Get Defensive

There is still lots of work to do to get Al Groh’s 3-4 defense solid enough for conference play. The Jackets play exactly NO ACC teams that are starting new quarterbacks although Clemson, Virginia and Virginia Tech will hand the reins to starters with very limited experience. The problem is Tech plays all of them in the second half of the season. An exciting prospect on defense is the emergence of younger players. Isaiah Johnson at safety delivered the hit of the night! All positions on the team this year are open for substitution I think the defense will need time to congeal but hungry players ready to prove themselves and shake off the past will be present on both sides of the ball.

Outlook: Good

The Jackets head to Floyd Stadium to take on Middle Tennessee State on Saturday. Even without another three passing touchdown performance by Washington the Jackets should handle the Blue Raiders with little difficulty. MTSU is coming off a three point loss to Purdue. This says more about the Boilermakers than the Blue Raiders as Purdue had to block a field goal as time expired to avoid overtime. The 3-4 defense will be pressed again as MTSU will have the 14th ranked passing attack waiting to shred up the defense. QB Logan Kilgore threw for 330 yards and two touchdowns in the loss and Malcolm Beyah lead the receivers with 89 yards (22.3. per catch) and a touchdown. The running game should be no problem the Jackets play well against the rush and MTSU managed just 130 yards on the ground and the leading rusher accounted for only 65 of those yards. The 2-0 mark should be easily achieved this week with a proven ground game the Jackets could cruise 28-10. With another balanced air attack the score could balloon to 42-10. Here’s hoping.

Nice Threads

It was a great week to be a Jacket because the team looked great on the field and also just looked great in general. I have been critical of the uniform selections by the team in the past but the gold letters remind me of the Joe Hamilton days. Gone is the flat mustard gold ( a valid attempt at the wreck gold which is what the team should embrace) and back to the shimmering old gold and white. My enthusiasm for the new unis could be attributed to the utter garbage that was on display this weekend. If the Jackets were the good, Maryland was the bad and certainly Georgia was the ugly.

The Return

The 2010 season was the first since 1996 that I personally did not attend a game. Watching your team struggle from the other side of the country mixed with a poor post-season performance and even worse off-season made for an extra long hiatus. I have punched a ticket for the motherland and will be in attendance for the ACC opener against UNC on September 24th. What’s the good word?

III,

The offense will enter plug-and-play mode for the first time in the Johnson era. The new round of a-backs and b-backs should fall into place like a carefully designed puzzle, one of the many bonuses sold to Tech fans about coach Johnson’s option offense. The problem will be the absence of a deep threat wide receiver. The option needs to have the ability to stretch the field when the defense starts to creep up to be effective. The threat also needs to actually exist to keep the defense honest, simply lining up a body to go deep will only work so many times. With Orwin Smith beginning to play more of a role in the backfield the assignment falls on Stephen Hill. The biggest hurdle this season on the offensive side of the ball is the health and well being of Josh Nesbitt and the security of the football. The Josh-Nes monster is the captain of the football team. He plays harder and is more of a leader than perhaps anyone on the team. He inspires great football when he is on the field and his experience is something the Jackets are not prepared to replace.

The team cannot fumble the football. Ever. Especially in November.

The schedule appears to be a a favorable one for a team with mixed expectations. Outside of a trip to Chapel Hill in week three, to play a UNC team that will undoubtedly still be dealing with distractions surrounding multiple NCAA investigations and in my forecast still feeling the thumping they will receive in the Dome at the hands of the LSU Tigers, the first two months of the season should be fairly routine for a team with this much returning talent. As I mentioned earlier the development of the defense early will be key to avoiding the grind-house month of November.

