This nutty Tech season could yield a truly hilarious ending
Believe it or not, both of these teams could land in Miami come New Year's. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Georgia Tech could wind up in the Orange Bowl, or it could grace no bowl at all. At this moment, the Jackets are bowl-eligible; come Saturday night, they might not be. Got that?
“It’s been a different year,” Paul Johnson said Tuesday, which is an understatement on a par with, “Bill Gates isn’t hurting for money.”
After a full regular season, Tech is neither a winning or a losing team — but it might yet be a conference champion. Generally speaking, when serendipity takes a hand it lifts a good team to greater heights. Somehow serendipity seems to have taken a shine to these middling Jackets, who lost by 21 points to Middle Tennessee and by 32 to Georgia.
The Jackets have played 12 games, losing half. They have beaten one team (North Carolina) that finished above .500. Carolina was one of three teams that tied for first place in the ACC Coastal Division, but the Tar Heels couldn’t play for the conference title because the NCAA won’t allow it, and Miami decided not to play for the ACC championship for fear of what the NCAA might do. Ergo, Tech to Charlotte.
“You want to be playing for your conference championship,” Johnson said. “Would you have dreamed it would be with this record? Probably not.”
Should the Jackets lose to Florida State — they’re a two-touchdown underdog — they’ll be 6-7, which would render them bowl-ineligible after they’d moved heaven and Earth to get bowl-eligible. Tech people absolutely believe the Jackets will be afforded a postseason berth even with a losing record; neutral observers are less sure. “You guys (meaning the media) are having more fun with that than might actually be,” Johnson said, though “fun” mightn’t be the proper word.
The coach’s Tuesday briefing wasn’t nearly as acidic as his post-Georgia address, but he didn’t miss the opportunity to hammer home a Talking Point. “This is the third time in five years these players have finished with the best record in their division,” he said. (Not incidentally, five years is how long Johnson has been in place.) “To hear some people talk, you’d probably think the sky is falling. But that’s probably better than they’ve done here in a long time.”
True. Before Johnson arrived, Tech had finished first in the ACC or the Coastal three times: In 1990, the UPI national championship season under Bobby Ross; in 1998 under George O’Leary, and in 2006 under Chan Gailey. But it’s also worth noting — and here we risk being included on a list of “some people” — that Johnson’s Jackets are 21-20 since Thanksgiving 2009, and that the biggest victory of that span (the ACC championship over Clemson) was officially vacated, and that their last game marked the second-largest margin of defeat of Johnson’s five years.
Loading ...Even with Tech playing for the ACC title, it’s impossible to call this season a smash. (Though, as Johnson said, “If we can win the conference championship, it’d be hard to say they underachieved.”) It would also be impossible to characterize the program as being in the prime of health. That said, it would be utterly in keeping with this crazy-quilt season for Tech to topple Florida State and break its bowl losing streak, which stands at seven years, in a BCS game against a true heavyweight like … Kent State?
As Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports has outlined, if Kent State beats Northern Illinois for the Mid American Conference title on Friday and finishes in the top 16 of the BCS rankings, and if the Big East champion is ranked below that, the Golden Flashes would almost surely land in the Orange Bowl, which gets last choice in this year’s BCS rotation. (Dodd also calls a potential Tech-Kent matchup “a game you wouldn’t pay to see in September.”)
The Golden Flashes lost to Kentucky by 33 points, and Kentucky didn’t win an SEC game and fired its coach. (And just hired Mark Stoops, the Florida State defensive coordinator. Small world, huh?) And to this outlandish possibility, we say: Why NOT?
Nothing else about Tech has made a lick of sense, so why not go the full Monty? Upset Florida State, beat Kent State and stick around afterward to help welcome the Georgia Bulldogs to Miami. See, the Orange Bowl will be staged at Sun Life Stadium — the home field of the Miami Hurricanes, whose step-aside put Tech in in the ACC title game — on New Year’s night. Six days later, the BCS title game will be played at the same place. Could this strangest of Tech seasons reach any more suitable end than to have both Jackets and Bulldogs take their respective talents to South Beach?
