2011 Bowl Schedule: Why Sun Bowl Is a Must-Win for Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech heads into the Sun bowl game against Utah with an 8-4 record.

By most estimations the Yellow Jackets slightly overachieved this season following a forgettable 2010. Most folks had the Jackets going 6-6 or 7-5. They started the year a surprising 6-0, but that’s when things started going south.

Remember it’s how you finish and not how you started. Losers of four of their last six games, including another loss to arch rival Georgia has some Jacket fans wondering just how much this team has improved.

Swap the Kansas win over the inexplicable loss last year to the Jayhawks, and the only difference from last year was defeating ACC champion Clemson.

Paul Johnson won’t be on any hot seat with a loss but more than any other ACC coach he needs to come out of the bowl season with a win. Why?

The Yellow Jackets haven’t won a bowl game since 2004. Another bowl loss would mark the fifth time in the past seven years that Georgia Tech ended the season with two consecutive losses, against Georgia and the bowl game. That would be seven straight years that the season ended without a win, and we still haven’t discussed Johnson’s bowl record (0-3).

Johnson bristles when anyone questions the viability of his triple-option offense. I know it works and I believe given the right players you can win big with it. The fact remains when you keep losing bowl games you feed into the notion teams that have a month to prepare for the triple option will slow it down. I think that’s a myth, but until you win a bowl game the myth will only continue to grow.

There’s a big difference between a 9-4 finish with a Top-25 ranking and a 8-5 season without a significant second half victory other than Clemson. Throw in the third consecutive loss to Georgia, and like I said Johnson isn’t on any hot seat, but you might find that some Georgia Tech faithful will be getting just a little restless.

This article is also feature All Sports Discussion