Tech-Notre Dame at the Georgia Dome?
South Bend, Ind.—Maria and I had a wonderful weekend here as we took part in the College Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies. A very impressive group of players, including UCLA’s Troy Aikman, Oklahoma State’s Thurman Thomas, and Florida State’s Ron Simmons (of Warner Robins, Ga.) were enshrined into the Hall of Fame. The coaches included Lou Holtz, who won a national championship at Notre Dame and finished his career at South Carolina, John Cooper, the first coach to take a Pac-10 team (Arizona State) AND a Big Ten team (Ohio State) to the Rose Bowl, and former Georgia head coach Jim Donnan, who went in as a member of the divisional class for his success at Marshall.
Here are just a few nuggets from the weekend that might interest you:
Georgia Tech and Notre Dame at the Georgia Dome? Gary Stokan, the much traveled president of the Atlanta Sports Council, was here over the weekend talking to Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick. The subject? Trying to get the globetrotting Fighting Irish to consider Atlanta for one of their neutral site games.
Notre Dame likes to play neutral site games in order to help recruiting. The Irish are playing Navy at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. in 2010, Baylor in New Orleans in 2012, and Arizona State in Arlington, Tex., in 2013. Today the school will announce that it will play Army at the new Yankee Stadium in 2010.
Stokan made the pitch for Notre Dame to consider Atlanta for one of these trips. The word I got here is that the Irish might consider it for a chance to play a Georgia Tech or an Alabama.
“For what Notre Dame wants to do with its schedule, this just makes sense,” said Stokan.
Tenuta takes over the ND defense: You’ll recall that former Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta landed at Notre Dame when Chan Gailey’s staff got let go after the 2007 season. He went to Notre Dame not as coordinator, but as an assistant head coach who worked with the linebackers. Corwin Brown was the defensive coordinator. This season, which is a crucial one for head coach Charlie Weis, Tenuta will be in charge of the Notre Dame defense. Brown remains on the staff as Associate Head coach and co-defensive coordinator but Tenuta will call the defenses. “Corwin is a great guy but Charlie had to make a tough call,” someone close to the program told me. “Tenuta is a great coach.”
Holtz headed to Japan: Anytime Lou Holtz is in South Bend he is the star attraction, and so it was Saturday night when he was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame. Holtz couldn’t talk a lot because his voice was raspy from yelling. Yes, yelling. Sunday morning Holtz took a group of former Notre Dame stars to Tokyo to play against the Japanese National team. The game will be on July 25. While Holtz was taking part in all of the Hall of Fame festivities, he was also sneaking away to the Notre Dame practice fields looking his potential team, some of whom are in their 40s, like former QB Tony Rice (who will turn 42 on Sept. 5). “Let’s put it this way,” Holtz said. “If Rudy comes back he is going to be our star.” Among the other people on Holtz’s coaching staff for this game will be former Georgia defensive coordinator and former Notre Dame assistant coach Bill Lewis.
Before the evening was over Holtz had everybody convinced that the Japan National Team was just a little bit better than Nebraska in 1995. Donnan would have none of it.
“Yeah, Lou really knows how to schedule,” Donnan said. “He should be able to beat Japan.”
Donnan humbled by enshrinement: Donnan won 64 games in six seasons as Marshall’s head coach. He won a Division I-AA national championship at Marshall in 1992 and played in a total of four national championship games. He had a 15-4 record in the playoffs and if you count his 4-0 bowl record at Georgia, Donnan has a career post-season record of 19-4. With his wife, Mary, and his children (Todd, Tammy, Paige) and grandchildren there to see it, no one enjoyed Saturday night’s enshrinement dinner than Jim Donnan.
“This puts a nice cap on my career,” said Donnan, who did not get back into coaching after he was released by Georgia after the 2000 season. “I hope the folks at Marshall and Georgia will look back and think that we did some nice things while we were there.”
Donnan still lives in Athens where he is involved in various business ventures. He has cut back on his television work because this fall he will be flying to Oklahoma to see one of his grandsons play football.
Will the Hall of Fame remain in South Bend? I have to give a lot of credit to the people of South Bend who put on quite a weekend for the Hall of Fame enshrinement. There is no question that the people of that community take a great deal of pride in having the Hall of Fame in their town. They made us all feel welcome.
But there are persistent rumblings that eventually the College Football Hall of Fame will relocate to a larger city where there is a guarantee of more traffic and exposure. The two leading cities, I’m told, are Atlanta and Dallas.
If it’s Atlanta, the goal would be to place the HOF near the Aquarium and the New World of Coca-Cola so that it would become a destination for out of town visitors, especially during the SEC championship game, the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and the Chick-fil-A kickoff. Dallas is also a player because of a powerful group that includes former Cowboys Roger Staubach, Deion Sanders, and Emmitt Smith plus billionaire T. Boone Pickens.
None of those talks, I’m told, has reached the serious stage. But based on what I saw this weekend, it is going to be hard to get the HOF out of South Bend.
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143 comments Add your comment
Too Easy
July 20th, 2009
8:52 am
RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!
Too Easy
July 20th, 2009
8:57 am
70,000 Catholics and 2,319 gt fans.
GTPHISH
July 20th, 2009
9:02 am
I love the idea of GT-Notre Dame at the dome.
CGriggs
July 20th, 2009
9:06 am
So Alabama could play in the GA Dome opener for 3 years in a row? Keep us updated.
Ron Mexico
July 20th, 2009
9:11 am
The HOF belongs in South Bend. It would be a shame to see it go to Dallas, which doesn’t have a major college football team in the area.
