Coach Paul Johnson got a bitter taste of what it is to be apart of the Georgia Tech family on Saturday, December 28. He got to see a 6-5 mediocre at best UGA team come into the Flats and beat Tech in Atlanta for the fifth consecutive time. 30-24 the final score.

Johnson also got to see Mark Richt continue his winning ways against the Jackets. His Bulldog teams are 8-1 against Tech.

Johnson will now get to see what it is to deal with a loss to the team from Athens for a whole year. Even if Tech does beat Clemson for the ACC and win the Orange Bowl, Georgia fans will still be able to say, “we beat the ACC’s best.” Unlike the other teams the Jackets face, this menace is only a drive away.

The UGA bandwagon will runneth over again. Most of these individuals will be less than intelligent. Most of them will be ignorant as to what first down is. Most will see red and black and say, “gee, I like those colors.” They will then subsequently bark at the moon like the morons they are.

Meanwhile, Coach Johnson will keep his eyes on the prize. The prize that really matters. The only prize that matters. The Crystal Football.

Beating UGA and winning the National Title are of course not mutually exclusive. However, after the loss to Miami, Tech’s chances were truly null and void. The Hurricanes also softened the blow of this loss. Imagine an undefeated Tech team losing at home to UGA. Talk about nightmares.

For the first time in a while, Tech will be a hunted team in 2010 thanks to their surprising 2008 and 2009 seasons. If certain players come back, and a certain defensive coordinator (Dave Wommack) gets a serious evaluation (i.e. FIRED!), Tech will be in the Top 10 at the start of next year.

A week before the game, Johnson tried to keep everything in perspective.

“I don’t want to leave the wrong impression because I do realize that the game is important and I know for a lot of our fans that this is the game they want to win,” Johnson said. “[But] we want to get to the point where our program is bigger than one game. We want to win the game, but we want to do some other things that just beating Georgia won’t do for you.”

After the game he had words of defeat and deflation.

“Our No. 1 goal was to try to win the ACC,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said. “But we’re really disappointed. We all understood it was a big game. We all wanted to win the game.”

Unlike in 2006 when UGA beat Tech yet again, and the Jackets failed to win the ACC or their bowl game, this feels a little more optimistic. This loss hurts on a pride level. It doesn’t hurt the big picture unless the Jackets take it with them to Tampa. The team from Clemson is also licking wounds from an intrastate loss.

Tech seasons can no longer be measured by UGA wins or losses. UGA made their season with the victory Saturday. UGA was also a loss from being a .500 team. Richt saved his job.

The days of Gailey are over. This Tech team has 10 wins. A Coastal Division Championship. A chance at an ACC crown and an Orange Bowl birth. So what if the Governor’s Trophy goes back to the land of drunks and incompetence.

Tech will be back on the field next Saturday. UGA will be savoring a Tech win and crossing their fingers and toes for a Chick-Fil-A Bowl birth.

Yeah, I’d say the Jackets are still better.