2013 could be big for Tech, which could stand a big year
One day in the Sun brought much joy to the Yellow Jackets. (AP photo)
For Georgia Tech, many things happened en route to 7-7. The Yellow Jackets barely got bowl-eligible, and then they got bowl-ineligible by losing the ACC Championship game, and then the NCAA granted a waiver that allowed Tech to be invited back to the Sun Bowl, which is where it became the only team ever to beat the preseason No. 1 after losing at home to Middle Tennessee.
When you lose seven games, you can’t say you’ve had a good season. (Unless you’re Duke, which in football nobody aspires to be.) When you win seven games after starting 2-4, neither can you say the whole thing was a total loss. The Jackets took a season going wrong and wrestled it into something that seemed better than mediocrity, even though .500 is the definition of mediocrity.
The sense now is that better days are ahead, but that sensation is largely the result of beating USC in El Paso, and bowl results aren’t always indicative of future performance. (Example: Georgia Tech lost the 2008 Chick-fil-A Bowl by 35 points and went 11-3 in 2009.) The Jackets wanted badly to beat Southern Cal, which didn’t want to play.
Yes, Tech should be better in 2013 than in 2012. It loses three starters on offense and three on defense, and the absence of quarterback Tevin Washington clears the way for Vad Lee, of whom much is expected. The guess is that interim defensive coordinator Charles Kelly passed the audition with his work against Florida State and USC, and he has to be considered an upgrade over Al Groh, for whom nothing worked.
The schedule hasn’t been finalized, but it could be adventurous. Assuming the ACC’s rotation holds in its expansion to 14 teams, the Jackets will play host to Virginia Tech, Clemson and North Carolina. There’s a chance Florida State will play here, and there’s also a chance the Jackets could visit Clemson for a second year running. There will be trips to BYU and Miami, but it’s unclear how stout the Hurricanes will be once the NCAA gets done with them. Plus the Georgia game will be in Atlanta.
If Lee is as good as advertised and the defense is indeed better, the 2013 Jackets could win nine or 10 games. But here’s the sobering part: Tech hasn’t won that many games in a year since the bulk of Chan Gailey’s leftovers departed for the NFL in January 2010. In Paul Johnson’s first two seasons here, his teams were 20-7; they’ve since gone 21-19. Since Oct. 14, 2011, the Jackets are 9-12.
Johnson takes pains to note that his teams have at least tied for the best record in the Coastal Division three times in five seasons, but the Coastal has become the lesser half of a conference that still struggles for national credibility. Yes, the Jackets wound up representing the Coastal in the ACC Championship game, but that came in a year when Virginia Tech was awful by its standards and North Carolina was on probation and Miami chose to step aside.
Credit Johnson and his Jackets for being too stubborn to collapse, but Johnson’s pride has never been in doubt, and his stylized offense remains the best thing Tech has going for it. But the Institute will in the coming weeks make a hire that could have a greater effect on the football program than Johnson’s choice for defensive coordinator.
Dan Radakovich hired Johnson, but first the athletic director had to persuade himself that a run-based approach could win big in the 21st century. Then Johnson made the AD look smart by beating Georgia in Year 1 and winning the ACC in Year 2. Now Radakovich works at Clemson, which means Johnson will soon have a new boss.
Tech’s new AD might see underwhelming attendance as evidence that pitchouts don’t move the ticketing needle. The new AD might be more swayed by recruiting rankings. (At North Carolina State, Debbie Yow cited tepid signing classes as partial cause for Tom O’Brien’s dismissal.) The new AD might ask when/if this program will again be competitive against Georgia.
The nice part about beating USC was that it stirred, pun intended, a bit of a buzz around a program that hasn’t lately raised much ruckus. But that was one game, and an odd game at that. The new AD might, as new ADs do, look hard at a body of work.
