Mark Bradley looks on Georgia Tech’s schedule, and despairs… for Tech’s opponents, all of which have “tons to prove”, are “negotiable”, or, best of all in the case of North Carolina, is “no longer seen as a rising star”.
Unlike Paul Johnson’s program, of course. Only the schedule holds the Jackets back.
Hey, at least the home game against Georgia now qualifies as “tough”. Could this state now have two programs on the rise? Be still, my heart.
Get The Picture 
Always loved this logic from hacks (see also: Forde, Pat):
– Team plays in dreadful conference
therefore
– Team is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Agreed, but to Bradley’s credit (deception?), he doesn’t say much at all about the awesomeness of Tech. It’s mainly a piece about Tech scoring victories against a crappy schedule.
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I agree. And that schedule stanks. Four losses with that schedule should get you fired. If you think of yourself as championship contender. The flip side is, you could go 10-2 and if one of those losses is to UGA, you’ve done nothing to impress.
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I would like to point out the logic of my thinking.
6-7 Clemson and UGA with top recruiting classes: big recruiting hype but tons to prove
6-7 tech with poor recruiting class: Get-well season provided PJ coaches ‘em up. I know he can, and I’m thinking he will.
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Speaking of tons to prove, what has CPJ shown at Tech in terms of his ability to win without Chan Gailey’s recruits? NFL-minded recruits (translation: virtually all great high school players) are afraid to go near CPJ’s offense. And the defensive players aren’t exactly flocking there, because practicing against the scout team at Tech doesn’t exactly prepare you well for the teams you will face. During CPJ’s tenure, the D has steadily eroded and teams are doing a better job of neutralizing his offense.
This isn’t Navy, where the schedule tends to change a lot from year-to-year. Sure, the offense, when run well, will still do okay. But more and more, teams will be prepared and will at least limit the damage. And if Tech gets behind, they will continue to struggle catching up against better athletes from other schools.
So even if the schedule makes 8 games possible, is that really much of a change from what Gailey was doing? Isn’t that likely to be the new ceiling given CPJ’s recruiting problems?
I think 7-5 is more likely, and if CPJ loses to Georgia again, he’ll be 1-3 with a three-game losing streak. Tech fans will jump off that wagon faster than you can imagine, and CPJ will find himself on the hotseat next year when Tech fans realize the limits of CPJ’s “system” in today’s game.
Save yourself the heartache of writing a column later asking “why didn’t I see that coming” and at least be a little more skeptical than you’ve been, not because it’s bad for Tech but because the facts suggest you should.
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Well, the seer is up today with his Crystal Mechanical Ball I see. The great sage is predicting marvelous wins against the best the ACC. North Carolina, no problem, Clemson just an afterthought. Gosh Maryland is going to stink, and well Virginia is just no match for the Paul Johnson magic.
My tarot cards with Madam Snooky read a hangman’s noose. I bank on that over our seer anyday.
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Yeah, a team that you’ve only managed to beat once in a decade is “tough”. That’s what I think whenever I see Florida on our schedule. “Gee, they look ‘tough’.”
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Realistically, neither side has a good argument here about SOS. Georgia’s schedule this year is a really, really easy one in comparison to the last three years murderer’s row we’ve been facing. All three West teams we get are rebuilding (unless you really believe Auburn will be very good), and we’ve got our bye before Florida (when they’ve got a month from hell right before the game!). The only mildly challenging games are the Boise/SC opening deathmarch, and even that’s mitigated by the fact that Boise lost a bunch of senior talent and is playing in our backyard, while SC is still SC.
I’m not saying our schedule is as easy as Tech’s (it’s not), but it’s not that far off. Tech just lucked out in that it’s in a horrible conference AND misses the conference heavy-weight in FSU this year.
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I enjoy how Kansas is marked down as a gimmie.
Also, Miami is certain to be an easy game… really?
The best thing about Mark Bradley predicting 8 wins for Tech is that it absolutely means Tech will lose 8 games. Anyone remember when he predicted the Hawks over Orlando? Anyone?
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It was a “bad schedule”. Thats what Bradley is blaming it on. Nice. No ACC title, No division title, just 8 wins will do. How sad. UGA may have alot to prove to the nation. But they have nothing to prove to Tech. Go Dawgs!
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I’m still stumped on how it was a “bad schedule” when they didn’t really play any teams that were that good last year.
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I used to just roll my eyes when someone from UGA or Tech claimed that the AJC sportswriters were biased one way or the other, as if it were part of some nefarious conspiracy. Still, it’s hard to deny that Bradley has really fallen hard for Paul Johnson — or if he hasn’t, he’s certainly done his best to look like he has.
This statement is only in effect for the next 10 months, though, because if Georgia wins 9 or 10 games while Tech ends up slogging their way through another Independence Bowl, Bradley is sure to pull a Finebaum and go back to talking about what a genius Mark Richt is and how we all underestimated him (while making tsk-tsk proclamations about how Johnson may not last much longer on the Flats).
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