One thing that’s never happened in Paul Johnson’s tenure… He’s never had a team quit on him. After another blown lead against South Florida, a sloppy performance against Pitt, then a blowout to Clemson, Georgia Tech sat 1-3 and the season was on the brink of a disaster.
Suddenly after scoring more than 120 points the last two weeks, there’s hope again in Atlanta. Beating Bowling Green, didn’t raise any eyebrows, but going into Louisville and destroying the Cardinals 66-31 did. Let’s not mistake the Cardinals for a good team, they aren’t, but Georgia Tech still dominated from start to finish. For a team that has struggled on the road in recent years, and is prone to losing late leads this is a shot in the arm and a big confidence builder.
Georgia Tech still has issues. They have holes especially defensively, but they create turnovers and the offense is on fire at the moment. With a 3-3 record now, reaching a bowl game and salvaging something out of the season is again a possibility. There was growing frustration with head coach Paul Johnson from the Georgia Tech fanbase, but not many coaches circle the wagons better than he does. He seems to coach his best, when he is doubted the most. It’s a win Georgia Tech can build on. We will see if they do…
On the other side, the bottom just fell out on Louisville’s season. The Cardinal’s lack of physicality was astonishing. Louisville defenders were getting pushed backwards on nearly every Georgia Tech offensive play. That’s not a schematic issue either. The Cardinals looked unprepared, lacked toughness, and were ran off their own home field. On September 17, 2016, Louisville destroyed the #2 team in the country 63-20. Just over two years later, the Cardinals lost by 35 points to a team that has one ACC road win since 2014.
Bobby Petrino is in big big trouble now. The Cardinal’s are the worst team in the ACC, and are staring at 2-10 or 3-9 season right in the face. Look at their schedule do you see a win in there? Maybe Wake Forest at home?
It’s not just being bad either. We know Louisville is bad, but they are bad and getting worse. 2018 is the culmination of a program, that Petrino got lazy with. He never addressed the issues on the Offensive and Defensive lines, and now Lamar Jackson can’t bail him out anymore.
Petrino’s seat is one fire, and Louisville fans appear ready to move on from him. This feels like a matter of when not if Bobby Petrino is let go at Louisville. Petrino has a great track record, but he’s simply not getting it done after 5 years at Louisville.
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