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
9:12 am
Saban has been trying to get Notre Dame on the schedule since he landed in Tuscaloosa. That would be a monster game. We’re also trying to get a Big 12 opponent for a game in Texas Stadium or the Super Dome.
Where have you gone Jim Bob Cooter ?
July 20th, 2009
9:14 am
Tony,
1) Congratulations. I speak for everyone here that your honor is well deserved. You make the best sport in the world better,and that is hard to do.
2) GT-ND – Play it. It would be a sellout. But remember ,this ND is not the ND of 1999. The college landscape has changed too much. Lots of high school 5 stars have to have the whole golden dome history explained to them (slowly , in short sentences) and they are just not that impressed.Its been almost a generation since ND was a dominant program and everybody has the kind of rabid fan base that they used to have.They’re just another middling program these days.
3)John Tenuta is in a good situation in SB. Tech has moved on. A change that benefitted both.
4) Lou Holtz.Funny guy. NCAA enforcement nightmare. I’ll bet that he will break a few recruiting rules even with his team of has-beens. I would send ESPN a large check if the would please stop the Dr. Lou segments at halftime.
5) When I read that “puts a nice cap on my career” comment from Jim Donnan , I ran out of champagne within minutes. Donnan was a jackass. He should have been smart enough to know that the coaches position at UGA is one of the highest profile jobs in the state , year round.Good media ,alumni and public relations (in addition to being a classy guy) are part of the job description. Period. CMR fulfills this requirement and wins.I’m tired or rehashing Donnan’s departure at Georgia. Nobody else wanted the guy. That should tell you something.
6) CFB HOF. To ATL PDQ. If money talks,the HOF walks. Maybe not this year,but in the forseeable future.
Michael G.
July 20th, 2009
9:24 am
Jim bob,
you only speak for yourself about tony, not “the rest of us.”
RAMBLE ON!!!
July 20th, 2009
9:26 am
Donnan makes the HOF, then they should build a temple for Paul Johnson.
Otto
July 20th, 2009
9:28 am
If ND plays GT in the Dome I hope GT kills them. Yes it would sell out. If given tickets I may even put on a GT hat for that one.
As a UGA fan I want the Atlanta Sports Council to end the kick off games as CPJ said it is not doing GT or UGA any favors.
Otto
July 20th, 2009
9:32 am
Got 12? I’d love to see a Bama/OU rematch, maybe play it twice one in the Super Dome and the other in the Cowboys new stadium. BTW get Chik Fil A to sponsor and move the kick off classic out of the Ga. Dome thanks.
CharlotteGator
July 20th, 2009
9:33 am
I’d prefer ND-Bama versus ND-GT. Tech playing Notre just doesn’t stoke that much interest for me.
The Donnan stuff is humorous to me. A poster above made the best point: “It should tell you something that nobody wanted him.”
The HOF in Atlanta is an interesting idea. Dallas doesn’t seem like a good location, but Atlanta would definitely draw all the out of towners that are in ATL as well as the rabid SEC fan bases that converge there.
I know I’d come check it out and make the 3.5 hr. drive. By the way, how big is the HOF? Doesn’t seem like there’s that much to display given that college football history started in 1990.
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
9:34 am
Otto,
The kickoff games are doing Atlanta’s economy a favor and that’s what it’s all about. UGA chooses not to play in the game. I’m not sure why Tech hasn’t played on yet. We, Bama, love the kickoff game.
Thanks for the added national exposure, Atlanta Sports Council.
Saint Simons
July 20th, 2009
9:34 am
Tech will play Notre Dame but uga want!! uga likes to buy their wins against cukecake teams!!!!
Hungover mutt fan
July 20th, 2009
9:35 am
NICK SABAN IS GOING TO NOTRE DAME!
gooooooooooooooooo dawgs!
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
9:39 am
Otto,
Unfortunately, the name I’ve heard for the game in Texas Stadium is Baylor. Let’s hope Bama can work something out with OU or Texas. We, college football fans, deserve it.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
9:39 am
Got 12 Saban tried so hard that he scheduled Chattanooga, North Texas, and Florida International. That was a really another stupid statement you made, again! Learn facts before you let your little fantasy fingers start typing, again!
Ramble ON, the did build a Temple, they took out another 5000 seats so the stadium would look full when 15,000 fans shou up. You should praise these people instead of trying to run them into the ground.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
9:49 am
Got 12 Based on the current mind set at Red Neck U, they will try and schedule Jax State, or Northern Alabama at that Texas Stadium Game. Here is a thought, maybe they could go to the west coast and play UTAH.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
9:54 am
Saint Simons, is Gardner Webb one of those power teams, that Tech wants to play, or is it Jax State, Furman, or another one of those tough teams. How about OK State, Arizona State, Colorado, or maybe Florida, Tenn, Auburn, try some of those before you start typing stupid things again, By the way, when we have played Notre Dame, we have beaten them.
PCole
July 20th, 2009
9:54 am
Didn’t know the Hall was for Cheaters like Holtz. Hopefully they changed out the microphone after he got through spitting all over it as he spoke.
m
July 20th, 2009
9:56 am
I loved the last time that Tech played Notre Dame in South Bend. The score was 33-3. It was a fun victory but also a little sad that the famed “Touchdown Jesus” had to be renamed to “Field Goal Jesus”.
Tech versus Notre Dame in the dome would be great.
Tech fans have fond memories of Jim Donnan…just like the dawgies do for chan gomer gailey.
Tenuta is a one trick pony but he gives 100%….a heck of a lot different than the comatose chan gomer gailey.
Tony…congrats on the hall of fame. Do you think now you could quit being such an sec homer-gomer and give us some real reporting?
And, finally, Thank God and Greyhound that chan gomer gailey is gone FOREVER.
