Post Season Musings

[GlennW]

Mississippi State led the nation in red zone defense (0 points on 36% of possessions). GA Tech was 4-for-4 with 4 touchdowns in the Orange Bowl (28 points on 100% of possessions).

The GA Tech defense created a turnover on 26% of opponents' possessions this season.

GA Tech ended the season going three and out just 7.91% of offensive possessions. The next best was East Carolina at 13%.

GA Tech faced 6 teams in top 30 in Total Defense:
Clemson (1), Miami (15), Georgia (20), VA Tech (22), Pitt (28), Virginia (30)
GA Tech's record was 6-0.

 

[TheGridironGeek]

I have been a tech fan for 40 years. The enjoyment from this season has been, at worst, in the top 3 of all of the time I have been watching tech football. 1990 is at the top for obvious reasons. 2014 is at or better than 1998 and exceeds 2009. 1998 was great in that we ended up with a #9 ranking, beat UGA and then Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, but lost the conference to Florida State (pre ACCCG). While 2009 was great in that we won the ACC title in the CG against Clemson, we still lost to UGA and then to Iowa in the OB. 2014 was better than 2009. Beating UGA is still more important than winning the ACC.

This year had other positive happenings as well.

1. We won the damn Orange Bowl !!! Hasn't happened in my lifetime. In 1990 we won the NC. At that time, GT hadn't won the NC in my lifetime. Winning the OB isn't the NC, but it is really special.

2. The manner in which we played this year was magical. Never gave up in any game. The 'kick and the pick' is already folklore that is worthy of an additional chapter in Clean Old Fashion Hate. The dominant beauty of option football when executed at a high level with the right personnel. The death marches against Miami. The pick 6 that broke the back of Clemson. DJ White's incredible speed at Pitt. The total shutdown of Nick Chubb in the second half of the UGA game. JT blowing past all of that Miss State "SEC Speed" in the Orange bowl. There were more incredible moments in this season than I can recount.

3. The chemistry of this team. You may never see it again. I can't recall ever seeing this kind of chemistry in a GT football team in the past. That show of support for Snoddy should be posted on the wall in the locker room and remembered forever.

4. The team speed. This was noticeable early on, but still surprising. I actually went back and looked at replays of game segments from 1990, 1998 and 2009. This team is just faster than those teams, including 2009 with Dwyer and Thomas. Who knew?

5. The statistics. The team rushing numbers. JT getting 1,000 yards. (I never thought I'd see that again after Nesbitt did it. It only took 5 years.) Fewest punts in CFB. The highest FEI rating in the land. The 3rd down conversion percentages, etc. etc. etc.

6. We had a lot of injuries to key people and never seem to miss a beat. I think this has to do with #5, but going into a bowl game without Snoddy and Smelter had me concerned. Not to mention the guys we lost at the beginning of the season, which had our prospects for success looking grim. With guys going down, other guys started stepping up. I had no idea that we had that kind of depth. It is amazing when you think about it.

7. The foundation for the future. Not to quote a puppet, but as Yoda states about the future, it is difficult to see. Perhaps so, but it looks promising. Really promising. The talent is there. The coaching is there. If the chemistry can be maintained, if we avoid key injuries, then wow.

8. The total collapse of the SEC (myth). As Gore Vidal said, "it is not enough that I succeed, my enemies must also fail."

The 0-4 SEC East record against the ACC, followed by the 2-5 record in bowl games by the SEC West. In short, the alleged best conference in football sucked when it came down to playing the power teams from other conferences. Auburn not withstanding, the SEC is Alabama. Take away Cam Newton and 2 divine plays in 2013 and Auburn's program is nowhere near the top 10. Florida is in disarray - they are now happy to beat East Carolina in the whogivesacrap bowl. UT has been in disarray for years. LSU is down. TAM without Johnny Football is middle of the pack. Missouri is the premier team in the East and there isn't a coach on the planet who does 'less with more' than Mark Richt. Despite all of this, the talking heads on Atlanta sports radio and ESPN wanted at least 2 teams and as many as 4 teams from the SEC in the playoff. The preseason narrative from these clowns next year should be comical.

