No comebacks allowed

Joe knew comebacks

Paul Johnson won 20 games in his first two seasons at Georgia Tech. A large component of that success was his team's ability to build leads which it could protect in the final quarter of the game. This leverages the team's strength, which is running the football.

Unfortunately for Paul Johnson, there is virtue in balance, and when you play at the highest level of college football, you will often find yourself needing to make offensive plays late in a game. This proves difficult when you are pressured to score in a time-sensitive situation and all you know how to do is possess the football and run clock.

In order to accomplish a truly special season, a team must be flexible enough to adapt to any game situation, and Paul Johnson's one-trick offense will always hamstring Georgia Tech from reaching the upper crust of college football.

Oh, but 2009 was a special season you say? Sorry, but winning a sorry ACC, with a loss to UGA, and a middle-of-the-pack ranking is NOT a special season. And how was that loss to UGA achieved? By failing to score in a time-sensitive situation late in the game.

Games under Paul Johnson where GT gained possession of the football inside of 5 minutes remaining while trailing by 8 points or less: (note: Clemson in the 2009 ACC Title Game does not meet the criteria, as GT gained possession at 6:11 remaining)

Year	Opponent	Time left	Deficit	Result	Final score
2008	Virginia Tech	4:37	3	Downs	(L) 17-20
-	-	0:25	3	End Gm	-
2008	Virginia	3:29	7	INT	(L) 17-24
2009	Georgia	3:30	6	Downs	(L) 24-30
2010	Kansas	4:22	3	Downs	(L) 25-28
2010	Wake Forest	2:21	3	TD	(W) 24-20
2010	Virginia Tech	2:23	7	INT	(L) 21-28
2010	Georgia	2:53	1	Downs	(L) 34-42
-	-	1:22	8	INT	-

Conclusion: In the Paul Johnson era, Georgia Tech is 1-6 in games where it possesses the football late with the game within reach. The lone win came against a 3-9 Wake Forest with the 102nd ranked defense whose only ACC win came against Duke.