FanHouse Paul Johnson

Playing consecutive Thursday night games has left Georgia Tech checking its calendar.

The Yellow Jackets relied on dramatics to beat visiting Clemson last Thursday, squandering an early 24-point advantage, only to have Scott Blair save the day with a 36-yard field goal with under a minute to play. After catching its breath, Georgia Tech meets Miami in an ACC Coastal Division showdown Thursday at Land Shark Stadium.

"Like they say, it is a fast turnaround," Tech coach Paul Johnson said. "We are trying to figure out what day it is. It is a huge challenge this week going to Miami, a very talented team. They have a lot of great athletes and a lot of history and tradition."

Staring down the barrel of an embarrassing 24-0 first half deficit to Georgia Tech, Clemson had two choices -- go down in flames, as has been its pattern in recent years, or muscle up and do something about it. Clemson chose the latter, and nearly staged an epic comeback. The Tigers surged back with 27 straight points to take the lead before the Yellow Jackets booted a pair of field goals, one with just under a minute left, to claim the 30-27 home victory.

Things started out poorly as the Clemson defense let 230-pound Georgia Tech tailback Anthony Allen take a simple short-side option pitch 82 yards for the game's first score. Later, the Tigers lined up for a 57-yard field goal. Kicker Richard Jackson instead punted the ball, but the home team was ready, and returnman Jerrard Tarrant fielded the punt and raced nearly untouched for an 85-yard return in one of the dumbest moments of this young season. Tragedy turned to comedy when Georgia Tech then faked its own field goal, with kicker Scott Blair throwing a 34-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Demaryius Thomas for the 21-nothing lead.

Take a wild guess. What has been the most competitive football series in the ACC over the last, say, 13 years? Florida State-Georgia Tech? North Carolina-North Carolina State? Duke-Wake Forest?

Time's up.

If recent history repeats itself, Thursday night's nationally televised showdown between Clemson-Georgia Tech in Atlanta should be worth the price of admission. And be prepared to get caught in traffic because the outcome probably won't be settled until late in the game.

Georgia Tech's triple-option offense under first-year head coach Paul Johnson created a buzz in the ACC and beyond last season. Defenses weren't accustomed to seeing that system, and it showed. The Yellow Jackets ranked fourth in the nation in rushing offense, they won nine games and snapped a seven-year skid versus rival Georgia.

Tech running back Jonathan Dwyer, a superb talent in any style of offense, believes the Yellow Jackets will be even more comfortable and confident this year. Plus, don't be surprised if Tech looks to take advantage of more passing opportunities, too.

It's always nice to have, well, quadruple options.

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia), which pits Georgia Tech against LSU.

Overview/Matchup: Georgia Tech had a heck of a season under Paul Johnson in 2008 and they get rewarded with an upper tier ACC bowl. They get really rewarded because they don't even have to leave campus to play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Les Miles and LSU do, however, and there should be some pretty stout pressure on the Tigers to pull of a postseason dubya here, what with fans questioning Miles' ability to generate enough offense in the bayou.

Hotels: For luxury accommodation close to the stadium The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta is your best bet. The Westin Peachtree has a higher rating, but its sleek design borders on frigid and leaves many guests feeling more like they've entered a bank than a hotel. In the mid-range category the Embassy Suites Centennial Olympic Park is a few hundred yards from the Georgia Dome and offers excellent service for the price. The open atrium and waterfall don't hurt either. For the budget-conscious traveler the Holiday Inn Atlanta Downtown is the best hotel in the area that offers rooms for less than US$100 per night.

Restaurants: After your team wins the big game, or maybe before if you're feeling confident, head to Bone's for a thick, perfectly grilled steak. The prices are steep but the food is worth it. If you're staying in downtown Atlanta, and you need a reasonably priced meal that will fill you up, look no further than Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's Chicken and Waffles.

The situation: Georgia Tech is down 20-17 against Virginia Tech with 2:24 left. GT has two timeouts. It's fourth and seven. Paul Johnson goes for it, Josh Nesbitt is sacked, and the announcers question his decision.

Johnson's response to that:

"I think you've got to try to win the game," he said.

"The guys who do the game, they're morons...I don't worry about what they say."

Survey says... correct! Best case scenario for Georgia Tech is a three-and-out sandwiched between two punts. The amount of time this would take:

• Two punts: probably around 20 seconds.
  
• Three running plays: probably another 20 seconds.
• One forty second clock running, running, running: 40 seconds.
  

Georgia Tech's triple-option flexbone attack would get the ball back with about a minute left and no timeouts, or wouldn't get the ball back at all.