9. The CFB playoff format. (Which also helped demolish the myth of the SEC.) It makes one wonder if the SEC would have won all of those NCs had we had a playoff format during that period. Without a playoff this year, it would have probably been FSU and Alabama in the NC game. The playoff changes it all. No doubt in my mind that Auburn would have never made it to the NC game last year if they had to run the gauntlet outside the SEC.

To those of you who are younger than I, which probably is most of you, I say 'enjoy this'. In my experience, seasons like 2014 don't come around very often. I hope 2014 is a prelude to the future for GT, but until I see it as so, I am banking this one for years to come.

1. I don't get as caught up in the NC as some people. You could take the 5 or 10 best teams and any could win a tournament for the NC given the right circumstances. I think success is being a consistent contender and beating your rivals.

2. Don't forget the GaSo comeback. 3 years from now, they might be considered the new Boise State and nobody will qualify beating them with "by how many points?"

4. Easier to look fast when you win the LOS

5. 3rd down conversions and surgical passing game. Sure put that myth to rest didn't it?

6. I was thinking about that reading the Clemson message boards. "If we don't lose our QB it's a different game." Yeah, but injuries happen to every team. If Justin Thomas went down and we lost to them, they wouldn't feel sorry for GT or think twice about it. "Well that's what happens when you run that 1920s offense, har har."

7. Defense is the key going forward. If you look at Flexbone teams that have a good coach and stick with it, offense is never the problem. Its defense and special teams. I read somewhere that Ted Roof asked for a rider in his contract that the starting 11 on offense have to give his defense some looks from a traditional shotgun offense during practice. What a quiet, brilliant adjustment that is already paying dividends.

8. Didn't Attila the Hun say that first?

9. Can't hate on Auburn. I don't think it's a total myth that a totally new concept takes a while for opponents to get used to, so yes they had a special advantage running the Wing-T for the first season, but they'll be back. I respect the Tigers more than anyone else in the SEC from a coaching perspective.

 

[GT Man]

Not to quote a puppet, but as Yoda states about the future, it is difficult to see.

This is a Tech forum. Yoda quotes are permitted and even encouraged.

 

[GT Man]

As a younger Tech fan, I haven't experienced as much as you older folks but I'm still blown away at this season!
BTW, kudos to all you older GT fans. You guys have been there through the good and bad times and decades of GT teams owe you a big thanks!

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

I hope we can recreate this team chemistry again. It has been special.

I hope so, too. But in reality, it doesn't matter. The 2014 team and season does not rely on next year. They stand on their own merit, on their own prodigious accomplishments. The list of heroes is long. There are dozens of Yellow Jackets off this team that I hope will stay close to the program long after they graduate. I've rewatched the Orange Bowl a couple of times. It was a powerful performance. One thing that caught my eye and maybe some of you saw it, too. A kid that has been on the business end of several public "scoldings" by the coach, Errin Joe, right in the middle of the planning for the Gatorade dousing of Paul Johnson. Maybe I'm wrong, but that to me was a big statement of how these young men feel about the coach.

 

[Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau]

Seems like only us older guys have the perspective (or perhaps wisdom) of time. Had Golden not forced that fumble against Southern early in the season, the entire 2014 narrative would have changed. As an old mentor once told me, you have to treat every play as if it can mean the game, because it can. I have since learned that not only can one play mean the difference in a game, one play can mean the difference in a season, or even a career. Gary Lee, John Dewberry, Roddy Jones can all attest.

I too thought that coming out of the 2013 season that if CPJ didn't turn the corner soon, we'd be looking at another rebuilding situation if we lost him. The promise and excitement from 2008 and 2009 had gone and his tenure was beginning to resemble Chan's. Couldn't develop a QB or a defense. Lose him and we run the risk of another Chan and perhaps a generation of mediocre GT football. 2014 has flipped the narrative. It 'feels' like the program has turned the corner with the base of talent, the recruiting and the identity that this team has brought to GT.

