When the a preseason poll of media members projected Georgia Tech to finish in fifth place in the ACC Coastal Division, Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson was emotionally crushed.
Not really.
Johnson actually used the prediction as a punchline. That should have been expected by anybody who knows: 1) The coach; 2) History.
"They haven't been right yet, so what makes them so smart this time?" Johnson said.
Disclaimer: I didn't vote in the preseason poll, which projected the Coastal standings as: Miami, Duke, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Pitt, Virginia. But I did have the Jackets finishing 5-3 in the ACC and 8-5 overall in a game-by-game look at their schedule.
So I'm already off by one. I had the Jackets losing this season to Virginia Tech, Miami and Pittsburgh in the conference, and Georgia out of conference. The 27-24 win in Blacksburg two weeks ago changed everything. The Jackets (4-0, 1-0) go into tonight's nationally televised game (ESPN2) against Miami (3-2, 1-1) with a chance to take charge in the Coastal Division. If Tech wins, it will have beaten the two teams most had considered the strength of the division. Nobody -- I'm assuming not even Johnson -- would've guessed that potentially only Pittsburgh and Virginia would stand in Tech's way to reach the ACC championship game.
The Jackets' offense has improved with quarterback Justin Thomas. Their biggest potential obstacle to a division title is their defense, which is allowing over 400 yards and 25.5 points per game and ranks last in the ACC and 92nd nationally against the run (194.2 yards per game).
Tech also has lost five straight meetings to Miami, with the last win coming in Johnson's first year in 2008 (41-23). That's probably why most oddsmakers have this game so close, some even with Miami a slight road favorite.
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