By the Skin of Their Teeth, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Hang on

(Georgia Tech DB Mario Butler picked off a Kyle Parker pass Thursday night)

Paul Johnson is a man of conviction and honesty, and when he's displeased, he says so. 

But standing with Erin Andrews just after his team's 30-27 win over Clemson on Thursday night, he didn't seem too perturbed.

His team had just pulled out a lackluster ("listless" and "lagging" also come to mind) victory at home over a team from which not much is expected this year, yet Johnson calmly complimented Clemson, admitted his team had some issues to work through, and pushed on.

So maybe that says something.

Johnson spent all week driving up expectations on Clemson, talking about how much talent they had, how much he respected them.

That's usually coach speak for, "I want everyone to notice when we slam these guys" or "I'm a lot less confident about this game than you are."

I've followed coach Paul Johnson since he was at Georgia Southern (the parents are proud alumni). He's a good and successful coach, and that's because he's got the head for both Xs and Os and the bigger picture.

He knows when his guys are slipping and need a kick in the pants—see last week—and he knows when he's just up against good talent.

Clemson's probably got three or four NFL-caliber players on defense, and it's undeniable that they possess weapons offensively, too. And not just ones named "Spiller."

I know I sound like I'm drinking the Kool-Aid, but the more I run this one over in my head, the less and less bad it gets.

Tech wasn't perfect. Far from it.

The offensive line backed down to almost every challenge Clemson threw at it.

Jonathan Dwyer was a complete non-factor.

Somebody needs to tell Josh Nesbitt that passes of less than 25 yards are OK too, if not encouraged.

But I respect Paul Johnson as a coach, and I respect his opinions. And on this one, I think maybe Tech just played a pretty good team.

When the Jackets went into Virginia Tech and nearly snuck one by the Hokies last fall, it didn't mean Frank Beamer's team was finished.

It meant Georgia Tech was better than everyone thought, and Virginia Tech snuck out with a win that, on a different day, might have gone the other way.

Good teams do that. They win ugly. They win against upstarts. They find a way—given time—to come up with something that works (Ex: the quarterback keepers Tech started calling just about every play in the fourth quarter).

Of course, Tech fans would probably rather their team looked like the world-beaters they spent the first quarter pretending to be.

But the Jackets were never a clear and steady front-runner in the ACC. They're near the top of the pack, sure, but they're going to have to fight their way to the summit.

We said all along that this little stretch, Clemson then Miami on successive Thursdays, would tell a lot about the kind of team Georgia Tech will be this season.

Well, we just got half of our answer. Be patient, the rest of it comes soon enough.