Season Forecast

S.C.S.U vs Georgia Tech – Win (Shaking the rust off might be sloppy for a quarter but the Jackets prevail)

Georgia Tech vs Kansas – Win (In a shoot-out in Lawrence, the Jackets defense gets its first true test but Kansas won’t answer the bell late)

Georgia Tech vs UNC – Win (Chapel Hill will be stunned after the romp in the Dome and the Jackets will avenge a 2008 loss)

N.C. State vs Georgia Tech – Win (If Wolfpack QB Russell Wilson finally steps up his game in line with his expectations this game could be tight)

Georgia Tech vs Wake Forest – Win (A rebuilding year for the Deacs)

Virginia vs Georgia Tech – Win (More of a rebuilding year for the Cavs)

M.T.S.U. vs Georgia Tech – Win (Directional Tennessee will be the rough game in the middle of the season but the Jackets hold on)

Georgia Tech vs Clemson – Win (The seasonal thermometer gets cranked up beginning with this classic, Jackets by three)

Georgia Tech vs Virginia Tech – Loss (The Jackets overcome the crowd and the stellar D only to have a fumble or flag cost them the game)

Miami vs Georgia Tech – Loss (The Coastal Division may still be on the line in this battle of tired, beat-up teams)

Duke vs Georgia Tech – Win (Duke will be better but not good enough)

Georgia Tech vs Georgia – Win (This game will depend on how well the season goes for both teams, the Dogs are set for a bumpy season again and would love to spoil the Jacket’s fun but a scrappy underachieving Tech squad could walk into Athens and rub their noses in the dirt. THWG.)

Prediction

Season: 10-2 (6-2) tied for 1st, lose tie breaker to VT

Gator Bowl: Georgia Tech vs Cincinnati – Win

III,

With that speculation aside, let’s focus on more important speculation. What does this mean for the Jackets? The Jackets seem unlikely to join or in that case be invited to the SEC, given the history of the school and the conference. A second notion is to dip into the Big East again with West Virginia and Cincinnati as prime candidates. This would be favorable since Syracuse was a candidate in 2004 along with BC, Virginia Tech and Miami, so the thoughts of a Big East – ACC mega-merger have been percolating for a few years. Another reason the Big East scenario looks more likely has to do with the SEC toying with the idea of raiding the ACC of Miami, FSU, Clemson, and Virginia Tech if it doesn’t get its way with the powers of the Big-12. Tech’s future opponents could then include West Virginia, Cincinnati, Pitt, and South Florida. Not to mention the possibility of Louisville, Syracuse and Rutgers.

The conference arms race in college football has its launch pad in South Bend, Indiana. All of the shuffling and realigning and speculation is a direct result of Notre Dame refusing to join a conference. If Notre Dame would have simply made the, what would seem like obvious, decision to join the Big-10, it would have solved several fringe issues with college football. 1) It would have given the Big-10, which actually has eleven teams, a twelfth member, making the conference eligible for a championship game. A fact that always comes up in the discussion of national title contenders and how much of a factor the thirteenth game of the season has for teams with a conference title game. 2) It would affiliate the school with a conference and put an end t0 individual contract negotiation. Part of the reason conference expansion has become a hot topic has to do with television rights and ratings in bigger markets. The Big-10 formed its own network, the SEC partnered with ESPN to provide its own network of programming last year and all of this was an attempt to achieve the level of proliferation Notre Dame receives with their contract with NBC. A Big East – ACC merger would bring in the coveted NYC market, the number one entertainment market in the nation. 3) It would have helped the case for finally getting a playoff system in D-1 college football. Notre Dame has an agreement with the NCAA and the BCS that gives them an automatic BCS bid if they win nine games in a season. The rules for BCS eligibility are winning a conference championship or being ranked in the top 12-15 (the last few spots have changed over the years) of the BCS poll, unless you’re Notre Dame. This has always caused a problem with proposed playoff situations because when a bracket style format is in place how could you legitimately award a spot in an eight team playoff to a team that didn’t play a championship game and had possibly a three-loss season?

Whether the tectonic plates of college football shift this season or not, several things will always remain the same no matter what initials are printed on the field.

