Georgia Tech injuries may force freshman DT to start
T.J. Barnes says that in his dreams, he can see himself scooping up a fumble, showing a move or two and then rumbling 20 yards for a touchdown in Saturday's ACC championship game against Clemson.
But he'll settle for doing what he can to help Georgia Tech win.
Barnes, a 6-foot-7, 340-pound defensive tackle, likely will make his first start of the season Saturday because of injuries to Ben Anderson and Jason Peters.
"I just can't wait for Saturday to come to strap up and play," Barnes said. "I've been watching a lot of film to get extra-prepared."
Coach Paul Johnson said he wants to see more consistency and production from Barnes, who has 16 tackles this season.
Playoffs or title game?
Though his team has earned the right to play in the ACC's title game, Johnson said he would prefer that either all conferences have a championship game, or no conference has a championship game.
He points to the SEC as evidence of how such a game can backfire, saying No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Alabama likely would play in the BCS national championship game Jan. 7 if not for the SEC game to be played at the Georgia Dome on Saturday.
Instead, the SEC's winner will play for a national championship while the loser likely will go to the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1.
Earlier this season Johnson said he wishes that the NCAA would implement a 16-team playoff in Division I-A, just as there is in I-AA. He repeated that wish Tuesday.