You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Georgia Tech' tag.
(WARNING: This is pretty much my rant of bashing UGA, who I despise – thanks to my first road game as a student to Athens in 2006. That said, please enjoy!)
Nope, that’s not a mistake – the Georgia Bulldogs are ranked at the top of both the media and coaches’ polls, after finishing #2 in the nation last year. Georgia rode the wave of momentum created by this well-know, dramatically overblown act of celebration…
…to a 42-30 win over the media’s darlings in Florida. These silly antics continued two weeks later for the Dawgs’ home game against Auburn…
…where Georgia won 45-20. After a seventh-straight win over Georgia Tech, UGA, perceived as “playing the best football in the country,” was hoping a national title game appearance was possible thanks to the carnage going on everywhere else.
Except there was one problem: Georgia didn’t even win their own division. UGA ended up in the Sugar Bowl, where they crushed a WAC team, thus forcing the offseason hype machine into the red. I guess it’s still going because of the #1 ranking and the talking heads everywhere calling for Georgia as the favorite to win it all.
I swear the media apparently forgot this game ever happened, or that it was some sort of false stroke of luck…
The hype machine has been sputtering a little bit though. The biggest hiccup came just recently, when All-SEC Freshman from last year T Trinton Sturdivant was lost for the year, a huge, huge blow for such a powerful running team. That of course followed the well known string of offseason nonsense going on down in Athens, resulting in suspensions and dismissals. We Tennessee fans saw the effects of those in 2005, though that team and this UGA team are pretty different, so I’m not sure that comparison holds water.
Let me just get to the point: Georgia is not going win the national title, the SEC, or even the division in 2008. Let’s examine how UGA came to be anointed the 2008 paper champions: lost to South Carolina at home, got smoked here in Knoxville (a worse beating than 2006), stole victory from defeat at Vandy, beat a beaten-up Tebow, beat an ACC team on the road, and beat a WAC team. What in there really makes you think this is going to be the best team in 2008.
It starts with Knowshon Moreno. He had a whopping 30 yards against Tennessee, so it’s not like he’s totally unstoppable, though he’s an incredibly talented back and one of the SEC’s best. Stoppable? Yes. Scary good? Yes, without a doubt
Matt Stafford has done nothingspectacular, throwing 26 TDs and 23 INTs in his career. All the hype he’s getting is based on pure potential and speculation. Stopping UGA isn’t rocket science people: you make Stafford beat you with his decision-making throwing the football. He hasn’t done that yet to my knowledge (I’ll even give you Alabama last year, but that was one throw). The receivers don’t scare anybody.
I can’t argue against Georgia being pretty good defensively this year with nine starters back, but then again, Tennessee has hung 86 points on them the past two years. Geno Atkins, Jeff Owens, and Roderick Battle up front, Dannell Ellerbe, Akeem Dent, and Rennie Curran at LB, and Prince Miller, Asher Allen, C.J. Byrd, and Reshad Jones is a pretty good secondary. I think they are going to be really good.
But this Georgia offense isn’t what it’s been made out to be for me. What scares you outside of Moreno and the talented backs behind him? The offensive line has really become a concern now due to some injuries and suspensions.
I haven’t even discussed the schedule: trips to Arizona State, South Carolina, LSU, Auburn, Florida in Jacksonville, and Tennessee and Bama at home. It’s rough. Really rough. I just don’t think Georgia’s as good as the media has made them out to be – they’re very talented, sure – and the brutal schedule should reveal that.
Mark Richt’s an excellent coach with plenty of class in my book, but he is out of place at Georgia. Those fans deserve a bigger jerk as their coach than Richt. I also have to wonder what antics UGA will pull this year. Internet rumors are that the game against Tennessee will be this year’s blackout game. Here’s a reminder of how that worked last time…
So to answer my originally posed question…absolutely not.
Remember the pitifulness that was the Big 12 North just a couple of years ago? In a three-year stretch from 2004-2006, the North representative lost in the conference title game by a combined 133-13. The emergence of Missouri and Kansas have more or less saved the division’s reputation.
What does this have to do with the ACC Coastal Division? If it wasn’t for Virginia Tech, this division would be the new Big 12 North. You could also call it a mini-Big East, because it’s a surprise if the Hokies don’t win the division. The competition? inconsistent Virginia and Georgia Tech, fallen power Miami, and basketball schools North Carolina and Duke.
I don’t really know what to say about this…
Look, I’m not going to ruffle many feathers when I say the ACC may be the worst of the major six BCS leagues. It was supposed to be the next super-conference when Miami, VT, and BC joined, but the Canes and perennial power Florida State have struggled, and the league has struggled in non-conference games.