Someone in the SEC will be overrated and then cry about not being “taken seriously.”

Notre Dame will under achieve.

Boise State will play one meaningful game.

and THWG.

III,

On the other hand, an exciting team can create an exciting fan base. Tech supporters welcomed Coach Paul Johnson with open arms. The man brought an intensity to the field and a passion for the game that in my lifetime was only seen in rare O’Leary tirades on the sideline. This man has created a swagger around the locker room and the practice field. Critiques of season ending bowl losses two years in a row aside, the man has beaten every rival, conference and the Mutts, broken decades old losing streaks and also that ACC Championship thing.

The fire has ignited in the locker room. Any Tech fan who follows the team on a level deeper than tuning in every saturday  (rare but hey, that’s why the JGF is here) is aware of ESPN ACC Blogger Heather Dinich’s lack of confidence year after year in the Jacket’s abilities. She has yet to pick Tech to win their division, so picking them to win the conference has been out of the question. She recently posted a Best case/Worse case scenario video in which she predicted that the defending ACC champions in their BEST SEASON SCENARIO would still fail to even make the ACC title game.

Someone noticed. Someone stepped up and said “not so fast my friend.” No, it was not Lee ‘Sunshine Scooter’ Corso. It was Anthony ‘Predator’ Allen. Allen, the heir apparent to Jonathan Dwyer at B-Back, found Heather’s lack of faith disturbing. (Anyone? No? Ok.) He posted his response calling out Dinich to his twitter account where he laid out several reasons why the Jackets should be taken seriously this season. Dinich to her credit posted the video on her blog (Seen Here) along with a short response.

This is something for Tech fans to stand up and cheer. In an era where so many student-athletes are getting arrested or earning sanctions for their program by acting like morons or being irresponsible with new online media, this is a shining example of class. Anthony Allen has produced a pride welling, chest pounding video that shows confidence in his teammates, a confidence in himself and also for the coaching staff. He accomplished this without slamming anyone with derision or having to resort to expletive-laced smack talk. It is refreshing to see Yellow Jacket players believing in themselves. A Georgia Tech team with true confidence has long been a dream of mine. It seems Paul Johnson has made bee-lievers out of more than just fans, but his starting running back and quarterback seem to have the same passion and enthusiasm. A Tech team with the confidence that they are more than a one hit wonder and have every right to be mentioned in the BCS conversation for a second year in a row is a Tech team that is very, very, dangerous.

III,

George O’ Leary, the man who brought Tech out of the dark ages of a single-win 1994 season, left to pursue greener pastures in 2001. O’ Leary led the Jackets to the 2000 Peach Bowl and the 2001 Seattle Bowl.

Chan Gailey, the offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins, was hired to bring a structured Pro-Style offense to the Flats in hopes of bringing top talent and victories to a once dominant institution. The talent came but questionable management and lack of leadership led to under achievement. The seven win seasons would have been a welcome sight in the floundering years following the National Championship of 1990 but Tech had enjoyed eight, nine and ten win seasons under O’ Leary and also appeared in two Gator Bowls. Gailey earned a trip to the team’s first ACC championship game in Jacksonville Florida but the loss was the second of three straight to end the season and Gailey failed to build upon that success the following year. Other than the 2007 Gator bowl, the Yellow Jackets under Chan Gailey played in the dregs of the bowl system. Chan Gailey coached the Jackets in their last bowl victory, a 51 – 14 trouncing of Syracuse in the Champs Sports Bowl.

Paul Johnson was no stranger to the state of Georgia. He won two D-IAA National Titles at Georgia Southern as an offensive coordinator and two more as the head coach. After tenures in Hawaii and the Naval Academy, where he ended the Mid-Shipman’s 43 year losing streak to Notre Dame, “Coach” Johnson was hired to install his ground-based, spread-option offense and bring fire and passion back to what had become a mellowing Bobby Dodd Stadium. In his first two seasons he went 9-4 and 11-3 respectively while leaving the idea that this would be a “boring” offense in the dust. He followed a nine win season in which the Jackets ended a seven year losing streak to the hated Bulldogs, with an eleven win season where the Jackets won their first outright ACC championship since 1990. The Ramblin’ Wreck also received their first trip to the BCS and their first Orange Bowl bid since 1967.