We are 13-37 against Georgia since 1964. And we certainly have had our hearts broken a number of times. Just a hypothesis, and I certainly don't want to continue our 25% winning per centage, but among those 13 wins are some of the most memorable games of my Tech experience. Could it be that Rock Perdoni, Bubba Hoats, and Smylie Gebhart in 1969, John Dewberry and Gary Lee in the dismal 80's, the Goose is Loose for three in row, 26 unanswered in the 3rd in 2008, or Harrison-by-God-Butker and D.J. in overtime, are so great because of all the misery?

 

[flounder]

We are 13-37 against Georgia since 1964. And we certainly have had our hearts broken a number of times. Just a hypothesis, and I certainly don't want to continue our 25% winning per centage, but among those 13 wins are some of the most memorable games of my Tech experience. Could it be that Rock Perdoni, Bubba Hoats, and Smylie Gebhart in 1969, John Dewberry and Gary Lee in the dismal 80's, the Goose is Loose for three in row, 26 unanswered in the 3rd in 2008, or Harrison-by-God-Butker and D.J. in overtime, are so great because of all the misery?

I think that's absolutely right, and it's one reason we shouldn't give up on the series with UGA despite all of their structural advantages. It just makes it all the more sweet when we beat them.

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

All the teams are different. I love the 2009 team because it brought back hope. I love the 1990 team because they came from no where to win it all. I love this team because they made their breaks and beat UGAg in a soul draining way.

If a single player or fan thinks we "should" win 11 games with ND, Clemson, FSU, UGAg for out of division play, they are delusional. We made and got breaks this year, but all that really matters is that the players totally committed and never gave up. Can't ask for more.

Agreed, Nuke, and I know you used the word "should", so you are not saying it is impossible. But, it will take a gargantuan effort, especially since our D line and LB talent (and mostly depth) is still very thin/young. With that said, this 2014 team taught me that all things are possible, even with a 64th ranked total D. (probably dropped lower after the OB) Again, I will say what I have said for years...if our D can be a top 35-40 D, there is no limit to where we can end up, including undefeated NC's!!

 

[B Lifsey]

I don't think we need to go into any game thinking we "should" win...but every game in 2015 can be approached with a we "can" win. And, that makes the season exciting

 

[TheGridironGeek]

I think that's absolutely right, and it's one reason we shouldn't give up on the series with UGA despite all of their structural advantages. It just makes it all the more sweet when we beat them.

This touches on a broader point about GT football. Would you really WANT to be Alabama or Florida State? To me, winning is far less fun when you have all sorts of advantages and the media/money is all on your side.

Near my home town, there's a little private HS that just does everything it can to have a fantastic talent advantage. They beat up on every small school in the county every year, and this season they won the state championship (again) in the lowest enrollment class (which they manipulate their enrollment #s to stay in) in a blowout after going 14-0 (again). Somehow, their fans delude themselves by saying it's all "hard work and heart" but deep down we all know what's up. Practically everyone who broadcasts local football here is a booster or ex-jock for the program as well.

I don't know how anyone could be fulfilled cheering for someone like that. "Yay! We won again! With a size and speed advantage like the Green Bay Packers in the Sun Belt conference! Woe to our slow, small, under-funded foes in the lowest enrollment class! Woo!"

Two years ago, they lost to a tiny local public school by blowing a 3 touchdown lead, and it was so incredibly awesome. The postgame radio show was a cross between a wake and a mass suicide.
To me, someone popping that balloon one time was worth more than a million of their manufactured titles.

Ultimately it's more fun NOT to have the advantage. It's more fun when the media & big dollars are against you but you win anyway. To hear fat ex-SEC coaches sit on TV and say, "Jor-Ja Take has a nahce leetle offayence, but (insert glamor team X) will handle 'em"... Then seeing their faces and demeanor change to fear and panic at halftime when it's not happening.