Further reading: Heat Check — Destiny’s Dogs? No-bowl Jackets? Whoa, Nelly.
By Mark Bradley
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209 comments Add your comment
Chipper
November 27th, 2012
4:24 pm
Tech fans are only getting a chance at a winning record because Miami backed out. Why do you think your so entitled? You can’t talk smack as we are 11 of 12 over you recently & own the series. Auburn is our true rival.
Fuzzy Lumpkins
November 27th, 2012
4:24 pm
Alphare, dont you dare bring up Stanford being good at football in a tougher conference. It destroys Tech’s righteous argument regarding tough academia.
beanster
November 27th, 2012
4:26 pm
@ Swoopin — If you’re referring to Mr. Bradley, he wants UGA to win so his preseason picks come to fruition. I wouldn’t take it personally.
Spanky
November 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
Bob, that made absolu….wait,…that was actually pretty funny!!
Dawg Man
November 27th, 2012
4:27 pm
We dawgs can’t brag too much as we have only beaten two FBS schools that finished with a record above .500 (Vandy and Florida) plus Georgia Southern. It will be interesting to see how we do against Bama. Go Dawgs!
JB
November 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
The ACC has a bigger problem. They’ve got Tech in a 80,000 Stadium bringing maybe 2 or 3 thousand fans, and after giving every Boy scout and Boys club kid in site a ticket, will still have 30,000 empty seats…….While on Ticket Hub,5K gets you in the SEC game. Nuff said.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
4:28 pm
It destroys Tech’s righteous argument regarding tough academia.
Stanford being good academically doesn’t mean that they have as difficult of a school or as difficult of admissions requirements as GT. Either way, people really need to look at Stanford over the last 10 years and not the last 3 years if they want to make a real comparison.
Right On Time
November 27th, 2012
4:31 pm
From a UGA fan and alum:
I hope the jackets beat fsu and Dawgs beat bammers. How much fun would it
be for both fans to represent in Miami? It would be pretty memorable.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
4:32 pm
Hey Mark, about those AJC rules that prohibit stealing someones name.
Right On Time
November 27th, 2012
4:36 pm
GTBob:
We can all tell when it’s not you.
Buzzzed
November 27th, 2012
4:42 pm
That would be awesome. We might win that one. Bring on Miami!
GT Joe
November 27th, 2012
4:43 pm
wow. how awful would it be if we made the orange bowl, and had to share south beach with some fat, country, redneck, loud, obnoxious, no class UGA fans.
Shug
November 27th, 2012
4:43 pm
Why would a team that lost 7 games want to go to a bowl? GT will probably end up 6-8. I s’pose there’s money to be made.
Silly Mutts
November 27th, 2012
4:44 pm
The more UGA fans at the SEC Championship the better!!! More fans that will be leaving at halftime for the bars dtwn
Shug
November 27th, 2012
4:44 pm
Plus, don’t discount that other benefit a bowl provides — an extra month of practice to get ready for spring practice.
Mike S.
November 27th, 2012
4:52 pm
GTBob has a valid point. Dont relive Tech’s mistake and crown a coach until he’s winning with his own players. Stanford’s coach still has a lot of Harbaugh’s players on the roster.
Uh, GTBob...
November 27th, 2012
4:55 pm
…I believe the last time Stanford won a game with significance was the Saturday they beat OR and then again last Saturday when they beat UCLA for the right to play UCLA again this week…
`
November 27th, 2012
4:56 pm
GTBOB
Yech will not qualify for a bowl with a 6-7 record over a team with a 6-6 record. If there is an available bowl willing to take a team with a losing record your school may apply for a waiver. Conference bowl tie ins are not required to take a team with a losing record.
But hang in there Bobby, some one might want you, Smurf bowl, Poinsetta, you never know
Mike S.