The 2000′s had its share of games and faces and here are my favorites from the last ten years.

Best Game:

Oct. 28th 2000 Georgia Tech 31 – #4 Clemson 28 (O’Leary)

Best Player: Tie

Greg Gathers (O’Leary) A shortened career will always cloud what might have been a very bright future.

Calvin Johnson (Gailey)

Frustrating Moment:

Reggie Ball 2003 – 2006  (Gailey)

Breakthrough Moment:

Nov. 1st 2008 Georgia Tech 31 – FSU 28 First victory over the Seminoles in the ACC.

The Numbers:

81 – 48 – 0 (.642)

National Titles – 0

Conference Titles – 1

Consensus All-Americans – 5

(Chris Brown OT, 2000: Calvin Johnson WR, 2005,2006: Durant Brooks P, 2007: Michael Johnson DE, 2008: Derrick Morgan DE, 2009)

III,

I Bee-lieve in Paul Johnson.

I Bee-lieve the Jackets are not a fluke.

I Bee-lieve beating Georgia is the most important thing in the world.

I Bee-lieve I want another shot at the Hurricanes.

I Bee-lieve Josh Nesbitt’s TD in the fourth quarter of the Virginia Tech game is the play of the year.

I Bee-lieve Jonathan Dwyer will lead the league in rushing for a second consecutive year.

I Bee-lieve Demaryius Thomas leads the league in receiving yards and yards per game.

I Bee-lieve Josh Nesbitt leads the league in scoring.

I Bee-lieve Climpsun lost to Maryland (2-9)

I Bee-lieve I’m sick and tired of underachieving and letting the brass ring go by without taking it. I’ve had enough of hearing about how ACC teams can’t achieve great things and to be happy with our season no matter what. The season is not over yet and I won’t be happy until the three yards and a cloud of dust settles.

13-1 2009 ACC Champions and 2010 Orange Bowl Champions

Are you ready to Bee-lieve?

III,

This is the moment when these Jackets will define themselves for years to come. This team has the opportunity to accomplish more than 2009 team goals but something even more important. It can establish relevancy and hope on the flats. Paul Johnson and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are not in unfamiliar territory, historically speaking the Jackets have won conference championships and national titles before but recently the expectations for programs that fit the Jackets profile have dipped. The BCS and mass media have limited the rare air of serious national prominence to state universities with big budgets, television deals and some could even argue conference privilege. Success stories for schools outside this bubble are labeled “quaint” and “pat on the back” seasons but are rarely given the moniker “contenders.” Even the mighty Va. Tech Hokies when the number four team in the country were considered a long shot. Wins and losses meant a lot in the past now they are becoming more marginal by the season, now there are style points and quality opponents and most importantly it would seem, quality post season match-ups to consider.

The Jackets have the opportunity to have the first undefeated November since 2000. A year when the Jackets also enjoyed their last seven game winning streak, a streak the 2009 team can surpass, was also the year that a two loss team meant a trip to the peach bowl. Two losses and a January bowl game is a hope and a dream. Now almost a decade later and we’ve seen a two-loss national champion. Wins are still wins and if the Jackets win out in November, despite what happens above them in the polls they will play in a BCS bowl and more importantly they would have thrust themselves into the national spot light. With the confidence and tactical knowledge on this team growing exponentially and given the amount of talent in key positions only getting stronger the 2009 Jackets are in the favorable position of not only achieving success for themselves but also to help the 2010 Jackets achieve success. A strong showing in the final two ACC games (Wake on Nov. 7th and Duke on Nov. 14th) a regular season capper against UGA (Nov. 28th) and a defining performance in the ACC championship will allow the Jackets prime time coverage in at least the last BCS game before the title game. This is a chance for the Jackets to make next season even more exciting than this one (unbelievable?). Championships are won in November, for Paul Johnson and the Jackets the Championship maybe a year in the making but that road begins Saturday.

