The Jackets have quite a few negative traits that preseason prognosticators tend to focus on when they give their best guess.  Tech loses a 1000+ yard rusher, the #1 receiver in the ACC, first round defensive end, and an All-ACC safety. The “experts” will question, “How do you replace that much talent to repeat as Champs?”  The answer is you don’t, but perhaps that’s the wrong question to begin with. It’s presumes, too heavily in my opinion, that wins are based on the accomplishments of a small group of players.  That’s far too simple, especially at Tech.

For the first time in memory I’m very comfortable where Tech is as a football program.  I’m not that overly concerned about the losses.  In fact the only concern for me in personnel is replacing Thomas.  But then again there is some real talent there (Stephen Hill) and I believe the departure opens up other opportunities in the passing game rather than throwing up a prayer and relying on Thomas to run under it.  And let’s face it, that was the extent of the passing game last year.  That must change, and I’m confident it will by sheer necessity.  And that is where my confidence goes back to the coaching staff and of course Paul Johnson.

You see, I believe. I believe that Coach Johnson isn’t an idiot. I believe he can adjust, tweak, and then expose his opponents.  In other words, the need to efficiently pass the ball will force Johnson to work and find the pieces to make it happen.  It may not be orthodoxy, but it will work because it has to.  The other losses in personnel are very replaceable.  Honestly, the B-back is going to rush for 1000+ yards a season at Tech, and if he doesn’t then Tech will lose.  History shows it isn’t so much the person running the ball as it is the system.  Furthermore, running backs are highly overrated in any offense.  Not to take anything away from The Diesel, he was great and made great plays, but a good offensive line will give a lot of average backs a good amount of press.  Tech has plenty of viable options, pun intended, for running backs in 2010.  They will find one, probably The Predator Allen, who can get the job done.  The offensive line should be better still, and that’s a good thing. Allen will rush for 1000+, and perhaps Nesbitt and an A-Back will come close as well.  The day will come when Tech has three 1000 yard rushers.  This could be that year.

The defensive losses are a non-issue.  Granted, D.Morgan was a beast and won the ACC championship for us in the end.  But in reality the defense can’t really be worse.  The fact that Morgan had to win the game for us is a testament to just how bad things had gotten on defense.  The loss of BallHawk Burnett actually opens the door for moving Can’t Cover My Shadow (name protected) to a position where he too can ball hawk, which proved his strong suit.  And yes, Cooper is back from injury as well as the 2008 ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, Kyle Jackson (though I haven’t heard much on these fronts).   Furthermore, the addition of Al Groh at Defensive Coordinator more than makes up for any losses.

So, no the question isn’t so much talent, but has it ever really been at Tech? Talent is often overstated and overrated, look no further than UGA. Does anyone historically do less with talent? No, the more relevant question for repeating is how Tech will improve and at what speed.  The good news is that Tech has plenty to improve upon and Coach Johnson knows it.  I think we all know he isn’t satisfied with one ACC Championship. As great as it is, it came with much room for improvement.  Johnson’s a perfectionist, firing Dave Wommack and hiring Al Groh sent a clear message that the status quo, that even winning ACC Championships, while great, isn’t the final goal. Winning every game is.  I’m confident Tech will improve in many of those areas that were so obvious while also sustaining its success in other areas.  Will it be enough to hold off the rest of the ACC Coastal who may improve as well?  We will start to find out in 50 days.

Where do you put the odds of coasting in the ACC?

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,

It’s easy to see how the Jackets lost. They were undersized and over matched at the line of scrimmage. The play of defensive end Adrian Clayborn was enough to shut Tech down in the first half. The Jackets offense over thought the situation with a chance to take the lead late in the second half. A situation that saw Josh Nesbitt throw an interception that ate time off the clock, and a near safety on an 11 yard loss by running back Jonathan Dwyer.

That pretty much summed up the offensive effort for Tech. Save for one drive, they really did next to nothing against Iowa’s 11th ranked defense. As the old adage goes, defense wins championships…er…blah blah.

This bowl game had deja vu written all over it. It was reminiscent of the LSU loss in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl a year ago. It now seems that there is a way to stop Tech’s offense. Have a good defense and a month to prepare. That may also be another reason why Johnson is five games under in the post season, all Navy comments aside.

“Last year we just self-destructed,” Johnson said. “We had possessions [this game]. We just couldn’t get anything going.”

Nesbitt’s performance was quite awful, as his passes came off too high and too hot, meaning his footwork wasn’t there. This is of course was due to shoddy protection. It also doesn’t help when your receivers drop passes (Damaryius Thomas), or slip on wide open opportunities (Embry Peeples). All in all, the passing game for Tech hasn’t evolved, leading to a run reliant offense. That won’t work on top tear defenses with advantages in strength, speed and preparation.

There was talk of the Jackets eyeing a National Title game next year in Phoenix this past week. Fact of the matter is, unless Tech goes undefeated and becomes accurate with 10 plus passing plays per game, the Jackets aren’t going to win a National Championship.

Alabama would have their way with them. So would Texas. The lines have to get bigger and meaner. The routes have to be cleaner. The passes have to be accurate. The catches have to be made. Otherwise, it’ll be more of the same. Nesbitt hung out to dry.

Now Tech will have to wait and see who heads to the NFL. It’s difficult to see any offensive players leaving after tonight’s performance. It’s hard to see Derrick Morgan wanting to stick around as the only legitimate defensive lineman as well.