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
9:58 am
Denver Dog,
Is this the part where I reply in kind, and we go back and forth in a keyboard free-for-all? I’m unfamiliar with the internet tough guy game.
http://blog.al.com/rapsheet/2009/06/nick_saban_lays_out_his_ideal.html
CharlotteGator
July 20th, 2009
10:06 am
Got 12,
Great link. Really enjoyed reading some of Saban’s comments on that stuff.
I have a legitimate question though. Do you think he says that knowing it will never happen? Maybe just to fire up his team, fanbase, recruits, etc.? I ask because I just don’t see a situation where any of those other schools (except for maybe USC) would sign up for that. I might have read it wrong but it seems like he was talking of rolling different teams on and off. I just don’t see other big schools signing up for that since they typically want a home and home. Unless of course he meant home and home with one school then switch to another. If so, then I’ll go work on my reading comprehension and come back in a few weeks.
Anyway, just seems to me that while us fans would love it, I don’t see his AD or other schools’ AD’s, boosters, coaches, etc. wanting to sign up for that deal.
CharlotteGator
July 20th, 2009
10:09 am
The example I’m thinking of is USC kinda playing the we’ll go anywhere, play anyone card. They say that and then claim to be beating up the other conferences, but when you look at it they’re demolishing UVA, Arkansas, Ohio St., etc. It could be that USC has tried to play the other big time schools in the ACC, SEC, and Big 11, but have been rebuffed. I don’t know that’s the case however. I’d like to think the powerhouses in those conferences would show up if invited.
Peadawg
July 20th, 2009
10:09 am
Coming from a bulldawg fan…I hope GT beats the hell outta Notre Dame. DO NOT LET THEM COME INTO OUR STATE AND WIN!
pensacola dawg
July 20th, 2009
10:22 am
Tech would never go fot a game at the dome, just think how embarrassing it would be to tech when a visitor more than 500 miles away tripled the number of tech fans.Actually Im all for it!!!!!
Miles
July 20th, 2009
10:22 am
Right now, Notre Dame would get worked by either Alabama or Georgia Tech. Notre Dame needs a good coach and then they’ll return to stardom. As long as Weis remains the coach, they’ll be merely mediocre. Since Holtz left, Notre Dame has gone downhill. Losing to USC the year Matt Leinart fumbled the ball out of bounds short of the goal line with seconds remaining on the clock was symbolic of the the type of losing coach Weis is.
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
10:25 am
CharlotteGator,
Saban says he would like to play one big non-conference game each year against a team with which Bama has historical ties (e.g. Penn St, Notre Dame). It seems the only way to get a one-and-done is a neutral site game which appears to be hard to schedule (except for the Kickoff Classic).
We have Georgia Tech, Penn St and Michigan St coming up for home-and-home. Back in 2007, Saban tried to book ND for a home-and-home but they are booked until the late 2010’s.
dan
July 20th, 2009
10:32 am
Where have you gone Jim Bob Cooter ?
I will help you raise money to get rid of the ” Dr. Lou segments” and the cheesy “Pep Talks” he did the year before. Although I will say that some of those pep talks he would do at Notre Dame were kind of legit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNB2CqYrd-o&feature=related
Otto
July 20th, 2009
10:38 am
Got 12?? Baylor? Whats the point? I do agree Atlanta business likes but the UGA fan base shouldn’t. As you said added exposure for Bama or whoever plays in it.
m, UGA fans have fond memories of every coach GT has had since Dodd by the time they are fired or take another job as Dodd was the last to have a winning record against UGA when they packed up their North Ave. office.
murfdawg
July 20th, 2009
10:46 am
Nobody wants to play GT in the Dome. They are a middle of the pack ACC team and do not have the national exposure to attract a big name team outside of Dixie. The only national exposure they get is when they play UGA. But beating Georgia once in eight years seems to be enough for them to live off of for a year.
East Cobb Hokie
July 20th, 2009
10:51 am
Tony, congrats on the award.
Re GT/ND- could the Jackets sell their half of the tickets to their own fans?
m
July 20th, 2009
10:51 am
Otto,
George O’leary beat ugag 3 out of his last 4 games.
Bobby Ross beat ugag 2 out of his last 3 games
Bill Curry beat ugag 2 out his last 3 games.
They all figured out how to beat ugag.
At Tech, Paul Johnson is 1-0 against ugag. Get back to me if y’all EVER beat him.
45-42…glad it still hurts so bad…and it is only the beginning.
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
10:52 am
Otto,
We’re hoping for Texas but it’s not up to us. It’s probably Jerry Jones who decides who plays in Texas Stadium. The only thing we can do is decline (which we wouldn’t) if the opponent is Baylor or some other no-name Big 12 team.
Tony Barnhart
July 20th, 2009
10:52 am
A couple of things:
Thanks to everybody on this blog who wrote such kind notes about my trip to the Hall of Fame. It was a great night for my family and I am truly honored.
A number of you have asked about coach Erk Russell. He is not in the divisional Hall of Fame because, by rule, you have to be a head coach for a minimum of 10 years. Coach Russell did it for nine seasons at Georgia Southern. There are people working behind the scenes trying to ge the Hall of Fame to take another look at this. There is no question in my mind that Erk Russell belongs in the Hall of Fame.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
10:59 am
Got 12, just wanted you to state the facts, sorry that it hurt so much. “Saban said he is happy with San Jose State, and Georgia State.” Ga State is a start up team. So just get your facts straight, and by the way, your team still should go west and play, we did it last year, UT has doneit repeatedly, and playing Arizona State and Colorado, may not have the same appeal as playing Jax State, Georgia State, and Floriday International, they do play good football, and they do love having us go out there. Ok, so now Georgia Tech and Michigan State are tough teams since your school is playing them. At least you didn’t sign your name chump this time.
mcdawg
July 20th, 2009
11:13 am
ND vs. Bama would be great but ND vs GT makes sense-the HOF is a great site blows away cooperstown (which is nothing but a Yankess/Red Sox shrine)so understandable that it would move to a bigger market
bb
July 20th, 2009
11:25 am
Denver Dog,
Congrats on that 1-0 record against Notre Dame. UGA has a long distinguished history of scheduling powerhouse opponents.