Virginia Tech has won two ACC titles since joining the league in 2004
Yes, the ACC won the most non-conference games of any other league with 10. The wins: South Carolina, Colorado, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Rutgers, Notre Dame (twice), Texas A&M, UConn, and Pitt. However, the league was just 2-6 in bowls last year (this division was 0-3) and is a woeful 1-9 all-time in bowl games.
This probably says just as much…
Yes, the SEC Champions beat the ACC Champion by 41 points. Virginia Tech recovered from that and the late collapse against Matt Ryan to bounce back, win the Coastal in its rival’s stadium, and avenge the loss for the ACC Championship, the Hokies’ second in its four years in the ACC. They then of course lost to Kansas, who had no business even being in the Orange Bowl (uh, Missouri?).
Once again, the Coastal is Tech’s to lose, despite the dismissal of HB Branden Ore, graduation of the top four WRs, and having to find 7 new defensive starters. The two-headed QB attack of Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor return, and the Hokies’ OL, which gave up 54 sacks last year, should be much improved. VT has some tough road games – North Carolina, Nebraska, BC, FSU, and Miami – but c’mon, they have the most talent in this division and Frank Beamer.
CB Victor “Macho” Harris is one of just four returning defensive starters for Virginia Tech, but the Hokies always have good defenses under Bud Foster
The Hokies most likely challenger will actually be North Carolina (don’t laugh). Though UNC hasn’t won a game outside the state since 2002, it’s Butch Davis’ second year and he has the Tar Heel program heading in the right direction. The entire offense returns, including So. QB T.J. Yates, who broke the school records in yards, completions, and attempts last year. The entire secondary returns and the defense should be fine despite losing its top two tacklers.
Could Butch Davis lead UNC into the ACC Title Game in just his second year??
UNC will be tested early, with trips to Rutgers and Miami sandwiching the home game against Virginia Tech, all in the first four games. The Heels also host Notre Dame. They were just 3-6 last year in games decided by less than 7 points, so it’s not like they have that far to go.
Miami was supposed to be Virginia Tech’s main competition, but the Canes have had a rough go in the ACC. The Canes were just 2-6 in the league last year and those wins were UNC and Duke. I would attribute most of the issues to poor QB play and lackluster effort. The current QBs on the roster have attempted as many passes in college as I have – zero. That said, many are high on rFr. Robert Marve and Fr. early-enrollee Jacory Harris. Playmakers like HBs Craig Cooper and Javarris James and WR Sam Shields should help. Oh, they lost five of their top six tacklers from last year too.
Miami said adios to the Orange Bowl by laying an egg against Virginia…maybe the move to Dolphin Stadium will get Miami and all that talent back on track
Seriously, it’s not like Miami is depleted on talent, they had a top 10 class last year. They’re going to be a pretty young team this year, and they play Florida and Texas A&M on the road in the first three games. Still, there’s no reason Miami shouldn’t at least make a bowl game this year.
Quietly, Virginia, led by their defense, had a chance to win the Coastal last year, but lost at home to Virginia Tech in the finale. It’s a rebuilding year for Al Groh, as the Cavs lose much of that defense (six starters including #2 pick DE Chris Long), lose experience along the OL, and must break in a new QB. The Cavs got smacked by Wyoming and were 6-2 in games decided by 7 points or less last year, so they were fortunate to go 9-4.
A strength a year ago, Virginia returns just five starters, but all three LBs – including Clint Sintim – are back
Playmaking HBs Cedric Peerman and Mikell Simpson are back, and QB Peter Lalich did play in 8 games last year.
It’s a whole new start for Georgia Tech, as new coach Bobby Johnson is bringing the triple option offense to Atlanta. Last year’s starting QB Taylor Bennett transferred to Louisiana Tech since he was certainly not an option QB. So. Josh Nesbitt, though, is an option-style QB. Proof:
Stud HB Tashard Choice is gone but Jonathan Dwyer scored 9 TDs last year, yet there are some questions on the OL. Seven starters and Jon Tenuta, one of the best defensive coordinators in the game, are all gone. 1st Team All-ACC Vance Walker anchors a defensive line that should be solid.
And finally, there’s Duke. The Blue Devils have just plain sucked for a really, really long time (see 1-31 ACC record since expansion in 2004). But they hired David Cutcliffe away from Tennessee and look to be showing some vested interest in making a concentrated effort on improving the football program. Cutcliffe won at Ole Miss, but can he win at Duke, a place where only Steve Spurrier has won?
