A canny loss to UGA leaves Tech fans giddy about their coach
Paul Johnson thinks of something. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
This we know: Georgia Tech folks obsess over Georgia. (An unkind reference to UGA is included in the song “Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech.”) And it’s beyond dispute that the Jackets lost to the Mutts (another unkind reference) in Athens on Saturday. And yet …
Tech people walked away from that game feeling good about themselves, which never happens when Tech loses to Georgia in any sport. But it happened this time. It happened because Techies, who pride themselves on brainpower, were tickled at having outsmarted Big Brother.
OK, I know what you Bulldogs are saying. I’ve read the responses to this little missive from late last night. To paraphrase the stance of (some) Georgia folks: “If Paul Johnson is such a genius, how come he lost to Mark Richt again? Isn’t the name of the game to win?”
Well, yes. But there can be honor in defeat, especially when the defeat is so hard-fought and cleverly wrought. There can be no denying that the Jackets were the aggressor throughout and the stronger side up front. Those 411 yards rushing weren’t wisps of smoke. (Fun fact: The Jackets ran for two more yards against Todd Grantham’s million-dollar defense than they had against the one misguided by Willie Martinez in the epic upset of 2008. And this time they did it, as I’m guessing you’re aware, without Joshua Nesbitt.)
Urban Meyer, my role model in all things, believes the measure of a coach is how his team fares “when the checkers are equal.” The checkers weren’t anywhere close to equal Saturday night — even Tech people fully expected their team to get blown out — and the Jackets were a PAT from a tie inside the final five minutes. Georgia made three mistakes (two turnovers and a botched kickoff) that yielded no Tech points, while three Tech fumbles spawned three Bulldog touchdowns … and still the Jackets kept coming.
Full credit to the Bulldogs for making the requisite plays at the end, but fuller credit must go to Johnson and his Jackets: They got nearly the maximum from their diminished resources on a night when Georgia’s best player, the sublime A.J. Green, could be seen running out of bounds three yards short of a first down when the score was 0-0. (Georgia scored on the next play, Kris Durham’s catch-and-run, but still.)
And when the careening game finally seemed lost, that rascal Johnson conjured up one last way to make it winnable. He ordered cornerback Jerrard Tarrant to tell the other Jacket defenders, “Let ‘em score.” A Tech employee standing on the sideline heard this exchange and was terrified the Bulldogs would catch on to this strategic bit of jujitsu, but they didn’t. Washaun Ealey burst through the line and kept going and everyone in red and black got really excited — for five seconds. Then they realized they’d been snookered.
Said Richt: “We didn’t coach very good there. We got outcoached right there. It was good strategy by Coach Johnson. I thought [when it happened], ‘He got us there. He got me.’ ”
Said Johnson, almost shrugging: “It was the only way we could win the game.”
In the end his team lost, but the same Tech man who’d told me after the Jackets’ uninspiring defeat of Duke that he fully dreaded Saturday night in Athens was positively giddy in this losing aftermath. And another Tech man, the former captain Taz Anderson, sent this e-mail 18 minutes after the final whistle: “Tonight you saw a great football coach take a group that has little talent and keep them in a game where they were clearly overmatched.”
OK, I know what (some of) you Bulldogs are saying to that: “They’re Techies and they lost– who cares what they think?” And under other circumstances I might agree. But after this wild night I’d suggest both sides saw the same game, which is to say an on-paper mismatch that became an on-field white-knuckler. And I’d also ask this: When was the last time Georgia’s coach worked a game that good?
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791 comments Add your comment
NERDS
November 29th, 2010
10:01 am
Grinch , Don’t know…But if it can be done, he would be the one to find a way ..
Maybe he’ll trick the pollsters??
Nesbitt for Heisman
November 29th, 2010
10:01 am
Will Joshie be able to fit in his exams around the trip to Downtown Athletic Club in NY? HA HA HA
chrismiller
November 29th, 2010
10:01 am
Love the offensive scheme, but if you’re gonna run that offense, RUN THAT OFFENSE! Four-plus minutes remaining, tired Georgia defense, success all day doing what you do, and you call a QB draw on first down? Johnson did this more than once during the season, including with 4:22 remaining at Kansas when he had Nesbitt drop back to pass on the first two downs. In both situations, Tech’s chances to break a long run were higher than normal, aside from the whole “dance with who brung ya’” philosophy. Here’s another one the coach might want to think about: don’t fix it if it isn’t broken.
