Ramblin' On

One of the maxims that Paul Johnson has stressed, since he arrived at Tech, has been that good teams don’t lose two games in a row.

(A maxim is defined as ‘a principle or rule of conduct’ for our vocabulary challenged, canine “visitors” here on the Tech blog.  Its not a magazine you find in Publix.)

The football team has managed to adher to this guideline the first two seasons under Johnson and the end result, up to this point, has been an ACC championship and a BCS bowl bid.

In 2008 the Jackets followed an early loss to the Hokies with a 38-7 beatdown of Mississippi State and late season losses to UVA and UNC with wins over Florida State and Miami.  A Peach Bowl bid resulted.

In 2009 the Jackets lost early to Miami but followed up with eight straight wins before falling to UGA.  They were able to pick themselves up after the UGA loss and defeat Clemson the following week to clinch the ACC title and an Orange Bowl bid.

Looking at the past two seasons, Coach Johnson’s logic …

Continue reading Applying Paul Johnson Logic to GT Basketball »

Any reader who is confused by my title should check out Tony Barnart’s AJC blog from January 11.

http://blogs.ajc.com/barnhart-college-football/2010/01/11/images-of-a-season-well-never-forget/

I debated writing a rebuttal, but this is a GT fan blog…and I’ve been chewing on it for a few weeks now.

And sometimes things just have to be said…

With all due respect, I think Tony really missed the boat on the 2009 season.  This is especially the case when you consider the hometown Yellow Jackets.  This wasn’t just another winning season for Georgia Tech…it was a conference championship, BCS bowl season that included a ton of high drama and compelling storylines!  But nothing rated a mention on his 2009 memory lane blog post…

Not that I would expect all or most of the following suggestions to make someone’s list, but at least one might have let us GT fans know that Tony was paying attention to something other than Bama, Florida, or the SEC in general.  I mean…we’re in Atlanta …

Continue reading “Images” from the 2009 Season? »

I have some thoughts on the Al Groh hire which I’ll post up in another blog.  (I think its a great hire for a variety of reasons.)

UNC ramped up the pressure in the second half, outscoring the Jackets 43-31 and at one point completely erasing a nearly 20 point lead to take control with under two minutes left.

But the Jacket dug deep and answered the challenge, hitting free throws and playing just enough defense (without fouling) to regain the advantage and a 73-71 win.

At times, the Jackets seemed to lose focus on offense with Shumpert or Peacock trying to play 1-on-1 basketball to get points.  Combined with UNC’s Will Graves suddenly finding his three point range, it very nearly cost the Jackets their first win at UNC since…oh…about 1996.

In the end, Shumpert’s 30 points and 6 assists combined with Lawal’s double double (12 points, 12 rebounds) to secure a rare gut check win for the Jackets.

If the Jackets can continue to play like they did today, this team can be fun to …

Continue reading Jackets Blow Lead, Hold On To Beat UNC 73-71 »

Today’s game against Duke was the first time I’ve sat down and watched a complete hoops game this season.

It seems like I picked a good time to start eh?  The Jackets defeated the hated Dookies 71-67.

You might ask me…”How does a team lose to UGA on Tuesday night and beat Duke on Saturday afternoon?”

Well…my response at this point in the season would be, “Coaching…or lack of it.”

Any team that is skilled enough to beat Duke is skilled enough to beat a UGA team that may not even have a full roster of scholarship players.

So what happened against Duke?

Its simple…defensive hustle for 40 minutes and getting to the free throw line enough times to hit 22 of 28 attempts.

Duke was held to 6 of 28 behind the arc and were out rebounded 38 to 32.  The Jackets then nailed all their free throws down the stretch to hold onto a slim lead.

The final score tilted the Jackets way in spite of a late turnover that resulted from the fact that the Jackets had used up all their timeouts earlier …

Continue reading Defense & Free Throws Defeat Duke »

Fourth Quarter

This one is on the offense and on Paul Johnson for waiting until halftime to make any adjustments.

The defense played their hearts out in the second and third quarters, but buckled late in the fourth because the offense couldn’t stay on the field in the fourth.

The game was always within reach, until the very end…the offense just couldn’t reach out and take it.

And yes…kudos to the Iowa defense…its was as good as advertised.

Third Quarter

Johnson has made some obvious changes offensively and we are moving the ball finally.  The missed FG may hurt, but at least we are showing signs of life.

Defense played well again.  Only surrendered three points in the past two quarters.  If they can continue to gut it out, we have a chance to make this very interesting at the end…

Penalties are killing us though.  Gotta cut those out.

