Thursday notes -- Tech time

This was Georgia Tech day.

The Yellow Jackets arrived and talked to cameras and notebooks.

Coach Paul Johnson, is your offense magic? And if it is, is it voodoo or lounge act?

"We've been running this since probably about 1985," Johnson said Thursday. "I think it's like anything else. If you understand what you are doing maybe you have a chance to fix it so through the years people have adjusted.

"We've added things. There's no magical answer. The offense isn't magic. We have to block and execute, but if you do that, we have the chance to spread the field and make some big plays."

This offense has worked everywhere Johnson has been a head coach. He won two I-AA championships at Georgia Southern (1999 and 2000). It took Navy (yes, Navy) to five consecutive bowl games. Just today, the Johnson offense run by Navy beat Missouri in the something bowl. (OK, the Texas Bowl.)

This season, the dragsters are in place. Quarterback Josh Nesbitt, running back Jonathan Dywer and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas have the Jackets in their first Orange Bowl since 1967.

So, it's not magic. It's having the athletes, and doing that blocking thingie.

"The key in any offense is to have a quarterback," Johnson said. "Josh has certainly played well this year and he has done a good job running the offense and hopefully he'll have a big game next Tuesday.

"He's a good athlete. Josh is a strong guy and he is very competitive. He is an athletic guy so he is a good runner as well as being able to throw the ball."

Nesbitt had confidence in the system. Why shouldn't he? He'll pass 1,000 rushing yards in the Orange Bowl (he's at 991) and he's accounted for 28 TDs (18 rushing and 10 passing) this season.

"I knew it would work once I knew where everyone was supposed to be and knew what I was supposed to be doing, I knew it could work," Nesbitt said. "I try to stay humble and try not to overreact. Sometimes it's like that [making plays up on the fly], but most of the time you can see what's going to happen since I've been doing it for so long."

Tech's defense? Not so much with the magic.

In their last two games of the season (a loss to Georgia and a victory over Clemson), Tech gave up 662 rushing yards. What does that say? It certainly brings up the toughness question. Can you just run the ball at Tech?

"Certainly at times this year we have played OK on defense," Johnson said. "We've got to play a lot better on Tuesday then we've played in the last two games. There is no secret about that."

Bulletin board -- You know that the whole reason the press is down here is to coax someone into a victory guarantee, right?  How else would we get bruising quotes like the following?

"First and foremost, they are very talented, but I think what really stands out on tape is their effort and the way they play," Tech center Sean Bedford said of the Hawkeyes. "They go hard every single play. They don't give up. They play with good technique. That's just something you have to be prepared to match their intensity and go as hard as you can."

On Wisconsin -- The Champs Sports Bowl on Tuesday pitted the Big Ten against the ACC. It got somewhat close, but Wisconsin mostly muscled Miami (Fla.), 20-14.

The Badgers hit. The Hurricanes had a heater on their sidelines in 50-degree weather.

So yeah, that got Tech's attention. You know, the Orange Bowl is Big Ten-ACC. Maybe the Big Ten can make a challenge out of it in football. (Yes, I know the Big Ten finally won the Big Ten-ACC challenge this year after four millions years of despair.)

The physical nature of the game got Tech's attention.

"I'm going into the game thinking it's going to be the most physical game I've ever played in, so I'm just going to keep that mind set." Nesbitt said.