For Georgia Tech: What If Johnson Had Been Wrong?

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Imagine this.  4th-and-1, and the Jackets go for it.  But instead of the beautiful quarterback sneak by Josh Nesbitt, there's a fumble.  The Jackets don't get a first down. 

They don't beat Wake Forest.  They drop to second in the Coastal Division after Miami's rout of Virginia.  And they certainly aren't ranked No. 7 in all the major polls on Sunday.

Of course, none of that happened, but what if it had?

Would Paul Johnson be the genius that everybody is touting him to be after the gutsy call for the win?

The crowded stadium would have been let down.  The security team wouldn't have brought down the new goal posts.  All the yelling, all the screaming, would have been for naught.

Johnson said after the game, "I play to win. The kids work hard and put in a lot of time and effort. If we can't make an inch there, we don't deserve to win the game."  

I agree, if we can't move the ball that last little bit to get the first down, then they aren't to the next level, yet.

Most coaches would have kicked a field goal, a chip shot at that, and forced another overtime.  But, that's a dangerous move. 

Ignoring Scott Blair's pitiful record this year, you are letting Wake Forest back in the game.  Riley Skinner got his chance, and we stopped him, but could we have done it again?

If Wake Forest had scored a touchdown in a second overtime try, the best Tech could have hoped for was a third overtime.  Instead of rolling over and putting the defense back on the field after a long, tough game, Johnson put his team's hopes on the line.

If Georgia Tech had lost on that gutsy call the pundits at large would be questioning his offense, they would be questioning his judgement.  And I say that if that had happened, the pundits would be wrong, not Coach Johnson.

The outcome of that call didn't matter to the team as much as making the call in the first place. 

That decision is one Georgia Tech never could have made before.  Previous Georgia Tech teams certainly wouldn't have converted it and won the game one play later.  The team trusts in their coach, and the coach trusts in his team, in a way that Georgia Tech fans aren't accustomed to of late.

In this day and age, Georgia Tech needs a coach like that.  A coach that is willing to make the tough calls, and trust in his players.

The win only solidifies these opinions even more because everything turned out for the best.

Georgia Tech still has great things ahead of them this season, but the future is even brighter with a coach willing to "[P]lay to win."  The players follow the lead of a coach with that attitude.  They will take that into every game they play.  And there is no stage too big for them.  From here the stakes only get higher.

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