Dawg Fan
November 29th, 2010
10:02 am
Actually CPJ got this, he got beat by 8 instead of 1. His plan could have actually got a tie ball game except for 1 big flaw. He forgot what type offense he runs….what boondoggle…Dawgs Win Again, tech finds some reason to feel good about themselves as usual after another defeat. See You Next Year for another annual Beat Down! Dawgs Run This State!
PreyDawg
November 29th, 2010
10:03 am
Bradley, I have defended you many times before. Not this time. Flame away Dawg fans. Bradley earned the crispy ears this time. Come on Bradley, a moral victory for racking up empty yards??….really? Come on man…dont be that guy…you are better than that.
Richt has beat Johnson was 3 out of 4 now. End of story. Richt needs big time improvement, no dispute there. But Johnson cant go 1 out of 4 and come out superior. Sorry. This is the real world.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 29th, 2010
10:03 am
Yep.
We will ALWAYS own gtu.
dap01
November 29th, 2010
10:04 am
Urban Meyer: “Role Model” . Is there sarcastic humor that I am missing. CUM is a coach who let Cam stay if good standing despite his academic cheating, police record, and 13 traffic violations. The CUM that did not punish a player for trying to gouge out a players eyes. The CUM that was a total contradiction during his meltdown last year. Mark Bradley, surely you jest.
chrismiller
November 29th, 2010
10:05 am
“JACKETS DIDN’T DROP OFF THAT MUCH WITH HIM AT QB.”
Usually I try to avoid hyperbole, but this statement is just plain ignorant. I can promise you, Nesbitt wouldn’t have needed Anthony Allen in his face after nearly every play in the fourth quarter just to keep his confidence up like Washington did. Perhaps in some one-on-one skills competition Washington can match Nesbitt, but on the field you’re talking about two completely different units with Washington and Nesbitt at QB.
PreyDawg
November 29th, 2010
10:06 am
As for criticism of AJ going out of bounds…give me a freeking BREAK!! The guy has not had an easy pass thrown to him in THREE YEARS!!! Cox tried to get him killed repeatedly by exposing him to vicious hits. For some reason as good as Murray has been, he CANNOT hit Green in stride. He too gets AJ racked over and over again.
THAT is why he ran out of bounds. He had taken more brutal hits for this team than any player in UGA history. All of you haters, take ONE hit in your life like AJ takes multiple times every game. Then come here and talk tough.
AJ is one of the all time most loyal and great Bulldogs. PERIOD. The jersey sale was nothing. Bogus rule.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 29th, 2010
10:07 am
We will ALWAYS own gtu. It will never change.
You’re welcome nerds.
Your Breath Smells like Fish Fry Tacos
November 29th, 2010
10:13 am
So…if Gtu did not cheat by playing ineligible players and have to vacate those “wins”, what is the series record over the last 20 years?
Dadgum.....
November 29th, 2010
10:13 am
Well we managed to lose to one of the worst Georgia teams in recent memory and Mark Bradley says some Tech fans are giddy! No Mark we aren’t real giddy. Maybe that Taz Anderson clown is giddy but WE aren’t as a whole. Down right pissed-off is more like it. I congratulate the Bulldogs on the win. CPJ has two more years left on his contract after that GT will lose patience with his theatrics if poor defense and the error prone offense continues. Oh yeah and passing on a chip shot fg on 4th and 2 to go for it after the UGA muff is inexcusable and the type of idiocy that will run him out before his contract is up.
FRED
November 29th, 2010
10:14 am
UGA FAN HERE. JOHNSON IS HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE CMR AS A COACH. THE TALENT LEVEL NOT EVEN CLOSE BETWEEN THESE TWO TEAMS. UGA HAS 4-5 STAR RECRUITES GT HAS 2-3 STAR RECRUITES. GT COULD HAVE BEATEN UGA WITH A LITTLE LUCK. UGA WAS LUCKY TO BEAT GT.
murfdawg
November 29th, 2010
10:14 am
I hope someone on the PGA tour adopts cpj’s “canny” strategy. Let’s say Steve Stricker is leading Tiger Woods by two strokes going into 18. But Stricker decides to double bogey 18 so he can beat Tiger in a playoff. Can’t wait to see that happen.
schmeckdawg
November 29th, 2010
10:14 am
You know what MB, in golf, they don’t ask you what club you used, they ask you what you shot.
