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
Steve
November 28th, 2010
2:08 pm
Wrong answer Monkey Business. UGA has a great schedule next year. The will beat Boise St. They have Auburn and SC at home. Both wins. They will beat the teams they usually do. They will lose at Tennessee and to Florida. We all know what they will do to Tech. 10-2 before a bowl. Tech? Maybe 5-7.
nats love Swinging Richards on Northside...
November 28th, 2010
2:08 pm
9-1 last 10….
16-4 last 20…
23-7 last 30…
30-10 last 40…
’nuff said….ESAD nats…
GTFan
November 28th, 2010
2:09 pm
Funny how the doggies say that CPJ can’t even beat Richt. Give CPJ the doggie 5 star players and it would be a massacre of the greatest proportions. or how about this, play your second string qb and see how it looks.
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
2:09 pm
61-39-5
Your predictions are a joke
The FACT IS 42-34
and you are a sore loser and a d o u c h e
Mark Bradley
November 28th, 2010
2:09 pm
It wasn’t a pass on first down with four minutes left. It was a quarterback draw.
Hollis G.
November 28th, 2010
2:09 pm
Hey college football in Ga, how many Ga. players on the Auburn and Alabama squads? You sleazy cheating sobs can’t even field a full squad from your pathetic state. Your state sucks our water, sucks our gullible players. So I guess your state just sucks. As for you Bradley, it must really be hard to type your articles with your lips so firmly placed on Johnson’s fanny.
College football in the state of Georgia
November 28th, 2010
2:09 pm
They should erect a bronze toilet outside of Sanford stadium to celebrate one horrible georgia team beating another horrible georgia team in the annual toilet bowl of children of lesser football gods. Good thing for the dawgs that Tech can’t even kick an extra point. Otherwise Tech’s high school offense ran over, around, and through that pathetic dawg defense.
Lilburn Dawg
November 28th, 2010
2:09 pm
Last night’s game wasn’t anything to be proud of by either side. I congratulate Tech on fighting the better battle with the players they have. I remember how UGA was getting ragged by Tech bloggers last year about the “pitiful” bowl we went to and hearing how much classier their bowl was. And now this year what I find amusing is reading that Tech may end up in the same bowl we were in last year!! So always be careful when you throw mud. No double standards. If it was an embarassment last year then it will be this year, too.
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:10 pm
Georgia Alum owns Swinging Richards and have pre game meals there….
Steve
November 28th, 2010
2:10 pm
“College Football In The State Of Georgia” what’s it like to be a total moron? So if 5-6 Auburn beat 6-5 Alabama one year, you don’t think they would brag or be excited? Poor little redneck. Must suck to not understand college football.
joe taxpayer
November 28th, 2010
2:10 pm
“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″. That quote is from the above Mark Bradley’s column and it sums up UGA’s staff.
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
2:10 pm
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
WIDE RIGHT
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:11 pm
fINKLE..You were watching TBS earlier weren’t you….?
Old South Dawg
November 28th, 2010
2:11 pm
You can ALWAYS count on gTech to Wet the Bed!!! also love the look on paul johnsons face, He knows as long as he is at tech, this is as far as he can go. LOL
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
2:11 pm
AU WINS WITH AAJORITY OF OUT OF STATE TALENT
–a joke just like UT
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
2:12 pm
That’s majority before any trekkei stops playing dungeons and dragons to correct me
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:12 pm
The problem with 5-6 and 6-5 is besides Tech last year, Both teams have been horrible for 3 years in a row…..
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
2:13 pm
No – Was it on?
College football in the state of Georgia
November 28th, 2010
2:13 pm
Hollis G,
Lets see. Georgia’s top players of the last few years- Knowshow and Stafford- came from Texas and New Jersey. Your qb is from Fla, your best O-lineman is from Alabama, your top player in AJ Green is from S. Carolina, your 2nd best receiver in Orson Charles is from Fla. Tech’s qb is from Alabama. Alabama and AU have a smattering of players from Georgia on their teams but I can’t think of any of Bama’s top players from Georgia and can only think of Cam from Georgia on AU’s team. You’re just mad cause your college teams always have been and always will be dominated by the teams from Alabama. You guys suck- both of you.
Top Dawg
November 28th, 2010
2:13 pm
Okay, I’ll toast that: Kudos to Coach Johnson on ANOTHER LOSS.
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:13 pm
Auburn does not recruit players, they HIRE them….
Tweets that mention A canny loss to UGA leaves Tech fans giddy about their coach | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
November 28th, 2010
2:13 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mark Bradley, Katie Hamilton, Hollywood, Brad Bennett, Hannah Thompson and others. Hannah Thompson said: RT @MarkBradleyAJC: Strange but true: A loss to #UGA leaves #GaTech folks giddy about their coach. http://bit.ly/e2wpvD [...]
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
2:14 pm
a smattering ?
CHECK YOUR ROSTER
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:14 pm
Yep it was on at 11 a.m.
Steve
November 28th, 2010
2:15 pm
Poor “Monkey Business.” Does it suck not knowing college football? “Both teams have been horrible for 3 years in a row.” In 2008 UGA went 10-3 and won the Capital One Bowl. Yea, that is horrible.
Dawg H8R
November 28th, 2010
2:15 pm
Laces Out Finkle
November 28th, 2010
2:02 pm
Dawg H8R
SCOREBOARD
YOU TALK TRASH EVEN WHEN YOU LOSE
D O U C H E
Douche?. Is this Jeff Spiccoli? Andrew Dice Clay? Or maybe some other braindead moron.Try talking trash when you beat someone. Consensual adult incest could be the reason for this phenomenon known as “dawgnation”. Disgusting.