It's more fun to crash the party. I'm glad there's a grassroots Twitter/Reddit surge of respect & support for CPJ & GT but I sincerely hope the media keeps treating them like unwelcome intruders.

 

[Essobee]

To those of you who are younger than I, which probably is most of you, I say 'enjoy this'. In my experience, seasons like 2014 don't come around very often. I hope 2014 is a prelude to the future for GT, but until I see it as so, I am banking this one for years to come.

I could not agree more! And as great as 1990 was, it continued a string of wins that occurred the previous year and featured a great recruiting class. This year's great team came out of nowhere, showed unprecedented grit and determination, and ranks as my number one all time favorite.

 

[Js-showman]

This touches on a broader point about GT football. Would you really WANT to be Alabama or Florida State? To me, winning is far less fun when you have all sorts of advantages and the media/money is all on your side.

Near my home town, there's a little private HS that just does everything it can to have a fantastic talent advantage. They beat up on every small school in the county every year, and this season they won the state championship (again) in the lowest enrollment class (which they manipulate their enrollment #s to stay in) in a blowout after going 14-0 (again). Somehow, their fans delude themselves by saying it's all "hard work and heart" but deep down we all know what's up. Practically everyone who broadcasts local football here is a booster or ex-jock for the program as well.

I don't know how anyone could be fulfilled cheering for someone like that. "Yay! We won again! With a size and speed advantage like the Green Bay Packers in the Sun Belt conference! Woe to our slow, small, under-funded foes in the lowest enrollment class! Woo!"

Two years ago, they lost to a tiny local public school by blowing a 3 touchdown lead, and it was so incredibly awesome. The postgame radio show was a cross between a wake and a mass suicide.
To me, someone popping that balloon one time was worth more than a million of their manufactured titles.

Ultimately it's more fun NOT to have the advantage. It's more fun when the media & big dollars are against you but you win anyway. To hear fat ex-SEC coaches sit on TV and say, "Jor-Ja Take has a nahce leetle offayence, but (insert glamor team X) will handle 'em"... Then seeing their faces and demeanor change to fear and panic at halftime when it's not happening.

It's more fun to crash the party. I'm glad there's a grassroots Twitter/Reddit surge of respect & support for CPJ & GT but I sincerely hope the media keeps treating them like unwelcome intruders.

Good question. I don't want GT to be a factory. I love the Institute for what it is. Strong academics, engineering centric (although I was a science major), without cupcake courses or majors. GT has a LOT to offer to a player in an education, in building a career and in being part of a family for life.

One thing that caught my attention this year was toward the end of the season when Johnson was talking about coaching at GT, in response to a question about how this experience compares to other places he has coached. He compared it favorably to the Naval Academy and told his coaches and players to embrace what we are, rather than aspire to what we are not. That is exactly the way I feel. That isn't to say that we can't work with the Hill and support the program, but we still need to be who we are and win. That statement told me that Johnson understands GT, and that we have the right guy running our program.

 

[CHE90]

I hope so, too. But in reality, it doesn't matter. The 2014 team and season does not rely on next year. They stand on their own merit, on their own prodigious accomplishments. The list of heroes is long. There are dozens of Yellow Jackets off this team that I hope will stay close to the program long after they graduate. I've rewatched the Orange Bowl a couple of times. It was a powerful performance. One thing that caught my eye and maybe some of you saw it, too. A kid that has been on the business end of several public "scoldings" by the coach, Errin Joe, right in the middle of the planning for the Gatorade dousing of Paul Johnson. Maybe I'm wrong, but that to me was a big statement of how these young men feel about the coach.

One thing that caught my eye while watching the Orange Bowl and being in the chat room was someone who immediately dumped on this team and jumped ship at the first sign of things not going our way. Not cool.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

There are about a dozen or so teams that have the talent to sleep walk and still win. I doubt we ever get to that level, but this is one of the few years that we dominated some really good defenses in a long time.