Tech will probably finish in the Top 20, and open next season near the Top 10. With a tougher schedule, Tech might get more attention, but unless they win it’s null and void.

On a night where they could have taken a step forward, they tread water in 40 degree Miami.

An ACC Championship and a 10 plus win season is something to hang a helmet on, but if this team wants to be elite the hunger has to burn more with this loss.

Until then, the Jackets will spin tires on a rusty Wreck.

1 : warrior, fighter
2 : a militant advocate or defender
3 : one that does battle for another’s rights or honor
4 : a winner of first prize or first place in competition; also : one who shows marked superiority

Merriam-Websters defines a champion as a warrior. A fighter.

On Saturday, December 5, Georgia Tech was just that.

For one fleeting moment in history, the Yellow Jackets ended the season defining themselves as something more than a mediocre program. It defined itself as a champion.

Since the glory days of Bobby Dodd, Tech’s celebrations have been few and far between. This of course is one of the main reasons the Georgia game is magnified. For most Jacket fans, that’s the National Championship game. Now, things have drastically changed. Paul Johnson has seen to that.

Try as the Tigers might, Clemson was unable to beat Tech for the second time this season. That’s right, the second time. Clemson and Georgia Tech made it meeting number 75 on Saturday. It was the first time the two teams had met twice in a single season. The Jackets have now beaten Clemson in four consecutive match ups.

Even with the warrior C.J. Spiller (turf toe and all) and his record shattering performance with over 200 yards rushing and four touchdowns, Clemson still was unable to defeat the complete team that is Paul Johnson’s bunch.

Tech punched its ticket to the Orange Bowl by the final of 39-34.

It took the entire team to win this one. It took Josh Nesbitt’s leadership and resiliency, despite being stopped on a fourth down conversion late. It took Damarius Thomas’ long touchdown catch. It took Scott Blair’s insanely accurate leg for three field goals, two of which were beyond 45 yards. Despite not being able to stop Spiller, the Jackets defense held everyone else in check, and caused two costly interceptions. It was also a defensive play at the end by Derrick Morgan, who sacked Kyle Parker, that solidified the win. With time ticking away, it was the X-Factor, Jonathan Dwyer who ran it in for the final score.

That final drive was like magic. With a little over six minutes left, Tech drove down the field. 85 yards. Five minutes. A touchdown. A lead. A victory. A championship. A season defined.

Clemson wasn’t going to roll over and die. They gave the Jackets all they could handle. However, in the end, the better team won. For Clemson, the loss of Spiller to the NFL could be devastating. He single handedly almost won the ACC Championship.

For Johnson, this is only the beginning. This is something Tech faithful should be thankful for.

“Hopefully we’re building a program that’s going to be here for a while,”‘ Johnson would say. “[The national championship] is a goal, certainly.”

Now Tech has a match up in the Orange Bowl, its first BCS Bowl birth.

Merriam-Websters defines a champion as a winner of first prize or first place in competition, also one who shows marked superiority.

Tech proved they were the ACC’s best all season. Ironically, they’ll play in the only place Tech lost an ACC game all season.

Next stop: Miami.

The fact is that UGA doesn’t really matter this year.  Sure they are our rival, and they are fun to hate, but that’s where it ends.  They don’t play in our conference and they won’t be playing this championship weekend.  Sure they can soothe themselves with a win over Tech, but the memory of losing to Kentucky at home and securing a lock in a meaningless bowl will never vanish. Furthermore I’m confident Coach Johnson wanted to win and I wanted to win  for bragging rights or just for some peace and quiet. But, in the larger picture of success, beating UGA isn’t the end all be all, in fact it means nothing this year. An ACC championship and a BCS Bowl (something Tech has never accomplished) are within grasp.  Don’t get lost in the hype and the media’s obsession with telling us that all Tech cares about is beating Georgia. That simply isn’t true and until we Tech fans get more public about larger goals we are going to keep hearing the nonsense.  Are there some who feel that UGA is all that matters? Absolutely, but perhaps they are more of the variety of Tech fans like the caller, who surface every eighth year, get all their Tech news from the AJC and sports talk shows and then come to see Tech play UGA because Tech is favored.

The caller went on to whine and moan about how painful this loss was.  Are you kidding me? You’ve invested one night in eight years to come to a rivalry game and you call the loss painful? This sounds a lot like those Dawg fans we love to hate. You know, the ones whose investment in their beloved team is a $7 mesh hat from Wal-Mart.

Tech has beaten Georgia before, Tech will beat them again, they don’t really matter to Tech’s biggest goals of winning championships.  The last time I checked that is what really matters.

We Tech fans need to review “wants” and “likes”.   I LIKE to beat UGA, and I would LIKE to do it more often, but the reality is I WANT to beat Virginia Tech, Miami, UNC, Virginia, and Duke first.  When that happens we are guaranteed to add trophies larger than a Governor’s Cup.

Some fellow Tech fans need to grow up, stop acting like the little brother, ignore the hollow trash talking of the elder brother, and get your eyes and goals on bigger and better things than beating him up.  When that happens perhaps big brother won’t be so big and we will whip him just like all the others.

Losers only find comfort in beating their rival because that’s all they have to play for.  Let’s go beat Klimpson (truly a rival that matters) win the ACC and then the Orange Bowl. Let the Dawg have his day and find comfort in beating Tech, the taste of Oranges is so much better.