Dave Braine hired Gailey as a coach and handed him a new five-year contract in November 2005, but it took less than two years for Radakovich, who succeeded Braine, to decide Chan wasn’t his man. Yes, Johnson has been better than Gailey, but maybe by not as much as you’d think. Through five seasons, Gailey was 37-27. Through five seasons, Johnson is 41-26.
This isn’t to suggest that Johnson could or should be fired. The belief here is that he’s a good coach, but it would behoove him to have a big 2013. Athletic directors find it easier to embrace a coach who’s holding a trophy.
By Mark Bradley
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274 comments Add your comment
Taxi Smith
January 3rd, 2013
3:11 pm
Yeah, they might win ten if they don’t have to face Middle Tennessee again…..
supersize...
January 3rd, 2013
4:12 pm
you are wrong on the 2008 rings. Fish Fry ordered them to commemorate beating UGA…here is the link Nerd. http://www.peachpundit.com/2008/12/30/tech-football-looking-to-commemorate-something-decide-on-a-ring-for-winning-one-game/
fatboyslim
January 3rd, 2013
4:35 pm
Iif you don’t know, we’re running the spread option now, not the old triple option. It is almost impossible to defend. We’ll win at least 10 games, may run the table and play in the ship. CPJ is a brilliant man and he’s taking us to the top. Get on board now and join the party. Vad Lee!!!
Old Gold64
January 3rd, 2013
6:23 pm
Tech football….what a joke now!
BiggDawgK
January 3rd, 2013
6:32 pm
How nice of MB to give the north avenue trade school a late Christmas gift with this fantasy.
Ho Hum
January 3rd, 2013
7:30 pm
supersize thanks for that link. I read the comments and doubled over laughing – tek was riding in high cotton – there was a “New Sheriff in Town” – tek was headed back to the glory days of the 40’s & 50’s LMFAO.
Messin with Sasquatch
January 3rd, 2013
9:34 pm
Trolling trolling trolling …get them doggies trolling… Rawhide….
Get a job dog trolls.
How they love to sniff the tech blog.
Paul in NH
January 3rd, 2013
9:34 pm
B
January 2nd, 2013
10:42 pm
Braindead Paul
Clemson 25 Lsu 24
Louisville 30 Fla 10
—
DA B – In case you missed it, Louisville is not yet in the ACC and NCSU (which is in the ACC) lost to Vandy. BTW – UL had a great win over Florida but the final was not 30-10. You are in for a surprise if you took the under.
Paul in NH
January 3rd, 2013
9:39 pm
headley lam
January 3rd, 2013
1:00 pm
Funny. Techs graduation rates are among the worst in the country.
—–
No surprise to see that headley is quoting unsourced, out of date information that is flat out wrong.
http://blogs.ajc.com/georgia-tech-sports/2012/12/25/tech-2008-signing-class-delivers-in-classroom/
mansup
January 3rd, 2013
11:20 pm
Yes, as was noted, the Coastal Division is the “lesser half” of the ACC. That’s sort of like the SEC East, right? Whoops. Every year, UGA would finish third or fourth in the SEC West, but, then again, that’s not important. By the way, what about the Florida effort in the Orange Bowl.
gtBarbJr
January 3rd, 2013
11:44 pm
We beat the preseason # team!!!!!!
Honey boy
January 4th, 2013
8:01 am
Wow …. Impressive…yawn…
Mark in ATL
January 4th, 2013
9:42 am
Seriously……you beat a really bad Southern Cal team that wasn’t in the game mentally…playing a back up QB on a windy day in El Paso and that’s a springboard for next yr? This team and program STINK. The level of players until CPJ has fallen off….he hasn’t beaten GA since Chan’s players started leaving the program.
JM
January 4th, 2013
10:29 am
Go Jackets.
thankful for the win. I am glad the players fought hard to win that last game.
USC has excellent talent. But Tennessee fans will agree that their coach lacks.
Regardless, I was glad to see the execution form the GT coaches and players.
JM
January 4th, 2013
10:31 am
Also, USC beat several Pac12 teams this year that were better than average, they are hard to understand.