((((42-34))))
That’s what we shot and I don’t care how you try to spin it OR about the techies being giddy. If you are giddy after a loss, then you are a loser.
Eric
November 29th, 2010
10:15 am
Paul Johnson, on the hotseat, already? Ye sir re..
http://coacheshotseat.com/coacheshotseatblog/?p=2772
schmeckdawg
November 29th, 2010
10:16 am
murfdawg, it looks as though we are on the same page. Go DAWGS!!!!!!!!
Dadgum.....
November 29th, 2010
10:18 am
I’m betting that neither of those coaches are with their teams after two more years.
murfdawg
November 29th, 2010
10:19 am
How about this Mark. KY is down one to Duke with 10 seconds left to play and lets Duke score an easy layup to go up by three. KY has no time outs and has to go the length of the floor , hit a threeto get a tie to get to over time. But KY can’t get the ball in and turns the ball over on a 5 second count. and loses to Duke again for the ninth time in ten meetings.
The Grinch
November 29th, 2010
10:19 am
If CPJ is such a great coach, then will somebody please explain the brilliance behind tech’s final possession?
Nesbitt for Heisman
November 29th, 2010
10:20 am
ESPN Announcers Saturday Night….”Josh Nesbitt on sideline does not look like your average QB”. No kidding…..he couldn’t throw it in the ocean….and his backup is as poor a passer as him
Dadgum.....
November 29th, 2010
10:20 am
I am not giddy. 34-42 = not giddy. Giddy up giddy out.
BG
November 29th, 2010
10:21 am
Mark Richt has won 9 out of 10 aganist Tech. Nuff said!!! Mark Richt has also won 2 straight against ole Paul Johnson.
Eric
November 29th, 2010
10:22 am
Still can’t see how Johnson, the genius, lost to 3-9 Kansas.
Kansas?
Kansas?
Dadgum.....
November 29th, 2010
10:22 am
Grinch…..the same brilliance that passed on the opening fg after the UGA gift.
murfdawg
November 29th, 2010
10:24 am
Maybe cpj can coach gt baseball this year. I can’t wait to see him down by one in the top of the ninth and he pulls out the “canny” strategy and tells his pitcher to walk in two runs because he can hit a three run homer in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings. Are you listening Danny Hall?
dga
November 29th, 2010
10:27 am
I don’t understand why everyone thought Georgia was going to blow out Tech to begin with. Georgia was 5-6 going into this game, and while Georgia has some talent, it’s still a team that found a way to lose 6 games (lost to a few teams with “less talent” too). I’m happy with the win, but anyone that watched Georgia play all year had to know that this was not going to be a cakewalk. The fact that they were favored by two touchdowns was a joke. I knew that Tech’s offense would give Georgia problems, based on the fact that the defense has consistently been undisciplined. I can’t even count how many times Georgia had no one on the pitch man. Tech may not have as much talent, but they are at least disciplined, which I knew was going to make for a tough game.
Reptillicide
November 29th, 2010
10:27 am
LOL @ moral victories. Guess the nerds have to cling to something.
9-1 over a decade, losers. Hope you’re used to it now, it ain’t gonna change.
Dadgum.....
November 29th, 2010
10:28 am
Eric….GT beat no team with a winning record when we played them and only one that ended up with a winning record (UNC). Losing to Kansas was no great mystery.
Eric
November 29th, 2010
10:32 am
I thought Kansas was an 80’s rock band, didn’t know that had a football team.
they must be awful. to lsoe to a team named after an 80’s rock band, that’s pretty bad.
SECWasteManagement
November 29th, 2010
10:32 am
As I was leaving Sanford and walking out of the north west endzone, I looked into the visitors crowd and I didn’t see anyone in blue and gold smiling Mark you clown.