Half Time

The defense is actually keeping the Jackets in this game at this point.  To Wommack’s credit, the D locked down in the second …

Continue reading Orange Bowl Thoughts: Blame it on the O »

While driving around today, I heard the local radio pundits talking about the biggest stories, highs, and lows of the past decade in sports.

Of course, most of their comments were about UGA accomplishments.

The best thing about having this blog is the fact that I don’t have to call those guys and sit on hold.

So here goes…the biggest and best highlights that jump immediately to mind from the past 10 years of GT football…

2000 @ Clemson – George Godsey to Kerry Watkins with 7 seconds left, to beat a Clemson team that was in the national title hunt.  Tech fans still call this one “The Catch”.

2000 @ UGA – Godsey and Darryl Smith lead Tech to a 27-15 win, making it Three In A Row.  I still have my “Tech Fans for Donnan” shirt.  This was the first (and last) time my wife went to a game in Athens.

2003 vs Auburn – The first game at newly renovated Bobby Dodd Stadium saw a freshman (Reggie Ball) lead the Jackets to a 17-3 win over Auburn.  This ticket stub is framed and hanging …

Continue reading Looking back on a decade of GT football… »

Greetings from sunny Tampa.  Just spent a few days at Disney with the kids and in-laws.  While chilly, it wasn’t nearly as cold as back in Atlanta.

The blog may be slow until we get closer to the bowl game.  There just isn’t much to write about since Coach Hewitt and the hoops team still haven’t seemed to turn the corner.  The overtime loss to the Noles recently was tough to take, since I’m in the midst of all my FSU in-laws.  Luckily for me, they don’t really pay attention to basketball.

But then…I can’t say too much.  I’ve pretty much lost interest in hoops as well.  Its a sad commentary from a person who used to actually have season tickets and lived and died with this team through the 2004 NCAA run.  My oldest daughter was born right at the beginning of that year’s tourney and I spent all those games holding her in my lap while rubbing her head for good luck.

I haven’t watched a single minute of GT hoops this season…and I don’t miss it.  That’s sad.  I chalk it …

Continue reading Happy Holidays Tech Fans »

I’m watching Army vs Navy and I’m pulling for the guys from West Point.  I know Coach Johnson came to us from Navy, but I have to pull for Army due to family connections now.

All in all, its fun to watch a couple of teams run the triple option against each other.  Unfortunately its looking like Army is running out of steam.  The Middies are pulling ahead now after trailing Army for most of the game.  Ricky Dobbs just set the NCAA quarterback rushing TD record.  That’s pretty impressive.

Quick thoughts on a few things…

The Heisman Trophy

I think Suh and Gerhart are obviously the two best players in the country.  They should lead the voting if the people casting ballots stick to the spirit of the award and don’t let it turn into the popularity contest that has tarnished the award over the past 5-10 years.

Lets look at a snippet of the Mission Statement on the Heisman Trophy website…

The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player …

Continue reading Idle Ramblings While Watching Army / Navy »

Well fellow Tech fans…we’re Orange Bowl bound!

The Jackets prevailed in a tough, hard fought game against the Tigers tonight.

It was a game typical of many of our past experiences playing Clemson. These things always come down to the end…its rarely an easy win for either team.   Both teams went down swinging.   No lack of effort on either sideline.

Scott Blair and Josh Nesbitt were the heroes for the Jackets tonight, but the real star was CJ Spiller in a losing effort.

Spiller cranked out 301 all purpose yards against a defense that quite honestly stunk it up for most of the game.  (But that’s a topic for another blog.)

Right now…lets just bask in the glow of the ACC Title, which was the team’s #1 goal all season long.

This was a program boosting victory tonight…and a signal that with a few improvements (on defense) the Jackets are more than capable of playing for all the marbles under Paul Johnson’s leadership.

Go Jackets!

2009 ACC …

Continue reading 2009 ACC Conference Champions! »

ACC Title Game is the Biggest of the Season

Make no mistake GT fans…the #1 goal of the team this season is the win the ACC title game.

A win there would propel the Jackets into their first BCS bowl game and their first major bowl since  the Citrus when we secured a share of the 1990 National Title.   A win would give us a chance to finish the season with a BCS win that would propel us to a potential Top 5 finish as the owners of a 12-2 record.

A win in the next two games would be a national statement heard well beyond Georgia’s state borders.

Let the UGA fans bark and chase their tails all they want.  They have no impact on our chances for a conference title and Orange Bowl bid.  They’re simply not relevant now that our game with them is behind us.  We control our own destiny and path…not UGA.

As Paul Johnson has said more than once since he arrived on campus, “Good teams don’t lose two games in a row.”  We have the chance to prove that tomorrow.

Speaking of Paul …

Continue reading Biggest Game of the Year Coming Up! »