Alabama is not now, nor has it ever been a comp for UGA
January 4th, 2013
10:40 am
UGA does not covet the MNC Waterford trophy like the U of Alabama OR LSU. UGA is a high quality university and seeks the lofty heights of schools like Wisconsin, Stanford in overall NCAA competition.
Football for UGA IS a huge money cow, for sure BUT we do not seek the MNC title. IF UGA does win the SEC in the next two years, having already achieved the EAST title in 2011, 2012 and possibly in 2013 or 2014 AND in the EC once in this specific era, then that is as good as UT can be for UGA.
Highly Respected Southern Troll
January 4th, 2013
10:45 am
Big year for Tech in 2013? Not with Paul Johnson at the helm. That ship sailed with Gailey’s NFL players and isn’t coming back into port.
The big question concerns how much longer Georgia Tech will have to put-up with this nightmare.
ahsoisee
January 4th, 2013
11:29 am
Personally, I believe we have outstanding athletes at all positions. A new coach would not have a lack of talented skilled athletes. We have some outstanding receivers who are fast enough, tall, and agile. The problem with the present arrangement of passing is as old as football. You excel in the areas that you practice and use every day. If Tech went to a passing game, the receivers would become more adapted to it. If you practice something every day and use it in the game as one of your main weapons, you naturally become better and better at using that weapon. We are in great shape with the receivers if we were to go to the passing game.
We also have a plethora of running backs with a good mixture of speed and agility. We have some backs who have good size, and others who have great speed. The right coach can use all of this to open up a run and shoot offense.
We presently have one of the best and deepest group of offensive linemen who have been schooled in blocking for the running attack. No real need for improvement in this area. Pass blocking becomes more natural the more we pass, so this area will improve drastically as we pass more.
We have some excellent defensive linemen if we do not try to play a three man front. If we play a four man front and occasionally switch to a five man front. Our linemen are big enough and agile enough if the defensive coordinator plays them in an attacking scheme rather than a passive scheme where they try to let the linebackers make all the tackles. I can thing of no greater detriment to a lineman than to make him a dummy to shed offensive linemen so the linebackers can make all the tackles.
Let the linemen shoot the gaps, get in the backfield and stop the runners before they can get up a head of steam. Let the linemen stop the runners at the point of attack and also become known for their ability as tacklers and attackers. We have a great many defensive linemen who can play in this type of scheme.
There is no doubt that we have a great group of defensive backs.
So, a new coach with a new open style of offense would not need to recruit for his first year, he will have plenty of manpower if he uses it appropriately. He would only need to recruit for future years just as any coach does.
Our only disadvantage would be a lack of quarterbacks available for the run and shoot. However, we already have one (Vad Lee) who would be very good in that system. We probably have several who would be good as a fill-in for Lee as a wildcat option. I am sure there are athletes playing other positions who were once quarterbacks that could learn the run and shoot. Maybe they will not be the quality of Lee, but would be sufficient.
We have excellent material. All we need is a coach who can get the best out of them.
Tech b4 "79 Dawgs since then
January 5th, 2013
1:01 am
Nail on the head ,Mark!..Time for Pawl to win ACC Title’s!
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Vad the Impaler
January 7th, 2013
2:47 pm
Alumni and Fans buy tickets and go to games, and anyone at the games this year watched as once again Paul’s offense rolled and defense blew. Defense has been bad since he got there, despite some great talent under Womack, and the majority of the high recruits under Groh. So you focus on the problem, it’s not Johnson’s system, its his two defensive coordinators. As long as he is giving a coastal trophey every 2-3 years he will have the opportunity from alumni and fans to keep trying to get the right defensive mind in there. The rest of you chumps including media can stop talking about Paul cause most fans and Alumni are still behind him.
Jstarr
January 7th, 2013
7:30 pm
Gailey had Reggie Ball and Johnson had Tevin Washington. Both qbacks were inconsistent with good and bad games.
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Dacusville Bill
January 8th, 2013
11:41 am
274th?