Lovely Paul Johnson takedown by the AJ-C‘s Steve Hummer here.
“Really?” Johnson leapt. “We’re 5-4 against Clemson and 3-2 against Florida State. What distance is that?”
The questioner regrouped: “As far as postseason success. . .”
“We won the Orange Bowl last year (concluding the 2014 season),” Johnson said preemptively. “They’ve been in the national championship game and they’ll be preseason ranked, but perception is reality, I guess.”
(An asterisk here: Johnson is really 4-4 vs. Clemson, a 2009 ACC Championship Game victory over the Tigers having been vacated due to NCAA sanctions).
A much older scribe, hiding his incredulity successfully, I think, eventually asked Johnson if in his eyes he really thought Tech was on par with the likes of a team just coming off an appearance in the College Football Playoff Championship game (Clemson) and another (FSU) just a couple of years removed from winning the thing?
“Probably not right now. Naturally that’s the perception with the year we had last year (finishing 3-9),” he said. Johnson could point to as recently as 2014 when they all did finish the season pretty much on par – FSU ranked fifth, Tech ranked eighth and Clemson ranked 15th.
But, of course, there are deeper differences. A quick comparison between the three programs under their current coaches, just in case there is any residual confusion:
Tech under Johnson: eight seasons, .576 in ACC, .581 overall, three times ranked at season’s end, once in top 10.
Clemson under Dabo Swinney: seven-plus seasons, .766 in ACC, .735 overall, two-time ACC champion, six times ranked at season’s end, twice in the top 10.
FSU under Jimbo Fisher: six seasons, .827 in ACC, .829 overall, three-time ACC champion, six times ranked at season’s end, three times in the top 10.
No, Tech is not the equal of those two. And water is wet and the sun is hot.
But at least Paul Johnson is edgy. Then again, if him being edgy were all it took for Tech to be successful, they wouldn’t have finished 3-9 last season.
Get The Picture 
Is “edgy” code for being a prick? If so, the Johnson is edgy. He is also thinner skinned than the Donald. Both have stubby fingers. The Johnson counters this physical detriment by having large breasticles known as man boobs.
LikeLike
That noose around he his neck might be reducing blood flow to the brain.
LikeLike
What noose? Brother, if I knew that my boss couldn’t afford to fire me I wouldn’t show up until after 12 every day and I’d leave early. They’d be lucky if I wore pants to work. Johnson’s golden for a few more years at Tech simply because Georgia Tech can’t afford to get rid of him. And unless they plan on hiring another triple option guy to be Tech’s next coach, they’re in for at least two truly miserable years after Johnson as they try to play any other offensive style with the linemen recruited to run his system.
LikeLike
By that time, it will take more than 2 years to rebuild the talent base … it will take at least 4-5 years to make them relevant again. They have talent deficiencies all over the field due to their offensive system. It’s not like tech is recruiting blue chips to play defense … why take the risk of being cut/chop blocked every day in practice?
LikeLike
This thought always makes me happy.
One can never pity tech enough.
LikeLike
The Johnson is good at cherry picking numbers. I remember after the 2014 Tech game (grrrr), when the info babe asked him for comment, he said “Well I am 2-2 here.”
Paul if you don’t want people treating you as inferior and don’t want to feel so inferior and be so inferior, a good start would be to leave Tech.
LikeLike
There are 3 types of prevarications: Lies, damned lies, and selective GTU football statistics.
LikeLike
There has never been a more perfect marriage of coach/program than this one here.
LikeLike
UNLV and Tark is close.
LikeLike
My thoughts exactly, every time I see an article/column/interview like this one. Johnson and Tech are a match made in Mecca.
LikeLike
I get what you’re doing there 😉
LikeLike
I think this is where someone like Lewis Grizzard would say “Bless his heart…”
LikeLike
I hate to endorse anything from the Urinal/Constipation, but that was enjoyable.
