JOHNY PAUL is about to realize this weekend after GT looses to the Tigers that the middle school option veer isn’t worth crap without a QB that can hit a target
Solid Gold Dancer
November 30th, 2009
9:04 pm
AJC has set a new post record for a Monday, topping the two year old record set in 2007 after the Ga / Florida game. What a signature win for the dawgs!
LawDawg
November 30th, 2009
9:08 pm
San Fran Jacket,
Classy post. Now, could you PLEASE get some of your classless brethren off these blogs? When you’re in Tampa tell Saint Simmons we miss him – he’s yet to take his lumps. We’re waiting Saint Simmons!
PAUL HAS A SMALL JOHNSON
November 30th, 2009
9:12 pm
Hopefully Techies
You will learn next time not to run ur mouth as bad as you have done this past year because you beat ga
Georgia Tech Bob
November 30th, 2009
9:14 pm
Reading some of the comments from UGA fans made me laugh. What really bothers them is that while spending 3x the money, and having 3x the alumni, they truly are no better than Tech in football. The there is the Florida Gator issue. The last 20 times they have played, Florida has won 17 times. Tennesse now has a coach and you lost to Kentucky.
I don’t think UGA will be seeing the SEC Championship Game for another 10 to 15 years! Tech’s future is bright, Georgia time has come and gone.
.
November 30th, 2009
9:16 pm
St. Simon’s Island(SSI) is part of the Golden Isle chain off the coast of Georgia. South of Savannah…North of Brunswick. (e.g. “Simon says”). Simmons is an English surname (e.g. Simmons Mattresses)
Sorry but the misspelling is driving me nuts. Not trying to be a smart arse….just saying.
Solid Gold Dancer
November 30th, 2009
9:17 pm
Oh mighty words of wisdom Small Johnson, I doubt either fanbase will shutup win or lose.
simple simon
November 30th, 2009
9:18 pm
For clarification on Saturday night’s tech vs UGA game:
Yes, tech’ receiver muffed that last second pass. Yes, he did. Catching it DOES NOT mean that Tech wins,cause on the very next play, they could ha fumbled or another pic for UGA.
Also, Rontavious WOOTEN did MUFF a Joe Cox TD strike and if that was caught, then add 7 more.
Another hard fact techers: Walsh miss a long FG and that would have iced the game.
So, admit y’all got whupped for the 8th time in 9 and the 13th me in about 17 years.
Also, admit that Nesbit got 44 yds and Hesiman Dwyer got 33 vs the WORST UGA D in years.
Think about these hard facts of reality. reality they are not what have, could have crap.
Also, Joe Cox has still never lost to a high school team after saturday night. HAHAHHAHAHAHA
UGA, class of 71 & 73
simple simon
November 30th, 2009
9:19 pm
Tech’s real rival is NC State and Duke. THAT says it all.
UGA, class of 71 & 73
simple simon
November 30th, 2009
9:20 pm
Dwyer got 33 and Nesbitt got 44? THAT says it all.
Joe Cox has never lost a high school game and that trend continued Saturday night.
UGA, class of 71 & 73
Go DOGS
November 30th, 2009
9:22 pm
Georgia Tech Bob: 3 SECCG in the past 9 years. 2 time SEC Champion in 9….just reloading, brother, just reloading! What? You expect us to be Top 5 EVERY year?
Eating Crow
November 30th, 2009
9:26 pm
I love how you nerds are “now” down playing the meaning of the UGA/Tech game and even more how ya’ll are saying it was only 6 points when last years 3 point game was a “blowout”. I’ve been hearing on these blogs all year long how ya’ll couldn’t wait until Nov.
30-24!!!
8 of 9!!!
Order restored!!!
SanFran Jacket
November 30th, 2009
9:26 pm
LawDawg,
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately both schools have classless fans; one of them replied to my post in that manner and I don’t think I said anything to be inflammatory. The only thing I said was that Tech fans in the Bay Area are lucky that we don’t have to hear the taunts of Dawg fans out here, which is true. It wasn’t meant as a flame, just a side note to other Jacket fans in Atlanta that are probably getting a healthy helping of angst.
Good luck to the Dawgs in your bowl. Go Jackets, lets beat the Tigers this Saturday!
Georgia Tech Bob
November 30th, 2009
9:32 pm
I had a good laugh from the UGA comments. They are angry statements of
fans who know they have now lost to Florida 17 of the last 20 times and have virtually no chance of ever seeing a Conferance Championship game in the next 20 years. The Gators own you. Tennessee is now better with a new coach so you lost. You barely beat South Carolina and lost to Kentucky. Instead of worrying about the status of the ACC, figure out a way to start winning a couple of games in your own conferance!