Yeah, yeah, I know. We’re in the SEC, blah, blah, blah.
I will give UGA credit for their OOC schedule the last 2 years.
Elliot Garcia
July 20th, 2009
11:26 am
Have you ever been to South Bend? It makes Athens, GA look like Manhattan….
Denver Dog aka gilligan
July 20th, 2009
11:30 am
hey dimwit….
we scheduled gardner webb as a make up game. it was the only game we could schedule on short notice. i think those awburn tigers opted out of our series. i guess they got tired of us beating them.
question for you…. when we beat you frawgs AGAIN this year are you guys going to try an opt out of our series too? or will you fire the rev??
dimwit!
traditionally gt always plays a tougher otc schedule that ugag. look it up nit wit.
i take that back….
most real top ten teams play a tougher otc than ugay. key word is ‘real’.
i know i know… ugag is no 1 . ugag is no 1. ugag is preseason no 1. LMAO.
you frawgs always do your best work in the PRESEASON. why is that?
cause your a woulda shoulda coulda school of losers.
btw tell your mama i said hi.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
11:35 am
mama says high
Nachos Fan
July 20th, 2009
11:35 am
Denver Dog is a tool! Go drink a PBR or something dude.. your gonna have a heart attack!
Crue Fest ‘09.. party or die
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
11:38 am
Denver Dog,
In reviewing your original post, I am having problems identifying the “facts” you say hurt me so much. Please point them out.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
9:49 am
Got 12 Based on the current mind set at Red Neck U, they will try and schedule Jax State, or Northern Alabama at that Texas Stadium Game. Here is a thought, maybe they could go to the west coast and play UTAH.
Saint Simons
July 20th, 2009
11:42 am
Gosh, I seriously hope we get to play Furman or Jax State in one of these Dome openers. 1500 screaming fans would spend dozens of their dollars to watch our power house Tech team pull out a win against these Giants.
Peadawg
July 20th, 2009
11:46 am
Hey m, what about Chan Gailey? How’d he do against Georgia?
That’s what I thought.
HEDGEPRUNER
July 20th, 2009
11:47 am
Denver dawg get over yourself, UF has owned your team since Dooley retired so stop your crap about beating up on Tech, now that PJ is here you will see a different mind set and philosophy at Tech, so much more that MR will have many disgruntled fans after Tech beats them again this year and when was the last time UGA won a NC, 1980 ? So stop trashing our program and start worrying about your own, especially this year with 85% of your offense gone from last year….45-42 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THWG
ctfalconsfan
July 20th, 2009
11:47 am
If the Dome is looking for an event how about putting 2 Southern Conference teams in there- GA Southern v App State.
get the picture
July 20th, 2009
11:56 am
It doesn’t bother me that the College Football Hall of Fame is in South Bend, I’m not a fan of Notre Dame for many reasons, but I get that the Hall is in South Bend. However, I recently visited the Hall of Fame and was EXTREMELY disappointed. It’s a joke of a facility for such a great game. While I think most colleges keep the memorabilia for their teams and their players in their own “halls”, the displays and lack of information on each player at the col HOF is pretty sad. I’ve told numerous people, unless you just happen to be in South Bend and you just happen to have a couple hours and $12 to waste, don’t make a special trip to see it. With all it’s great history and great players, the people that put the hall together just didn’t do these players and teams justice. Maybe it’s a funding issue, but it’s just not worth the trip.
Nachos
July 20th, 2009
12:02 pm
41-30
45-42
The party is over mutts!
Tide Rising
July 20th, 2009
12:08 pm
Denver Dog,
Alabama’s strategy is to play one huge big time noncon game per season against a big name team like VT that either dominates its conference or is in the top 2 or 3 in its conference like Penn State who we open with next year.
Georgia plays 2 midlevel bcs conference games in Ariz. State and Ok State as opposed to one team that is in the top 1-3 teams in its conference. CMR is playing 2 bcs conference opponents but they are both very winnable games in most years. ASU is not very good as of late. Ok State is a decent team but not world beaters either even if they will start out fairly high in this year’s polls. They’re usually the 4th best team in their division and got pounded by Ole Miss in their bowl game. Tech is a team UGA unfortunately has to play because its an obvious instate rivalry.
Its just 2 different strategies. Bama wants to play 1 very premiere team where we perceive that its a game that could go either way. UGA is playing 2 bcs conference teams where in any given year the dogs should have a 70% or more chance of winning. CMR stated himself in an AJC article last year that he does not want to schedule the USCs or Oklahomas of the world. He wants to schedule interesting bcs conference opponents but not the historically top 1-3 teams in a conference. The facts seem to back this up. Not saying either schedule is tougher or better as far as exposure. Its just different scheduling strategies.
Angry Black Man
July 20th, 2009
12:08 pm
Kill the junkyard blawg, bring back Terrance Moore!
Sam
July 20th, 2009
12:22 pm
I disagree with the poster who was disappointed with the CHOF. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Having it in Atlanta near the aquarium would be a great move however.