November 27th, 2012
4:57 pm
There are better examples of teams winning at schools that dont recruit in the top 15-20 every year. The Big 12, PAC12, Big East, and other western schools are full of them. WVU, TCU, Cincinnati, Louisville, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma St., Oregon St., Boise St., Houston….a common theme is a lot of them run a spread offense that throws the ball all over the place. They mix in the run as well, but they dont run the triple option.
Mike S.
November 27th, 2012
4:59 pm
Stanford actually has been recruiting rather well in recent years. They are an example of a good academic school still being able to recruit. Lets face it. Gailey’s last class was top 20, and his 2008 class was projected top 20. You can most definitely recruit players to Tech. There is too much talent around the southeast that can make the grades.
ToeMeetsLeather
November 27th, 2012
5:00 pm
I love the way Dawg fans like to throw around the word embarrassing when it comes to TECH’s season.
To me, having the likes of an Ealy, King and Crowell suit up and play. Or an Odell Thurman, or maybe allowing the dude that beat the hades out of a girl a few months ago to play this year fits the word “embarrissing” in my book.
But hey, that’s just me.
Mike S.
November 27th, 2012
5:01 pm
Dont look now but Franklin at Vandy currently has a class listed in the top 20. If Vandy and Stanford can recruit, so can Ga Tech. Its absurd to say otherwise.
Hank
November 27th, 2012
5:03 pm
Mark (or anyone else),
With Southern Miss firing Ellis Johnson, do you think he is someone Paul Johnson should look at for the DC position? He may be one of those coaches that is a better coordinator than head coach and he had a number of strong defenses and South Carolina and Mississippi State. My main thought is perception-wise, would it look poor to bring him in after he went 0-12? Just wondering, thanks!
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
5:03 pm
They mix in the run as well, but they dont run the triple option.
Why would that be any better than what we have now? Our offense isn’t the problem.
Joey
November 27th, 2012
5:05 pm
Stoops to UK!
Mark Stoops, that is.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
5:05 pm
Stanford actually has been recruiting rather well in recent years.
This year is David Shaw’s first full recruiting class and they are currently ranked 55th.
beanster
November 27th, 2012
5:08 pm
@ Silly Mutts — No need to leave the Dome. They sell beer there. And unlike this past Saturday, the chances of the game being over with 13:52 remaining in the 1st quarter are minimal at best.
The Dude
November 27th, 2012
5:12 pm
Well said, GTBob @5:03. As a whole, GT’s offense is certainly not the problem. If you matched just a top 30 defense with the current offense, GT would have three more wins this season. The offense was terrible in the Gailey years, but man did GT play some defense.
ARdawg
November 27th, 2012
5:13 pm
“I love the way Dawg fans like to throw around the word embarrassing when it comes to TECH’s season.”
________________________
The subject is indeed football. How would you describe Tech’s season in a word other than “embarrassing”?
Mountain Dawg
November 27th, 2012
5:17 pm
Tech just flat sucks. Always has, always will.
Old Dawg
November 27th, 2012
5:19 pm
Goldenrod: Who’s your crack dealer? It’s really a rare blend.
Buzz 2011: When was the last time Tech beat UGA in football. I can’t remember.
When was the last time Tech won a bowl game? I can’t remember.
And how quickly did Tech have it’s last ACC Championship Trophy before the NCAA yanked it from your trophy case?
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
5:20 pm
The subject is indeed football. How would you describe Tech’s season in a word other than “embarrassing”?
A little below average. The Lewis days were embarrassing.
Bill Stanfill
November 27th, 2012
5:21 pm
What a stunning year it would be for both GT and UGA to wind up in Miami, in the Orange Bowl and BCS Championship game! The players could get together for a Sunday fish fry after attending church.
The only thing more stunning would be for both Paul Johnson and Mark Richt to wind up on the front page of the AJC with skinned up faces and neck braces after wrecking their motorcycles with cuties from the athletic department riding on back . . . .
