A 1-3 start had Paul Johnson’s seat getting warm. The Yellow Jackets were potentially looking at their 3rd season out of 4 without any post-season. I’m a Paul Johnson fan. I like him, and even I had to consider the possibility if Georgia Tech couldn’t reach a bowl game in a water downed ACC Coastal, all kinds of questions would surround the program.
How a good stretch of football changes everything. Since that 1-3 start, Georgia Tech has won 5 of their last 6 games. For a team that couldn’t hold a lead in the last year and half, they’ve won two games in a row when double digit 2nd half leads became less that 1 score games. That’s the sign of a growing team.
There’s the other issue of a potential sticky situation at QB. Tobias Oliver and TaQuan Marshall are both playing well enough to be the starting QB position. Where Mark Richt at Miami wrecked handling his QBs, Paul Johnson managed his nearly perfect.
Tonight he went with Marshall, who is the better passer. He was able to make some timely throws that were key. Oliver will get more playing time, but tonight was Marshall’s time.
The defense was considered a liability, has taken huge strides under new DC Nate Woody. It’s not a great defense, but it creates more havoc that that previous defenses. This has to be considered one of the better coordinator hires of the off-season.
All that hotseat talk of Paul Johnson? Forget it. He’s earned his way back for next year without question. How he performs next season, is next season.
When other ACC teams have faltered in the 2nd Half of the season, Georgia Tech has improved. Now the goals are bigger. There’s still a chance to win 7, 8 or even 9 games this season. Beating Georgia will be a stretch, not likely, but it’s not the forgone conclusion it was once.
That’s all you want to see from a team is that it has gotten better as the season continues. Georgia Tech has done that – thanks to Paul Johnson.