III,

The first month of college football is behind us and as Dylan would say, the times they are a changin’. The general theme of the first 30 days of college football was chaos. Rebuilding teams are looking like giants, (Iowa) teams carrying expectations are looking at the least not as solid as they seemed in August (Ole Miss) and at the most like this schedule may not have been such a good idea. (Florida State)

For the boys on the flats the early hype may be lost but the talent we thought we had might sill be there. The Miami Hurricanes in their haste to do away with four years of dominance by the Jackets may have fallen into the Clemson curse of 2006. That year the Yellow Jackets were 5-1 going into Death Valley to face a 6-1 Tiger team who had fumbled the game away in 2004 and failed to convert on fourth down in 2005. The Tigers pulled out all the stops and the purple uniforms for the ESPN cameras and crushed the Jackets 31-7. The loss would be the only ACC loss for the Jackets who went to the conference championship game against Wake Forest, another team the Tigers beat. The Tigers fell on their face losing to Virginia Tech the following Thursday and Maryland the following Saturday. The point being Clemson played that season to beat the Jackets and then lost focus, the same may be said of the Hurricanes when the story of this season has been written.

When the collective powers of the ACC met with Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech about expanding the conference and then proceeded to carve up the ACC in the most bizarre, money making configuration possible, the football side of the equation was always to have FSU and Miami in the title game. The plan has yet to bear any fruit other than a marquee match-up on Labor Day. This has led to the proposition that the media, the nation and the ACC need FSU and Miami to be good in order to be a top product on the sports market. Not only is this a slap in the face to Virginia Tech who has won three league titles in five years of conference play but other than the “Big East 3” the next newest member of the ACC is Florida State. Florida State does get credit for owning the conference since joining but Miami was a nobody on the college football landscape until 1984, hardly a traditional power. The Hurricanes dominated the 1980′s no doubt with five national titles and a 58 game home winning streak. They took the 90′s off and put up one more championship in 2001 before being hosed by Ohio state. Why would the savior of the ACC be a team whose prime happened in an age of excess and overt showmanship by a team that wasn’t even associated with the conference at the time? The answer of course is because the Hurricanes won, a ton, and at the end of the day everyone loves a winner, especially a team who knows how good they are and can sell the ACC brand. Putting the success of the ACC on a national scale on the shoulders of two teams in Florida is either a slap in the face of the charter members and teams who have carried the banner for a longer period of time, or a stunning survey of the ACC to date.

The sad fact is that the other schools have done nothing to take back their conference from FSU. Maryland and Wake Forest are the only two teams to win outright ACC titles since Florida State joined the conference other than the Hokies. With no team either willing or able to step up and take the reigns of the always wide-open ACC and make a national name for themselves it’s no wonder why the media turns to ratings savvy Miami. The truth is that the conference has not reached the stage where teams expect to go undefeated. No matter what they say confidence wise in the preseason banter you can tell by watching the ACC teams in action that the majority don’t know how to handle an undefeated season and usually find someway to meltdown to an underdog. The problem is not in losing it’s in the relief felt by not being under the spotlight. The ACC has had plenty of one-loss teams but few undefeated teams. Many believe that ONLY Virginia Tech has the chance to represent the conference in the BCS and yet half the teams are one-loss teams, including the Jackets, and no team other than arguably Alabama has looked like a top five team this season. This season is open for the taking and it looks probable that at least one if not both BCS championship contenders will have a mark in the loss column. Is it possible for an ACC team to win out and have a shot at more than the Orange Bowl? Maybe. They’ll have to have confidence, attitude, swagger and a killer instinct. Like that team from the 80’s, who were they again?

III,