The Blair Miss Project
November 28th, 2010
2:16 pm
<———- WIDE LEFT <————-
Dear Coach Paul Johnson,
Enjoy the fish fry in Shreveport, LA.
Karma sure is a b**** ain't it???
-Dawgs
College football in the state of Georgia
November 28th, 2010
2:16 pm
Steve,
Since when were both Alabama and AU crappy in the same year? Fool! Can’t remember when both were something awful like 5-6 and 6-5 coming into a game. You guys just plain suck.
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:17 pm
Everyone give us your date on when Auburn’s Penalities are Announced for Breaking The entire NCAA book on Recruitment of Student Athletes?
I say the FBI announces indictments before the NCAA announces letter of investigation.
January 24th 2011 is my prediction.
College football in the state of Georgia
November 28th, 2010
2:17 pm
Steve,
Go watch a replay of the Iron bowl and watch some serious football son. Not those pee wees that played last night.
Old South Dawg
November 28th, 2010
2:17 pm
I wonder if AU is offering a 401k program also to its recruits
Glory Glory
November 28th, 2010
2:17 pm
There’s nothing dumber than a Georgia Bulldog fan.
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:18 pm
10-3 does suck in the BIG PICTURE….especially since you were preseason No. 1
nats love Swinging Richards on Northside...
November 28th, 2010
2:18 pm
35-13 since Dooley arrived in ‘64…
LMMFAO nats….y’all suck…
Steve
November 28th, 2010
2:20 pm
HA HA HA. 10-3 and winning at a good bowl sucks huh? You think you nerds would not take that every year? Tech dorks are happy, and used to, winning 7 or 8 a year.
Glory Glory
November 28th, 2010
2:20 pm
UGA SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Always has and always will. Deal with it mutts.
Steve
November 28th, 2010
2:20 pm
Wow. Good one Glory Glory! What a loser.
T'VILLE DAWG
November 28th, 2010
2:21 pm
As I sneeze I muffle bullthit! A veer offense is never over matched. The local high school coach here has won several state titles, the offense is the same on any level and as he puts it “it’s a high risk high reward offense”. You may stop it for a while but it will get it’s pound of flesh. The only negative is when the defense puts 8 men in the box you have to be able to pass it and willing to do it.
Steve
November 28th, 2010
2:21 pm
So if UGA sucks, what does that say about Tech? Georgia has always sucked??? What? If you are going to run your mouth, at least know what you are talking about moron.
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:21 pm
Steve…not a techie here buckwheat…
Gator Baby Gators…! and yes we sucked this year too but we beat UGA as we do annually…
UGA Fan
November 28th, 2010
2:23 pm
Yeah, Tech is giddy over a coach that has lost 2 of 3 to inferior UGA teams. The ACC champs lose to a then 6-5 UGA team last year in Atlanta, and now a then 5-6 team this year. How was CPJ outsmarted. UGA gained over 420 yards on HALF the plays Tech had to gain 512? Too bad, so sad for Tech. 10 years, 9 loses! And it will continue that way into the next decade.
Steve
November 28th, 2010
2:24 pm
Monkey Business, your point? Who on here said UGA does not struggle against Florida? However feel free to look up the only stat that matters, the overall record between UGA and UF. Nice job yesterday against FSU.
Monkey Business
November 28th, 2010
2:24 pm
Who is UGA going to line up and play to beat Boise St. USC, UF, Tenn. MSU…
UGA Fan
November 28th, 2010
2:26 pm
Maybe the stupid Tech students can go out tonight and continue to get mugged, just like their team year after year after year.
SRF
November 28th, 2010
2:26 pm
Do UGA fans always brag this much when they beat up little girls like this ?
The Blair Miss Project
November 28th, 2010
2:26 pm
<————- WIDE LEFT <—————–
The same GENIOUS coach you Nerds are "giddy" about, after LOSING to the team you HATE the most, abandoned the run game, AGAIN, late in the game when you needed to score.
I hope you Nerds keep him around forever!!
(((((42-34)))))
9-1
61-39-5
We STILL Run This State!!
DawginTX
November 28th, 2010
2:26 pm
“without their best player”….as if to say if only Nesbitt had played, certainly Tech would have won. The fact is that Washington has a better passer rating and the same YPC. But to acknowledge that would take an excuse away from the brilliant, courageous Johnson. Look, I cussed when Tech hired Johnson because I knew he was a good system coach. And running an offensive system that teams don’t see often is a good thing for the have-nots of the college football world to do. It is a smart strategic move, but we don’t need to gush all over ourselves about how brilliant someone is who knows how to run an offense from 40 years ago.
I think the Georgia coaching staff accomplished less with more for the 3rd straight year, and that is why they are on the hot seat heading into next year. But Georgia’s “outsmarted” coaches won 5 of their last 7 down the stretch while the brilliant Johnson lost 4 of 5.
RAID
November 28th, 2010
2:27 pm
Mark, you’re right!…..I havent seen a UGA coach that ballsy in a long time…..but not trying to PO any Tech fans off here but as genious as it was that he let UGA score, I was still baffled that he all the sudden on his last 2 possessions he decided to break out a passing game on every down that is not there especially since Tech was breaking off long runs at a huge clip against a tired UGA defence…..that played right into UGA’s hands……jus sayin……
Fuzzybee
November 28th, 2010
2:28 pm
Dawg fans – has AJ always avoided contact like he did last night? Great hands but he looks pretty soft to me.
The Blair Miss Project
November 28th, 2010
2:29 pm
<———— WIDE LEFT <—————
Honestly, Nerds……
Which hurts worse? Losing to UGA when UGA is up, or losing to UGA when they are down? Because either way, it ALWAYS happens!!!!
(((((42-34))))) All. Year. Long!!!