Yuck
November 30th, 2009
9:33 pm
Georgia Tech Bob…
Great points…you do realize the fallacy in your logic though, right. You’re only insulting your own team and conference by putting us down.
Anyway, congrats on your season and good luck in the ACC championship.
Bishop Dawg
November 30th, 2009
9:38 pm
(((( 30-24 )))) hahahahahahahahahahaha
Yuck
November 30th, 2009
9:38 pm
Georgia Tech Bob,
The only one that sounds angry is you. UGA definitely has issues and our conference is very tough….it’s hard to win year in and year out in college football.
As for you, enjoy Tech’s season. You have a great team this year.
Ekim
November 30th, 2009
9:40 pm
All I can say is… we’ve got a game next Saturday night.
Actually, I can say a great deal more. But for right now, it’s “we’ve got a game next Saturday night.”
Georgia Tech Bob
November 30th, 2009
9:41 pm
Forgot to add one thing…………Tech-Four National Championships
Georgia-Two. All that with spending half the money!
Georgia Tech Bob
November 30th, 2009
9:45 pm
I don’t see where I put the ACC down, that must have been wishful thinking on your part! On the higher note, it was sad to see UGA died!
It was a bad year for mascots, our car got wrecked as well!
Stinger
November 30th, 2009
9:50 pm
I agree Mark. Been there done that. Beating UGA is nothing compared to winning a Conference Championship and playing in a BCS bowl game. Let the Dawgs go to the Papa Johns Pizza Bowl. We can beat them any time we want to. Next year will be a AZZ whuppin for the Dawgs. Good article Mark.
Casey
November 30th, 2009
10:01 pm
And then UGA can claim they lost 5 games but won 7.The dogs are so high after beating Tech because that is the best thing they have done all year. Tech is a great team so it makes the dogs happy that they may not be as horrible as everyone thinks they are. But I am pretty sure the dogs will have an avg at best season next year as well. lmao Go Jackets win a Championship!
HBTD
November 30th, 2009
10:02 pm
Stinger
November 30th, 2009
9:50 pm
Beating UGA is nothing compared to winning a Conference Championship and playing in a BCS bowl game.
STINGER.
LOOKS LIKE YOU FINALLY CRAWLED OUT FROM UNDER YOUR ROCK. YOUR COMMENT HAS ME LMAO! I BELIEVE IT WAS ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO THAT THE BUGS WON A CONF. CHAMP. AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE TECH HAS NEVER BEEN TO A BCS BOWL GAME. SO REALLY NOT SURE HOW YOU CAN EVEN MAKE THE COMPARISON. DOESN’T REALLY MATTER THOUGH………..YOU’RE JUST ANOTHER ONE OF THE MANY FRINGE IDIOTS YUCK FANS.
CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THE EXCUSES COMING FROM THIS GROUP SUNDAY AFTER CLEMSON TAKES YOUR BOYS BACK TO THE WOOD SHED FOR THE 2ND WEEKEND IN A ROW.
HBTD
November 30th, 2009
10:07 pm
DAMN, CALEB KING JUST SCORED ANOTHER TD!! TECH DEFENSE IS DEFINATELY THE WORST GROUP WE SAW ALL YEAR AND THAT INCLUDES D2, TT, WHO AT LEAST SHOWED SOME HEART. CLEMSON MAY PUT UP 50 ON THAT GROUP OF JACKETTES.
BTW, DAWGS WIN!!!!!!!!!!!! 30 – 24!!!!
TAINT SIMONS
November 30th, 2009
10:12 pm
(((30-24)))…..you nerds are in for a long year if you cant take the heckling after only 2 days!? Come on, yall are used to it. Have fun this weekend in the SEC reject game!!!! UGA OWNS YOU! “I RUN THIS STATE”-King and Ealey!!!!!
Caleb king scores again!-for Saint Simons
Washaun Ealey scores agian!-for YELLOW FUZZ
JOE COX BEATS TECH!-for RAMBLE ON
Tech=Vany in the SEC….yeah that sucks.-for the rest of you NERDS
SavJacket
November 30th, 2009
10:35 pm
To the pup fans, great win on Saturday, but let’s not get too big of a head. In fact, you shouldn’t get a big head at all. You ran on a bad defense. We lost, we move on, but at least we have something to move on to. I’ll take 10-2, possible conference championship, and a BCS bowl over 7-5 and the Independence bowl. And seriously, be a real team and stand for yourself and don’t hide behind the letters S-E-C. It’s like having your big brother fight for you.
jwill from da mactown
November 30th, 2009
11:01 pm
yall wafflehouse workin half sister impregnatin 6 teeth missin donkey buttin uglies so upset we dont care bout losin to yall cuz we keep playin in the d1 playoffs bad luck in the maxi pad bowl die of sickle cell along witcha dog inbred wanna hang a black man if he cant run a 4.4