LikeLike
I can’t believe that the editors at the AUC allowed Hummer to take a shot at the Genius and at Furman Bisher’s favorite sports program.
LikeLike
somewhere, Mark Bradley gently weeps.
LikeLike
He has bigger fish to fry!
LikeLike
Johnson has confused playing a style of football that can beat anyone on any given day with building a program that is consistently excellent over the long haul. He is the perfect coach for Tech: his little man syndrome epitomizes their entire fanbase.
LikeLike
Bless Steve Hummer. I just wish he’d had the numbers in front of him at ACC Media Days to deliver the takedown in person. Johnson knows that Tech isn’t on the level of Clemson or FSU. He also knows that he’s about to be below Miami again. The only reason he knows the head-to-head records by heart is because it’s his only recruiting pitch, and it’s easily refuted. And it ignores the fact that the wins (minus his miracle win against FSU last year) came when both programs were mired in the same mediocrity in which Tech still finds itself today.
LikeLike
There is no more effective bar to knowledge than contempt prior to investigation.
PJ got his millions and has sunk deep into apeiron cynicism ever after.
LikeLike
A day or two ago, someone on GTP made the prediction that GT’s program was in danger of drying up on the vine…with the increase of percentages of foreign students and nerds increases while the old guard of upper middle class, mostly traditionally and ethnically southern “old boys” decreases, the support for the football program in particular and sports in general, will decline and Georgia Tech football will wither away. I personally hope that doesn’t happen. We need them in a lot of ways. It’s too big a job to replace that kind of a vile rivalry.
LikeLike
also, it would be hard to replace a P5 win on the yearly schedule that you can count on 13 out of 15 years.
LikeLike
A couple of guys I know who graduated from tech had the same thoughts about the future of tech football. They say between the foreign students and the nerds making up a large percentage of the student population and the fact that most tech alumni move away from the state when they graduate, their fan base is disappearing. They say they don’t have the sidewalk alumni like Georgia and really aren’t able to compete with the Falcons for the Atlanta football fan crowd. I would hate to see them go away but it could be a real possibility.
LikeLike
Not a good statistically significant ‘t’ indicator of program health when you decrease seating.
LikeLike
Or when your main rival turns your stadium into a neutral field every other year.
LikeLike
Neutral field? I’d say we turn it into a UGA home game. They may hate us, but they sure don’t mind selling (or giving) tickets to us.
LikeLike
I was trying to be kind … well played!
LikeLike
Sadly my dad went to Tech(he’s a total asshole) while the rest of my family went to UGA or private colleges. But back when he went there it was still something of a southern school.
Nowadays all the Stingtalk types or “tech men” are outnumbered by the foreign students who don’t give a fuck about football or any American sports.
LikeLike
कैसे डटकर उन्हें कुत्तों
LikeLike
Pffft. Stupid Hummer. Doesn’t he realize this is a transitional period for gtu sports? They no longer play US-style football. They play a hybrid type of rugby/lacrosse game most of us don’t recognize. Eventually they’ll quit using their hands entirely and become a soccer team.
LikeLike
W Cobb: under these new rules, will they still be allowed to dive at opponents knees?
LikeLike
cpj would argue they don’t actually ‘dive’. I believe he tells officials the players are ‘flopping’.
LikeLike
As I understand the new rules for this year they have moved the cutting to just inside the tackle box – tackle to tackle. Steve Shaw said it also outlawed a player outside of the tackle box from coming into the box and cutting a player. So from that I take it the TE can’t cut anymore since he is outside of the tackle box. Not that the blind officials will call it against them. If i’m wrong about this let me know.
LikeLike
You’ll know the rule has changed when they call it on us.
LikeLike
exactly. Like “jumping” while trying to block a field goal.
LikeLike
Or stomping the ground before a punt
LikeLike
or craning your neck forward in a “unsportsmanlike” fashion after a TD.
LikeLike
The Emerald Bowl misses them.
LikeLike