BONUS moron action: apparently there was also skepticism when Johnson went for two with nine minutes left. The score? 17-15, Virginia Tech.

ECU Will. Not. Go. Away.

After a fairly unpalatable morning set of games, we had some intriguing matchups this afternoon; Georgia, East Carolina, Oregon, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech -- the latter by default because the ACC is horrible -- all had BCS aspirations heading into the third week of college football.

Four of those teams still do, but it wasn't for a lack of trying to fail.

Georgia needed a last second interception by Chris Smelley (Dugout Name and license plate: SMLLYCOX) to overcome what really is looking like a disturbingly stout South Carolina defense (it wasn't just NC State, we swear!). The 'Cocks held Knoshown Moreno to just 79 yards on 20 carries even though he punched one in, and Matthew Stafford was hardly effective. But the Dogs held on and their BCS chances prevail.

Exciting recap I know, but that's because I spent most of the afternoon watching a shoddy YouTube-like feed of East Carolina squaring off against Tulane. ECU AD Terry Holland had oh-so-generously offered to play the game in Greenville as Ike, et al approached the coast (what a guy, huh?) and Tulane oh-so-obviously declined the invite.

Remember Joe Hamilton? Diminuitive quarterback par excellence at Georgia Tech a few years back. Heisman Trophy runner-up. The last known relevant Georgia Tech season was played under his command. Then he disappeared into football obscurity because the No Fun League has no need for guys that good.

Anyway.

Hit and run DUI, folks. Aaaaaaand our football God returns just in time to beat a hasty retreat.

Former Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton resigned from his position at the school Wednesday, a day after he was charged with marijuana possession, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run.

The charges came about a week after the 31-year-old was hired as the school's assistant director of player personnel.

"Today, I sadly accepted Joe's resignation," said Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson.

YouTube of the good times below (on the right side of the law) in lieu of further commentary.

When Paul Johnson was hired at Georgia Tech, he assured fans, players, recruits and the media -- and anyone else who'd list -- that he'd adjust his triple option offense to the ACC and throw the ball. With the departure of yet another Yellow Jacket wide receiver Johnson may not have any choice. Even if he wanted to throw the ball, there's no one to catch it.

The latest pass catcher to leave, James Johnson, didn't blame the new offense as his reason for giving up his final year of eligibility. He simply said he was just tired of football. Tech's depth chart at wide receiver now includes one freshman, two sophomores and one walk-on.

Johnson's offense only averaged 5.6 completions a game last season. Yet, the Middies scored at will averaging 39.9 points per game and more than 440 yards of offense per game. If Johnson can get his new QB and running backs to pick up his system quickly, there is no reason why Georgia Tech can't compete in the ACC without throwing. However, the necessisity of running in Year 1, will probably undermine his ability to recruit WRs and passing QBs down the road. But no one will care if he wins...and beats Georgia.

With the Meineke Car Care Bowl fast approaching, I sat down with Boston College Fan House Blogger Bill Maloney to discuss the upcoming matchup between Boston College and Navy. You can check back later at the Boston College Fan House for the second part of our Q&A, in which I address Bill's questions about Navy football. For more Boston College news, including all your coaching updates, you can also check Bill's Boston College Football Blog Eagle in Atlanta.

First and foremost. By now everyone surely knows (I hope) that Tom O'Brien, who coached the Eagles to seven straight Bowl wins, has moved on to NC State and will not coach in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. What, if anything, changes with interim head coach Frank Spaziani at the helm?

I don't expect any real changes. The rest of the staff is in place through the bowl game and I doubt they'll use this time for new looks or twists (there probably busy looking for homes in Raleigh. What may be different, and will be easy to determine early on, is the team's motivation and emotions. If the assistants don't care, since they are moving on, will the team mirror that attitude? Or will the players come out fighting with something to prove to their former coach? I expect the latter.

I've had the opportunity to watch a number of Boston College games this year, and I think the first word that comes to mind, for me anyway, is inconsistency. They've posted some great wins over the likes of Wake, Clemson, Maryland, and BYU, but have also lost to major disappointments in NC State and Miami. What do you attribute this to?

I attribute it to O'Brien, really. The team is a reflection of its coach and O'Brian's steady but conservative and unemotional style lead to this team coming out flat for the Miami and NC State game. Both teams were bad. Both games were winnable and BC tripped up with the classic O'Brien Achilles heals (defensive letdowns, special team's limitations and stubborn play calling). O'Brian's consistency was a big selling point to NC State. But that even keep approach can be very frustrating. At this point most BC fans found it to be a limitation.