(Sincerely) Good luck at Duke, Coach Cut, you’re gonna need it…
Simply because of what Cutcliffe has done for Tennessee, I hope so. Cutcliffe has always been an excellent QB coach (see the Mannings and moreso Erik Ainge 2005 vs. Erik Ainge 2006-2007) – maybe less so as an offensive coordinator (not touching that dead horse). He’ll now be working with Thaddeus Lewis, who’s entering his third year as Duke’s starter.
The rushing and receiving leaders from last year both return, but the Devils averaged just 64 yards rushing/game last year. They do have 10 starters back on defense, though, including 100 tackle LBs Vincent Rey and Michael Taualiili.
Duke’s won 4 games the past four years, and I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch for them to win that many this year.
With Western Kentucky joining the Sun Belt Conference (sort of) this year, Division I-A is down to just 3 Independents – Army, Navy, and Notre Dame. I’m one of those that believes Notre Dame needs to get over themselves and join the Big Ten, but that won’t happen in my lifetime (they have no reason to though). Anyways, I’ll include the Irish in the Big Ten preview.
That leaves Army and Navy. Army has returned to Independent status after an “experiment” of sorts in Conference USA. It didn’t go so well, and Army has struggled just as much as an Independent. Phil Steele says they would be a perfect fit for the MAC (using Temple as an example) and that makes sense – the Black Knights do face 4 MAC teams this season. On top of that there’s the minor issue of 6 straight losses to Navy (just 2 wins since 1996).
Navy has beaten Army 6 consecutive times, and nine out of 11 since 1996, including last year’s 38-3 rout
The Knights were just 3-9 last year, but this year’s schedule is easier with potentially winnable home games against Temple, New Hampshire, Akron, Eastern Michigan, Louisiana Tech, and Air Force. However, Army returns just 8 starters, one of which is QB Carson Williams, who threw for 11 TDs and 12 INTs last year. Williams will face a stiff challenge from freshman QB Paul McIntosh, Indiana’s Mr. Football in 2007 who accounted for nearly 4,000 yards of offense his senior year and presents more of an option-style QB, which Army is looking for.
The top 4 rushers – HBs Tony Dace, Patrick Mealy, Wesley McMahand, and Ian Smith – return, but the WR spot will be a weakness of some sorts, as Army does look to move to more of an option offense emphasis. The OL have 5 players back with starting experience, always in important in a run-first offense.
Jr. DT Ted Bentler (#99) – team leader in sacks last year with 3 – leads the Army front seven into 2008
Defensively, the front 7 looks to be fine with 4 starters back, but heavy losses in the secondary may be a problem for the Knights. Army will also struggle on special teams as well, so it looks to be another difficult year for Army, but success could be on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Navy, under Paul Johnson, have won less than 8 games only once since 2002 and has been to 5 straight bowl games (winning two). However, Johnson is now at Georgia Tech, so it’s a new beginning of sorts under new coach Ken Niumatalolo. The Middies have been the epitome of the triple option offense under Johnson and it has been very successful. The offense is so unique that when it’s run to perfection like Navy (and until last year Air Force) does it, it’s hard to be stopped – I’ll use the Air Force-Tennessee game from 2006 as proof.
Ken Niumatalolo is Navy’s new head coach, taking over Paul Johnson, now at Georgia Tech. Niumatalolo did coach the Poinsettia Bowl 35-32 loss to Utah
Offensively Navy always leads the nation in rushing, and they scored the most points in their history last season, breaking a 90 year-old record. QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada, a nightmare for TV announcers, returns to lead the option attack. RBs Eric Kettani and Shun White return as well. The OL, however, returns just 25 career starts, the 5th lowest in I-A, and make take some time to come together.
QB Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada leads the Navy triple option offense into 2008
Defensively, Navy struggled last year. The points they gave up? 19, 41, 34 (OT), 43, 20, 45 (2OT), 44, 59, 44 (3OT), 62, 24, and 3 (Army). They actually won the game where they gave up 62, a 74-62 win at North Texas, the most points ever scored in a I-A game that didn’t go to OT. Eight of last year’s top 10 tacklers return, including 3 DL and the entire secondary. Of course Navy finds themselves at disadvantages defensively, but they should be better this year than they were last year. And they may have to be with the new offensive line getting its feet wet early in the year. I would honestly be surprised if Navy didn’t reach its sixth consecutive bowl this year, in addition to another win over Army.
When talking about great rivalries in sports, you just can’t leave out the spectacle that is Army vs. Navy