Mark Bradley
November 27th, 2012
5:21 pm
I’d hire Ellis Johnson. (Though not as head coach.)
sidslid
November 27th, 2012
5:23 pm
I could see Florida State losing to Kent State. Defensive coordinator just took a new job and their supposed strength is defense (stats overrated because of the weak ACC).
Because of all the probations, don’t Tech and Duke almost have to go to bowl games just to fill up the slots? The Jackie Sherrill All-Probation rankings: Ohio State, Penn State, Miami, North Carolina.
Hank
November 27th, 2012
5:23 pm
Thanks Mark!
ARdawg
November 27th, 2012
5:24 pm
GTBob
You seem to be much more “kinder” when describing Tech’s season than you do describing any SEC team’s season specifically UGA
Tech’s season was embarrassing to downright shamefully disgusting. I mean come on. You’d be praying for Shreveport if not for Shalala
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
5:26 pm
Ellis Johnson took a 12-2 team and turned them into an 0-12 team. That has to be up there with the worst coaching jobs in the history of football. I know he was a decent DC before that but that kind of turnaround makes me a little weary of him.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
5:28 pm
Tech’s season was embarrassing to downright shamefully disgusting.
For a school that averages about 7 wins a season, its hard to call 6 wins shamefully disgusting.
No No, dumb dog!
November 27th, 2012
5:31 pm
Butt sniffers…
No national championship game for uga.
UGA trolls like Bradley like to say “embarrassing” concerning Tech, but embarrassing is doing all the talking i.e. (stick around afterward to help welcome the Georgia Bulldogs to Miami) and then getting beat down by Alabama on Saturday afternoon. Go BAMA, beat the ignorant dogs!!!!
Old Gold
November 27th, 2012
5:32 pm
ACC is A Cumpy Conference! Keep Paul Johnson forever! He is a genius!
Mike S.
November 27th, 2012
5:35 pm
GTBob – the offense is most definitely part of the problem. MTSU, Va Tech, BYU, and UGA all kept us off the scoreboard. The D did its job against what we now know to be an average Va Tech team, and we still lost. We scored 3 pts on UGA until they pulled their starters. Look at the futility in bowls. Last year was the first bowl we got more than two score in. Air Force, LSU, and Iowa all held us off the scoreboard. Enough with there is no problem with the offense garbage. Its clearly not capable of scoring enough to win against teams that show up prepared to play it.
Pitbull
November 27th, 2012
5:36 pm
If Tech plays Kent State in the Orange Bowl what are the chances that the cameras will not show the stands. Who would buy tickets for that game?
It would not fill a third of Grant Field in September much less the Orange Bowl.
The absurdity of allowing the ACC to be an automatic qualifier will become apparent and if they do not take that away from the ACC then the BCS should be discontinued.
And the rule that would put Kent State or Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl ahead of Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Georgia, South Carolina etc is also apparent.
I bet the people who run the Orange Bowl are taking a you know what in their pants right now. From being one of the top four bowls in the country to this.
If they play an Orange Bowl and there is no one there to see it and no one watches it, do the players make a sound when they fall down?
What an embarrassment for college football. Can’t wait to see the commentaries from SI, ESPN, and sports writers across the country.
Jim 70
November 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
Heading to Charlotte from northern virginia to see us beat FSU IF our defense and special team players actually show up. It would be nice to see some gt fans from the state of Georgia help fill the stadium. As opposed to the last two acc championship games gt was in, ticket prices are very good.
Hopefully I can be in Miami for new years cheering on the jackets in the orange bowl.
Weird season, but alls well that ends well. How great would it be for gt to win a bcs game while uga doesn’t go to one (along with Clemson and FSU).
Go jackets!
Mike S.
November 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
As for Stanford, they dont even have half a class signed yet. They finished in the top 10 last season and top 25 the two years before that. Whos doing the recruiting isnt the point. The point is, you can recruit at these academic institutions.