UgaLeeDawg
November 29th, 2010
10:35 am
I could have sworn Georgia won this game Mark. Rivalry games are hardly ever blowouts even if the “checkers aren’t equal”. Oh well maybe you can get the NCAA to give Tech a half point for a fine effort. UGA was in controll all the way. Tech could not stop us and the gimmick offense worked for them.
Steve
November 29th, 2010
10:36 am
How do you go from 11-3 to 6-6 in one season?
Curlygreg
November 29th, 2010
10:37 am
“When was the last time Georgia’s coach worked a game that good?”
Well, last year against GT comes to mind. Weren’t they ranked 7th in the nation at the time? Weren’t they the ACC champs?
“GIddy”?
About a loss to your in-state rival? When you had a pre-season number 16 ranking?
hotdawg
November 29th, 2010
10:38 am
Could be worse we could all be Longhorn fans.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 29th, 2010
10:43 am
Since we OWN gtu, maybe we should doze that cesspool Bobby Dodd and put something useful there… a wastewater treatment plant would be better there since all that is down there CRAP.
You’re welcome.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 29th, 2010
10:45 am
We completely OWN gtu. Always have, always will.
You’re welcome.
dave
November 29th, 2010
10:50 am
congratulations, UGA. you got your sixth win by barely beating a middle-of-the-pack ACC team with its back-up quarterback. You must be very proud.
Georgia
November 29th, 2010
10:57 am
Tech Loses……Again.
LHardingDawg
November 29th, 2010
11:11 am
Thanks Dave for your congratulations on the win. You got beat by a middle of the pack SEC team. Go figure.
Fire Mark Bradley
November 29th, 2010
11:12 am
Mark Bradley, please move to Gainesville so that you can stroke Urban Meyers hair while hes vomitting after that horrible loss to an ACC team. I honestly think your welcome has far passed. Please go write for the gayterds.
Mister Falcon
November 29th, 2010
11:18 am
Number don’t lie: 6-6 Tech sucks. 6-6 Georgia sucks. Please don’t give either of these teams a bowl. Not only does neither team deserve it, none of us want to watch either of this sh!tty teams play again this year.
I know Tech is sure glad they aren’t paying the big bucks to Johnson like UGA is throwing away to Richt, especially with UGA in financial troubles. Not good.
Thank God for the Falcons or all Georgia sports teams would suck.
Please, no bowls for these losers. We want to watch GOOD teams who perhaps actually put a defense on the field.
GO FALCONS!
Mister Falcon
November 29th, 2010
11:20 am
Need to change the rules so a team actually has to have a WINNING season to be in a bowl. What a laff!
PonGT
November 29th, 2010
11:20 am
Okay … let me see if I read you right … UGA is stupid. Their coaches are stupid. Their players are stupid. Their fans are stupid. BUT TECH, on the other hand, is the paragon of intellectual superiority. So Tech wins by default. WRONG!!!!!
Tech lost, and as stupid as it sounds, the objective was to win the game -not appear to be intellectually superior. So, it seems to me that people who are “giddy” over the intellectual superiority of their coaches, despite losing again, is nothing but a bunch of arrogant losers. SELAH.
macrotech
November 29th, 2010
11:21 am
The Grinch, good to see ya again! In regards to your question, when you have NO time-outs left and your start your last drive deep in uga’s territory with less than a minute on the clock….you gotta throw the ball…EVERYONE knew this and uga smothered the pass…that’s about it. Hope it helped.
OBammy
November 29th, 2010
11:22 am
CPJ can only coach for 58 minutes in a game. He sucks in the last 2 minutes calling plays.
UGA OWNS gtu
November 29th, 2010
11:25 am
Just to reiterate… UGA OWNS gtu.
You’re welcome.
BreakingNews
November 29th, 2010
11:42 am
Hey GT77 – how does it feel knowing that a “less than average” team like UGA has beat your bunch of pansies 9 out of 10 years? Burns doesn’t it!
BreakingNews
November 29th, 2010
11:42 am
Did anyone else notice that every Tech fan shown on TV during the broadcast was a foreigner?
Mark PRicht
November 29th, 2010
11:59 am
BreakingNews
Hey DA just because they have all their teeth only makes the a foreigner to Athens