I get to SB every couple of years and make it a point to schedule time to go through the HOF.
misterwax
July 20th, 2009
12:27 pm
As a GT Alum I look forward to a good schedule and always wonder why we do all the JAX State nonsense…Miss. State is Ok as an OTC game, but Vandy and 1 AA games don’t make for much…Neither do Army & Furman….etc…So Maybe A new GT-ND game would be fun in the Dome..or maybe Tennessee, or Missouri or Penn State….these would add so much more to each season….in my humble opinion, the 1 AA games should be off limits unless there is a cancellation like with Army…..otherwise, these games are just sandbag, cannon-fodder events to help smaller schools budgets…they do not help the lartger schools. A few years ago, the GT-Auburn games were great as well as the GT-BYU games….need more games like that.
the real Old Gold
July 20th, 2009
12:34 pm
The College Football HOF belongs in a large city that’s accessible to a majority of football fans. Atlanta is an ideal spot to gain huge amounts of traffic and closer to football fans of a variety of schools. Plus there will actually be a major and various minor college teams in the city and dozens in the region. Make it happen Atlanta.
Saint Simons
July 20th, 2009
12:34 pm
uga plays Tenn. Tech!!!!!!! hahahahahahahahaha
the real Old Gold
July 20th, 2009
12:35 pm
p.s. Brink it Irish. I’d love to see how the unorganized JT blitz scheme falls apart agains CPJ’s option attack.
Tide Rising
July 20th, 2009
12:42 pm
Denver Dog,
Also, your comment that we should go to the west coast and play UTAH is a little lacking in knowledge. We have gone to the west coast many times over the past 30-40 years and recently to play noncon powers. We traveled there to play USC in home and homes a couple of times. You ever done that?
We traveled there to play BYU in the late 90s which is the other really good team in UTAH’s conference along with TCU. When in the last 50 years before the ASU game did you travel out to the west coast to play anybody in a home and home series?
We traveled there to play UCLA in 2000. And if you know college football you know that UCLA was the west coast power in the 90s and up till 2001 or 2002. The year we played them they had come off a 23 game winning streak the year before. I remember UGA playing UCLA in 85 in Sanford stadium and UGA was supposed to return the favor with a return trip to UCLA the next year. UGA backed out of that game. We didn’t.
We went halfway out west in 2002 to play number 1 ranked Oklahoma in the season opener.
Over the years we’ve had home and home series with dominant noncon teams like Nebraska when they were a national power, Penn State, Washington when they were a national power, Notre Dame when they were a national power which is why they’re talking about renewing the series.
We had a neutral site game with Ohio State, Florida State, and had other home and homes with teams like BC when they had Doug Flutie and were really good, Texas A&M when they were good. There are probably others that I can’t even think of but you get the point.
So while Georgia refused to go outside of the friendly confines of the immediate southeast for something like 50 years to play a noncon game before ASU last year we were building a legacy that people still think of today. Sure, you had to travel west for bowl games in which you don’t have a say in the location but as far as traveling for big time home and homes Georgia’s history is pretty much nonexistant. I don’t want to bash you too much. I’m just stating what is a factual history.
The fact of the matter is that Alabama built up a lengthy legacy of national exposure over a long period of time by playing the heavyweights of college football around the country in big time home and home series. And a lot of it wasn’t under just Bear Bryant. Before you bash us about traveling out west to play Utah you should have checked a little history to see just how many times we have in fact been out west to play big time opponents. We’ve been out there far more times than you have
I’ve traveled a lot and when you go up north or out west or to other football crazy states like Nebraska and you ask them about big time football in the south who do they think of? They think of Alabama. The younger generation thinks of Florida more recently because of such recent success but most people who know college football think Alabama
BLAZER
July 20th, 2009
12:56 pm
why do we have to always consider notre dame as an opponent?? geeZ
just the truth
July 20th, 2009
1:22 pm
Pensacola Dawg, Tech fans were out numbered 9-1 in Athens last year but it still didn’t matter on the scoreboard. Tech fans were out numbered 8-1 in South Bend the year before and it didn’t matter there either.
Dorsey Hill
July 20th, 2009
1:26 pm
Why wouldn’t Notre Dame want to play UGA at the Dome? Because they’d get their azzes handed to them. Why might they play Alabama? Because they are something like 8-1 all-time vs. Bama. Why not play Alabama with those sorts of results? If nothing else, everyone would be talking about how Notre Dame has dominated the series which is pretty good press.
Huh?
July 20th, 2009
1:26 pm
Georgia Tech-Notre Dame at the Georgia Dome? I’m afraid the Dome is not big enough for all of those overblown egos Tony. I don’t see it happening.
Calm Down Blowhards
July 20th, 2009
1:30 pm
1) Georgia plays a nuetral game every year with in conference Florida, and every year with Non Conference GT, so to get 6 home games, which every major program needs to do for $$$, UGA had been unable to schedule home & aways until the 12 game schedule became the norm a few years back. Clemson was also a historical rival and they are out of conference. Georgia has been trying to get home & away’s with Texas, Michigan, Ohio State, ND, etc ever since.
