Georgia Tech saw an oopportunity Wednesday night in the Orange Bowl, and they took full advantage of it. Onthe verge of the Jacket’s greatest season since the 1990 National Championship team, Georgia Tech had to go through a Mississippi St. team that spent a good portion of the year at #1. Not only did they go through them, they went over them, around them, by them… You get the idea in a resounding 49-34 not as close as the score indicated win.
In the process, Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech destroyed about 143 myths about Georgia Tech, the ACC, and College Football in general. Critics said with a month to prepare, you can stop Georgia Tech’s offense. Georgia Tech ran for whopping 452 yards against the Bulldogs. The weak ACC football narrative? It dies a little more with each passing season. There is quality football being being played in the league, and not only by Florida State and Clemson.
Georgia Tech – 2014 is the best non Clemson\Florida State from the ACC since, probably since at least the 2009 Virginia Tech team. That’s huge for the ACC. For the second time in as many years, an ACC team knocked off back to back top 10 SEC Teams. Georgia Tech beat both Georgia and Mississippi St. when they were ranked in the top 10. Clemson was the first to pull the trick with over LSU and Georgia.
This is a legitimate top 10 team, that played some of the best football in the country in the 2nd half of the season. Florida State beat Georgia Tech, and that win as many of FSU’s ACC wins should have been given more credit. They weren’t because of the myth that resides around college football. The ACC is not the best football conference going, but good football is played in the ACC. Georgia Tech along with TCU today, crushed the SEC West myth as a nearly unbeatable football division. The SEC is a good football conference, but they aren’t heads and shoulders above the rest of the country.
Most importantly to Paul Johnson his triple option offense was validated as an offense that can win at an extremely high level of college football. That was the biggest myth surrounding Johnson. His offense couldn’t win against top competition. You put a quality offensive line out there, with a track star QB like Justin Thomas and another myth is blown up.
Beat arch rival Georgia in Athens when they are in the top 10, and win an Orange Bowl? If you are a Georgia Tech fan you can only call the season magical.
How good can Georgia Tech be going forward?
Well Justin Thomas is the best option quarterback since Tommie Frazier was running things in the mid 90s at Nebraska, and as long as he’s there Georgia Tech is a very dangerous top 20 caliber team. I would expect Georgia Tech’s defense to improve next year as well.
Georgia Tech doesn’t have to nor can they recruit at the level of a FSU or a Clemson, but if they can pull a few more top end talents especially on defense I don’t see why the Jackets can’t sustain themselves as a top 25 caliber team for years to come, with the occasional season like this where everything comes together for them.
Whatever you thought was the ceiling on Georgia Tech, throw it out the window. If Georgia Tech can knockoff 3 top 15 teams, and have a 2 point loss to defending national champion FSU in the last 2 months of the season, anything is possible. They proved it where it counted most – on the field.
Become a fan of the ACC on Facebook and follow the ACC on Twitter
