Georgia Tech ready to defend ACC title

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are the equivalent of a moving target.

They are the defending ACC champions, led the league in several offensive categories last season and return 15 starters.

They weren't picked to win the ACC again.

Tech coach Paul Johnson, however, has embraced the fact his team has been overlooked, as it was last year, and as it was when he first arrived.

"They're still going to let us play the games aren't they?" Johnson said Monday when asked about the Jackets getting slotted third in the ACC's Coastal Division. "That's all we care about. I think we can be competitive."

The Yellow Jackets should be a contender again, even if they have to remind people. After so many close wins and controversial plays, Tech carries that "yeah, but" stigma. Based upon questions asked of Johnson at the media days in Greensboro, some of that has to do with the perception of the offense and some of it has to do with the frequency of games played by the Jackets last year that came down to the last drive.

His players, however, are confident in their abilities.

A-back Roddy Jones said the experiences gained last year -- beating Wake Forest in overtime, outshooting FSU in a 49-44 thriller, defeating Clemson in the title game in which neither team punted -- have left the Jackets better prepared to play North Carolina in Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, two of the biggest road games on the Tech schedule this season

"We've learned how to win games, we've learned how to hold onto leads, we've learned how to finish teams," Jones said. "We've been in just about every position you can be in."

Winning the league still won't be easy, critics not withstanding. Four teams from the Coastal division likely will be ranked in the first Associated Press poll. Evidence of the conference's depth, North Carolina coach Butch Davis pointed out that seven teams received first-place votes in the media's preseason poll, which was released on Monday.

Johnson knows repeating won't be easy. Drawing on his experience of winning five consecutive conference championships at Georgia Southern, he's told the players that defending the title will be harder than winning it.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer agreed. He guided his team to ACC titles in 2007 and ‘08 before the Yellow Jackets took the crown last season to become the fourth different champ in five years. Getting there is just the first step.

"It's tough, but it's good for the league," Beamer said. "There are lots of good football teams and it's getting better all the time. I don't think there's a lot of separation. You've got to be ready to play every week."

Johnson has tried to instill preparation in his players since he arrived on the Flats. He said his players understand this point.

With so many starters returning, Johnson likes Jackets' chances of claiming the school's first back-to-back ACC championships. The players have bought in. They worked hard in the offseason under the direction of strength coach Neal Peduzzi. They want more.

The title defense begins in Chapel Hill on Sept. 18.

"It's kind of an understood goal," Jones said. "Last year and the year before it was one of those things that we had to say. The goal this year is to win the ACC championship and even go farther. Maybe we can run the table and get into the national championship."