2)In 1885 a group of Georgia graduates founded Georgia Tech for the purposes of training young men in various trades. And over that period Georgia has been GT’s obsession, because UGA is the states flaghip university, it’s bigger, wealthier, more beloved, and for the past 100+ years Georgia has been generally beating the hell out of Tech in most every sport with which the two compete. Which is why Tech fans celebrate furiously when they actually do manage to pull off a win over Georgia……….because it’s not supposed to happen. Georgia will always be bigger, wealthier, and more beloved than GT and it really chaps thier hide…….it’s obvious to anybody paying attention. And in regards to the Gators, which is always the first retort for any Tech fan, they also have a losing record against Georgia.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
1:31 pm
Got 12, you were saying that your team was wanting to play all of the national powers, but your schedule was showing something totally different. You said your coach wanted to play national teams, but that he was happy with the San Jose St and Georgia State.( a start up team)
Dorsey Hill
July 20th, 2009
1:34 pm
Tide Rising,
Who gives damn about the opinion of a bunch of yankees? I suppose you’ve already answered that. The same people who you say are dumb enough to equate southern football with Alabama also believe that people in Alabama are a bunch of ignorant, toothless, shoeless, bigots waving Confederate flags, yet you value their perspective? I guess teams that consistently lose to Notre Dame and Big Ten teams have to respect them. UGA on the other hand hasn’t lost to a Big Ten team since 1957 and never lost to ND so we have no respect for their football or their opinions.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
1:37 pm
Tech Fans, TIme to quit talking about the past, as you lecture us year in and year out! So for all of us UGA,UF/FSU/ALA/AUB/USC/ UT. This is next year. I’m in business, so what I would tell me employees, what have you done for me lately. In six short months it will all be over except for the bragging, so let’s see how it goes now. Tech Fans last year you won, UF Fans last year you won, UA fans last year you won.
NOW THIS IS NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CharlotteGator
July 20th, 2009
1:40 pm
Denver Dog,
Interesting post. Did you have this same opinion about the ‘next year’ measurement this time last year? My first guess would be probably not.
IRISH25
July 20th, 2009
1:45 pm
I’d rather see ND-Bama, never was much of a ND-GT matchup, I’d even go as far to see ND-GA, been too long since 1980 and we WANT a rematch!!!
Jeff
July 20th, 2009
1:48 pm
Hey Bama…how about UTAH in the Ga Dome….call it Redemption
Calm Down Blowhards
July 20th, 2009
1:51 pm
Of course it should be noted that Florida’s prospects for catching UGA, given their 90’s dominance and most of the 21st century, certainly seems brighter than Tech
Huh?
July 20th, 2009
1:54 pm
CharlotteGator,
Interesting post. Shall I presume that you also think Florida’s preseason #1 ranking this year is absolutely meaningless and that Georgia has as good a chance as anyone to win the SEC? I mean, I’m sure you’re not a big fat hypocrite or anything, right?
Otto
July 20th, 2009
2:06 pm
Dorsey,
Bama has not consistantly lost those games and as a UGA fan you should care. As a UGA fan I want that respect to get the selection into a BCS bowl or BCS title game.
Demon Grad
July 20th, 2009
2:10 pm
Didn’t know till now that Ron Simmons was among the inductees. Played the middle like he owned it. Hope he’s doing well and thanks for bringing back the memories of Warner Robins’ ‘76 National Champions.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
2:10 pm
Charlote Gator. actually I did, I don’t like all this blow hard stuff either. If you read some of my posts, you will see how much I respect all of the kids that try to make it on the ball field. I wish they would use Tebow as the example and not Pac Man Jones, Odell, or Matt Jones. So toot your own horn if you will, just don’t run down my school doing so. All of the schools have assets and liabilites, and we should know that. The Tide people talking about playing tough out of conference schedules and then lining up against the out of conference schedule that they have is hypociritical.
If I was UF I would be blowing my horn, becuase this is next year and you had last year. I know we can not stay on the field with UF, and I just hope we can make it past those 3 time outs.
CharlotteGator
July 20th, 2009
2:11 pm
Huh?,
Nice try. As much as I’d love to prove I’m an internet tough guy like you, I’d just ask that you check out any of my comments since Tony returned and resumed posting. I’ve consistently said the most frightening game on the UF schedule in my opinion is the UGA game. The #1 preseason ranking means nothing and actually hurts us along with all the hype and our lackluster OOC schedule. We can’t afford a slip if we want any hope of getting a title shot. Also, we have question marks at WR and an unsettled OL which is death in the SEC. UGA’s lines on both side of the ball will be good , greatly improving their team this year. Also, after Green, I think R. Samuel is going to be a problem for defenses. UF will focus a lot of attention on the game in Baton Rouge, but I think Jax will be the biggest test.
I’d be more than happy to talk football as I try to be one of the objective points of view on this blog. Of course if calling me a “big fat hypocrite” is how you respond to questions or posts, then it’s been noted. I know that dance as well.
Tide Rising
July 20th, 2009
2:11 pm
Dorsey Hill,
If you can’t make an intelligent point I guess the first thing you do is start calling Bama fans a bunch of ignorant, toothless, shoeless bigots waving confederate flags by virtue of what you think others think of Alabama. You’re not a mindreader to my knowledge and you don’t know that millions of northerners have such ignorant opinions unless you yourself openly associate with others of very limited and narrow opinions. Regardless, your highly unintelligent point is duly noted.
For the record Bama is 1-5 against Notre Dame with a series of very close losses by 1.2,and 3 pts. Its not as if we were getting blown out every game. Don’t know where you came up with 1-8 I guess the top of your head is where you came up with that stat.
As for Georgia the dogs are 1-0 against ND in a bowl game. Hard to lose against them if you never play them.
Also, Bama has a winning % against the big ten 55% so you might want to check your facts again before making the ignorant statement that we have a losing record against the big 10. I guess you never let the facts get in the way of your argument.
Stats are a little meaningless when you’re looking at 20 games or less. For example Georgia is winless against the mighty big east at 0-2 while Bama has a 2-1 winning record against them. Doesn’t mean anything though with such a small sample.
Michigan has a stellar record against the SEC at 13-4 while Ohio State is 3-11 against the sec. Looking at Michigan you could say they own the SEC while the Sec owns Ohio State. But does anyone really think that if Ohio State played in the sec year in and year out that their winning % would really by only 23% over time?