Bobo
November 27th, 2012
5:39 pm
As a lifelong Tech fan and alumni, I can’t believe we are even CONSIDERING going to a bowl if we don’t beat FSU. This season has been an out and out disgrace and unacceptable. There is absolutely no reason that we belong in a bowl game unless it’s the Orange Bowl which would be too hilarious to turn down.
This season has done nothing but highlight the following:
1) Our recruiting SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS! 2 and 3 star guys give you a 6-6 or 5-7 record consistently. The star rating system DOES means something. 75% of the time or more, they are RIGHT. Yeah occasionally you miss a 3 star guy like Johnny Manziel that is really a 4 or 5 and sometimes you have a guy bust, but those are EXCEPTIONS.
2) Did I mention we MUST win the recruiting battles.
3) Our DEFENSE, not the triple option package is the biggest problem for us. Our defense is full of quitters who arm tackle, pout, complain about tough schemes and can’t run down a crippled senior citizen. We probably have the worst pass defense in the whole country. Our D-line is also a complete disgrace to the NFL players we used to have at every position.
4) We need coaches other than Paul Johnson who can coach. I’m not seeing anyone who can coach special teams or defense. The only possible exception is the O-line coach, but what is he supposed to do with 255 or 260 pound guys other than cut block?
5) This is all on Johnson if he doesn’t fix it and he should be the next to follow Groh if he doesn’t.
With that said, I don’t hate the option game like most detractors. However, there are two MAJOR problems with it that need fixing. The first is that it’s hard to recruit kids into. He better start selling the fact that it will put RBs into the NFL and your premiere receiver will also get there. The second problem is that he MUST come up with an effective pistol package or SOMETHING for 3rd downs and long yardage. This has killed us every year in one game or another.
As a Techie I vote NO BOWL GAME even if we are eligible for something other than the Orange. No one wants to go to El Paso, eat crappy tex-mex tacos, and watch Tech phone it in against USC (our probable opponent) and Lane Kiffin. Losing to UGA was bad enough. Losing to that jerk would be salt in the wound.
PeachFuzz
November 27th, 2012
5:41 pm
Georgia Tech getting a bid to a BCS bowl gives hope to every overweight, out-of-shape, third-string football wannabe out there in America.
PeachFuzz
November 27th, 2012
5:42 pm
This year, the ACC Championship is the equivalent of a “Participation Trophy” in rec league ball.
GTBob
November 27th, 2012
5:42 pm
GTBob – the offense is most definitely part of the problem. MTSU, Va Tech, BYU, and UGA all kept us off the scoreboard.
We averaged 15 points and 320 yards of offense against those teams and those were our bad games. We are 28th in the country in total offense. You seem to like to leave out the fact that we would have lost to Duke and NC without our offense and we wouldn’t have even been competitive against Miami or Clemson. Our offense is the only thing that kept us in most of our games this year.
Bobo
November 27th, 2012
5:44 pm
Mike, Stanford is a different animal than Tech because they run a pro set system that features tight ends prominently. They are also that good because they are one of the few PAC-12 teams that actually bother to play defense. From what I can tell, they’ve stockpiled ALL of the elite defensive players outside of Oregon on the West Coast. Recruiting in the Southeast is a war zone compared to there. Not making excuses for us (because we SHOULD be able to model ourselves after Stanford), but we have a lot of challenges recruiting against the SEC that Stanford doesn’t have. They also, unlike Tech, seem to recruit a lot of guys (Luck, Castro, Fleener, Skov) that seem incredibly bright and couldve gotten in to Stanford REGARDLESS of football. Shaw also seems like one of the smartest intellectual coaches around, on par with Leach or Saban for IQ. With that said, we really have no excuse here why we seem to prefer recruits with 950 SATs and 2.7 GPAs. Say what you want about ‘athleticism’, but brains are at least as important, if not more. Stanford does a great job of utterly confusing opposing teams and then cutting their legs out from under them. Even Oregon couldn’t figure it out in time. I’ve seen dumb players and I’ve seen smart guys and there’s a big reason that Peyton Manning is a star (and now Luck) and guys like Michael Vick are not.