 

[DC Bee]

One thing that caught my eye while watching the Orange Bowl and being in the chat room was someone who immediately dumped on this team and jumped ship at the first sign of things not going our way. Not cool.

Yeah. That guy really pissed me off. His name will go unmentioned. I told him to "stop douching up the chat."
He challenged me to "say something positive" and a few of us responded with "we're gonna' win!" I actually left the chat room then because I instantly thought I was back at GT Sportstalk or something.

 

[TheGridironGeek]

Yeah. That guy really pissed me off. His name will go unmentioned. I told him to "stop douching up the chat."
He challenged me to "say something positive" and a few of us responded with "we're gonna' win!" I actually left the chat room then because I instantly thought I was back at GT Sportstalk or something.

It's a conundrum with guys like that, bad attitude but great entertainment value. I'm kind of sad that the Fire Paul Johnson facebook page was taken down, just because it was so fun to kidney punch the haters there this season as the wins piled up.

 

[flounder]

The Fire Paul Johnson web site is still up! New content coming soon they promise.

 

[UgaBlows]

One thing that caught my eye while watching the Orange Bowl and being in the chat room was someone who immediately dumped on this team and jumped ship at the first sign of things not going our way. Not cool.

Thats why i stay off chat during the games, a)it distracts me and b) people like that ruin it for me

 

[dressedcheeseside]

This touches on a broader point about GT football. Would you really WANT to be Alabama or Florida State? To me, winning is far less fun when you have all sorts of advantages and the media/money is all on your side.

Near my home town, there's a little private HS that just does everything it can to have a fantastic talent advantage. They beat up on every small school in the county every year, and this season they won the state championship (again) in the lowest enrollment class (which they manipulate their enrollment #s to stay in) in a blowout after going 14-0 (again). Somehow, their fans delude themselves by saying it's all "hard work and heart" but deep down we all know what's up. Practically everyone who broadcasts local football here is a booster or ex-jock for the program as well.

I don't know how anyone could be fulfilled cheering for someone like that. "Yay! We won again! With a size and speed advantage like the Green Bay Packers in the Sun Belt conference! Woe to our slow, small, under-funded foes in the lowest enrollment class! Woo!"

Two years ago, they lost to a tiny local public school by blowing a 3 touchdown lead, and it was so incredibly awesome. The postgame radio show was a cross between a wake and a mass suicide.
To me, someone popping that balloon one time was worth more than a million of their manufactured titles.

Ultimately it's more fun NOT to have the advantage. It's more fun when the media & big dollars are against you but you win anyway. To hear fat ex-SEC coaches sit on TV and say, "Jor-Ja Take has a nahce leetle offayence, but (insert glamor team X) will handle 'em"... Then seeing their faces and demeanor change to fear and panic at halftime when it's not happening.

It's more fun to crash the party. I'm glad there's a grassroots Twitter/Reddit surge of respect & support for CPJ & GT but I sincerely hope the media keeps treating them like unwelcome intruders.

I could not agree more with this sentiment. I have been preaching it for years!

 

[Supersizethatorder-mutt]

I have been a tech fan for 40 years. The enjoyment from this season has been, at worst, in the top 3 of all of the time I have been watching tech football. 1990 is at the top for obvious reasons. 2014 is at or better than 1998 and exceeds 2009. 1998 was great in that we ended up with a #9 ranking, beat UGA and then Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, but lost the conference to Florida State (pre ACCCG). While 2009 was great in that we won the ACC title in the CG against Clemson, we still lost to UGA and then to Iowa in the OB. 2014 was better than 2009. Beating UGA is still more important than winning the ACC.

This year had other positive happenings as well.

1. We won the damn Orange Bowl !!! Hasn't happened in my lifetime. In 1990 we won the NC. At that time, GT hadn't won the NC in my lifetime. Winning the OB isn't the NC, but it is really special.