Bottom line is that if you really want to learn how to use stats you should go educate yourself to where you don’t look so profoundly ignorant by using stats to make points with such small samples.
Tide Rising
July 20th, 2009
2:15 pm
Jeff,
I would love a rematch against UTAH. After getting UTAH’ed last year maybe we would actually get serious about them in a rematch.
CharlotteGator
July 20th, 2009
2:16 pm
Denver,
Sorry if I came off snarkey. Not my intent, but I can absolutely see how that would be read that way. I legitimately wanted to know if performance in the prior changes that perspective.
In terms of tooting the UF horn and downing UGA, definitely not where I’m coming from either. My post above elaborates.
I’d have to see I agree with you on the Bama comment. I’ll give them credit for taking on VTech this year. Not so much for FSU (not good) and Clemson (terrible, no matter what their preseason rank). Also I don’t know that you can really shout from the rooftops about matchups with Mich. State or Penn State and definitely not “trying to get ND” on the schedule. Overall, I think we pretty much agree on most.
Trade School Junkie
July 20th, 2009
2:16 pm
Tony’s a Hack.
You wont find anything of merit wrotten by him.
And, as a big proponent of the “cartel” known as the BCS, he’s a complete liar for ALL the reaosn he loves the BCS.
Mrs. Dorsey Hill
July 20th, 2009
2:24 pm
Dorsey,
Take a chill pill before you suffer a brain hemorrhage
Dorsey Hill
July 20th, 2009
2:35 pm
Tide Rising,
First, I didn’t call people in Alabama anything. The people whose opinion you respect say that about Alabamians, not I If you don’t think they yankees think and say those things, well I just don’t know what I can do for you.
Second, losing 45% of your games to the Big Ten is pretty consistent losing especially when compared to UGA’s 12-1 mark against the same conference.
Third, I said that Bama ’s record vs. ND was “something like 8-1″. Thanks for correcting the record and showing that the Tide is a much more impressive 1-5 vs. ND. I just knew that you had struggled mightily in that series and that my guess was pretty close to reality.
As far as our only playing ND once, as you can see from the article, “they don’t want any” and I can’t blame them. Apparently they like playing Bama. They are good at it.
As far the Big East is concerned I will readily admit that we have sucked vs. those teams in that region: We’ve lost to Syracuse, BC (twice), WVU, Pitt (twice) and Penn State. Why have we had so much trouble with them I can’t say, but its an undeniable truth. And I won’t claim its better because every game was decided by a touchdown or less save for the 1977 Sugar Bowl vs. Pitt. We still lost. I admit were we have strugggled. I understand that for Tide fans, being the ass hole that the axis of the football world spins upon, you can’t admit any chink in the armor you just try to make 1-5 look good and that’s just pathetic.
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
2:38 pm
Denver,
How were you able to cull “your team was wanting to play all of the national powers, but your schedule was showing something totally different” from my first post:
Got 12?
July 20th, 2009
9:12 am
Saban has been trying to get Notre Dame on the schedule since he landed in Tuscaloosa. That would be a monster game. We’re also trying to get a Big 12 opponent for a game in Texas Stadium or the Super Dome.
Tide Rising
July 20th, 2009
2:40 pm
Dorsey Hill,
The dogs have an excellent record against the big 10 at 8-2. Of those 8 wins 1 came against the university of Chicago in 1922,
The last loss to a big 10 team came in 1957 when the dogs lost to a Michigan team that was 5-3-1 on the season. In 1965 you did beat a Michigan team that was 4-6 on the season. The other heavyweight in the conference Ohio State you beat was 8-3-1 in 1993. Not exactly as good as the 10 or 11 win teams Jim Tressel has been trotting out.
The best big 10 team Georgia has ever beaten was a 3 loss Wisconsin team that was 9-3. Every other big 10 team Georgia beat had 4 or more losses such as Michigan State with a 9-4 record and a 6-5-1 record, Purdue with a 7-5 and 9-4 record in 2 meetings with them also.
I’m not trying to belittle the dogs accomplishments but its obvious that when you did beat Big 10 teams you were certainly not playing the cream of the crop in any of those games. You were playing the decent but not great teams and clearly the best teams you played out of the big 10 were teams that had 3 or 4 losses. No wonder you’re 8-2 against them. And here you are talking smack about owning the big 10 that you have no respect for when the best team you ever played was a 3 loss Wisconsin team.
Perhaps if you had been playing the Big 10 teams in the years that won their conference championships or were runner up teams you would have a little more respect since those would have been strong 10-12 win teams you would have been playing rather than 3-6 loss teams.
Last, you did play Penn State which was 11-1 in 1982 but of course they weren’t in the big 10 at that point in time so of course it skews the record a little bit. How did that go against an 11 win team that really is a big 10 team? You lost.
Dorsey, I don’t want to beat down the dog fans. But you just needed a little dose of reality on the strength of teams you beat out of the big 10 and you should learn to be a little more respectful of football played in other parts of the country. The sec isn’t the only place where football is played.
PTC DAWG
July 20th, 2009
2:41 pm
Personally, I think GT would be crazy to give up a home game in ATL and play in the Dome.
PTC DAWG
July 20th, 2009
2:44 pm
The same Saban wants a big time team that just scheduled Georgia State in their FIRST year of football? Yeah, I believe that.
ThaMan
July 20th, 2009
2:47 pm
Typical muttbag chant: “wait til next year”. Hear it every year.
Dorsey Hill
July 20th, 2009
2:51 pm
Tide Rising,
We don’t pick ‘em we just beat ‘em. How much they suck when they show up is out of our control. What you didn’t factor in is that we had similar records. (That was why we were in the same bowl, idiot.) It wasn’t like it was some sort of mismatch. I’d bet we were underdogs in a lot of those games. Look it up, you seem to have access to quite a bit of info.
I’m going to do a little Tide Rising bit on the Penn State game: Yeah but we only lost by 4 with a TD pass with under a minute to play so it wasn’t like we were blown out or anything.
Nachos
July 20th, 2009
2:58 pm
Typical muttbag chant: “wait til next year”. Hear it every year. – awesome thaman
this is the mutts favorite time of the year.. everyine is 0-0 and they can run their mouths UNTIL the real games start.
41-30
flapjacket
July 20th, 2009
3:05 pm
Last two games Tech played in the dome – 75% Tech Fans, 25% LSU Fans. Didn’t seem to make a difference on the field, but we were the ones filling the place up.
Also, let’s do an apples to apples comparison of tickets sold by actually comparing it to the size of the school.
Tech sells about 26,000 season tickets and the average size of the school over the last 20 years is about 14,000 (currently about 17,000.) That means our ticket base is about 185% of the recent average size of our school.
UGA sells about 60,000 season tickets – but probably has demand for about 70,000 based on the number they turn away. Last 20 years average school size is about 32,000 (closer to 36,000 today, I think.) 70,000/32,000 is about 220%.
So, the difference is not huge relative to the size of the schools. When you correct for the fact a Tech grad is more likely to move out of state than a UGA grad, I bet that difference gets a lot closer. I’d be curious as to the numbers of tickes sold relative to the number of alumni living in the state. My bet is that Tech would be ahead. If I remember right we have under 50,000 living alumni in the state.
DawginLex
July 20th, 2009
3:08 pm
Hey nachos,
Go finish my order. I wanted fries with my sandwich.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
3:21 pm
Whoever THa Man is obviously can’t read.
This would be good though, let’s do one of those high school things and bring in 8 teams to play a preseason round-robbin at the Ga Dome. One team from each of the big conferences and they would all play a quarter. Then all of this foolishness would go away.
One tin soldier
Tide Rising
July 20th, 2009
3:22 pm
Dorsey,
I’ll give you credit for the Penn State game. It was a good game that could have gone either way. I think you’re still missing the point but you’re getting closer. Granted, we have a losing record against some great ND teams but those were top tier ND teams we were playing and most of those games were regular season home and homes. We were playing the top tier big boys in the regular season. Its what we’ve always done and will always do.
I know PTC dawg wants to joke that we play Georgia State. We’re playing them as a favor in the same way that you guys play Georgia Southern. What you left out is that next year we play Penn State in another renewal of a home and home we’ve played several times with them through the years. I think Penn States record speaks for itself and they clearly were the best or 2nd best team in the big 10 last year and will be the best or 2nd best this year and in the immediate future. That much most people would agree on.
ND Dad, SU Grad
July 20th, 2009
3:36 pm
Tony – My daughter (from Johns Creek, GA) is one of the college interns helping out with the Hall in South Bend this summer. She is also an ND student and concurs that rumours are floating about the Hall relocating to Dallas. The Atlanta spin is a new wrinkle for sure.
I was able to attend the event this weekend as well and you are right in applauding the efforts of everyone involved. It was a terrific event. Lastly, you failed to mention the fact that you were awarded for your years of service in covering the college football game. Congratualations for that as those of us from Georgia were happy for you. Good job on the speech too.
As a Syracuse grad, it was also great to see Don McPherson recognized for his undefeated season in 1987 – the year that Pat Dye wimped out and went for the field goal to tie !!!!
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
3:39 pm
We start in close to 7 weeks. No more trash talking then, just on the field. As you jacket, gator and tide fans say the DOGS can’t compete with any of your teams. Of course we can’t play this year, unless!!!!!!!!!! and miles to go before we sleep.
Go Dogs.
Tide Rising
July 20th, 2009
3:48 pm
Denver dog,
I’m not saying the dogs can’t compete with us or anyone else. Never said that. That’s why we’ll all play the games and see.
Mark in Woodstock
July 20th, 2009
3:49 pm
Georgiee fans seem to forget they haven’t won a game of national important in almost 30 years…yet they talk about their program as if it’s in same ballpark of a Florida, LSU, Southern Cal, Texas, or Ohio State…get real.
Pat Dye
July 20th, 2009
3:52 pm
Syracuse fans still whining and crying. Syracuse had 2 seconds to run the ball back for a touchdown. Waaaaaaaaaa!!!!!! I guess like typical yankee liberals they felt like Auburn owed them something. Like maybe Auburn OWED them a win. Aubun owes you nothing!
I was going to go for it on 4th down. But after the 3rd down play when the Syracuse DBs were practically mugging Auburn star wideout Lawyer Tillman in the end zone and getting away with it then there just wasn’t any sense in going for it on 4th if they’re going to get away with holding.
Denver Dog
July 20th, 2009
3:54 pm
We are pretty competitive, we will see what the year brings. It is good while the SEC is on top, As Patton quoted “all glory is fleeting”.
ND Dad, SU Grad
July 20th, 2009
4:02 pm
Pat Dye:
First, don’t assume all Yankees are Liberals. Especially the ones who are now residing in Georgia
Second, it seems to me that going for a tie instead of a win is a classic liberal move…that is no winners and losers !!!!
No whining and crying here, just stating the facts.
Otto
July 20th, 2009
4:04 pm
Dorsey, Penn St. was never in the Big East.
ND Dad, SU Grad
July 20th, 2009
4:11 pm
Otto:
They wish they were now !!