2. The manner in which we played this year was magical. Never gave up in any game. The 'kick and the pick' is already folklore that is worthy of an additional chapter in Clean Old Fashion Hate. The dominant beauty of option football when executed at a high level with the right personnel. The death marches against Miami. The pick 6 that broke the back of Clemson. DJ White's incredible speed at Pitt. The total shutdown of Nick Chubb in the second half of the UGA game. JT blowing past all of that Miss State "SEC Speed" in the Orange bowl. There were more incredible moments in this season than I can recount.

3. The chemistry of this team. You may never see it again. I can't recall ever seeing this kind of chemistry in a GT football team in the past. That show of support for Snoddy should be posted on the wall in the locker room and remembered forever.

4. The team speed. This was noticeable early on, but still surprising. I actually went back and looked at replays of game segments from 1990, 1998 and 2009. This team is just faster than those teams, including 2009 with Dwyer and Thomas. Who knew?

5. The statistics. The team rushing numbers. JT getting 1,000 yards. (I never thought I'd see that again after Nesbitt did it. It only took 5 years.) Fewest punts in CFB. The highest FEI rating in the land. The 3rd down conversion percentages, etc. etc. etc.

6. We had a lot of injuries to key people and never seem to miss a beat. I think this has to do with #5, but going into a bowl game without Snoddy and Smelter had me concerned. Not to mention the guys we lost at the beginning of the season, which had our prospects for success looking grim. With guys going down, other guys started stepping up. I had no idea that we had that kind of depth. It is amazing when you think about it.

7. The foundation for the future. Not to quote a puppet, but as Yoda states about the future, it is difficult to see. Perhaps so, but it looks promising. Really promising. The talent is there. The coaching is there. If the chemistry can be maintained, if we avoid key injuries, then wow.

8. The total collapse of the SEC (myth). As Gore Vidal said, "it is not enough that I succeed, my enemies must also fail."

The 0-4 SEC East record against the ACC, followed by the 2-5 record in bowl games by the SEC West. In short, the alleged best conference in football sucked when it came down to playing the power teams from other conferences. Auburn not withstanding, the SEC is Alabama. Take away Cam Newton and 2 divine plays in 2013 and Auburn's program is nowhere near the top 10. Florida is in disarray - they are now happy to beat East Carolina in the whogivesacrap bowl. UT has been in disarray for years. LSU is down. TAM without Johnny Football is middle of the pack. Missouri is the premier team in the East and there isn't a coach on the planet who does 'less with more' than Mark Richt. Despite all of this, the talking heads on Atlanta sports radio and ESPN wanted at least 2 teams and as many as 4 teams from the SEC in the playoff. The preseason narrative from these clowns next year should be comical.

9. The CFB playoff format. (Which also helped demolish the myth of the SEC.) It makes one wonder if the SEC would have won all of those NCs had we had a playoff format during that period. Without a playoff this year, it would have probably been FSU and Alabama in the NC game. The playoff changes it all. No doubt in my mind that Auburn would have never made it to the NC game last year if they had to run the gauntlet outside the SEC.

To those of you who are younger than I, which probably is most of you, I say 'enjoy this'. In my experience, seasons like 2014 don't come around very often. I hope 2014 is a prelude to the future for GT, but until I see it as so, I am banking this one for years to come.

Not knowing your age, I can only assume, based on your 40 years comment, that I am a few (not many) years older than you. That was a terrific post, and I agree with every single thing you said. I especially have to focus in on the "team" thing. Like you, I have never seen anything like it in all my years of being a Tech fan. I'm not sure I have even heard of anything quite like what we saw by any other team in the country either. Whoever came up with the slogan "Together We Swarm" nailed it right on the head. This was one TOGETHER team, and they brought a severely disjointed, apparently in some cases disgusted, fanbase TOGETHER. We may never see anything quite like that again, so let's revel in what it produced in 2014, and let's build on it for the future. GO JACKETS !!!