Georgia Tech vs. Virginia
I’m about 20 minutes outside of Charlottesville, riding with former esteemed colleague Dave Fairbank of the Newport News Daily Press.
We’ve passed the time talking about Chairman Groh, the fun of Paul Johnson, etc.
When I get to the press box, I’ll start posting some notes.
In the meantime, tell me about your favorite places to go on the road, stadiums, cities, eateries, etc.
Records are made to be broken
This comes courtesy of Matt Dempsey from the AJC:
Jonathan Dwyer and Josh Nesbitt are etching their names in the Ga. Tech record book this year but they’re not the only one. With five games left to go, records are falling, ensuring that Paul Johnson’s second squad as head coach of the Ramblin’ Wreck will be well remembered.
{Before you get started, please the AJC’s Georgia Tech facebook fan’s page at: http://bit.ly/lZNpt
Rushing Records
Most rushes in a season
Name Rushes Year
1. Tashard Choice 297 2006
2. P.J. Daniels 283 2003
3. Joe Burns 282 2001
4. Robert Lavette 280 1982
5. Eddie Lee Ivery 267 1978
6. Tashard Choice 261 2007
7. Robert Lavette 260 …
Yes, it’s been that long
It’s been a slow week on campus, as odd as that sounds with what’s at stake on Saturday.
Coach Paul Johnson said it’s questionable that Cooper Taylor will play on Saturday. Julian Burnett likely won’t play, as well.
That was the big news from today’s practice.
With that, I thought it might be fun to take a look back at 1990, the year GT won the UPI national championship, and the last year that Georgia Tech won in Charlottesville. This is from the web site www.thepeopleshistory.com.
Cost of Living 1990
How Much things cost in 1990
Yearly Inflation Rate USA5.39%
Year End Close Dow Jones Industrial Average 2633
Interest Rates Year End Federal Reserve 10.00%
Average Cost of new house $123,000.00
Average Income per year $28,960.00
Average Monthly Rent $465.00
Cost of a gallon of Gas $1.34
Price for a new Isuzu Rodeo $12,4900.00
IBM PS1 Computer From $999.00 – $1,999.00
What Events Happened in 1990
* Saddam Hussein orders Iraq invasion of Neighboring Kuwait
* Operation …
Paul Johnson transcript
Courtesy of the fine folks at Georgia Tech’s sports information department, here’s a transcript of Paul Johnson’s press conference on Tuesday. Also, please join my Georgia Tech page on Facebook: http://bit.ly/lZNpt
Opening Statement:
“I was proud of our football team Saturday. I thought they competed hard and found a way to win. We came out in the second half and did what we had to do to win the game. I thought our defense played well in the first half especially, and gave us enough of a chance to get our feet under us and win the game. Having said that, winning that game makes this game the biggest of the year. I told the team in the locker room, we have to go to Charlottesville and play a team that is on top of our division right now. It’s an elimination game for us, if we go up and don’t win the game our chances of winning the Coastal Division are not very good. We stayed alive for another week and we have the same opportunity we had a week ago to play one more time and see …
How have they done it?
There seems to be neither rhyme nor reason to why Georgia Tech hasn’t won in Charlottesville since 1990.
But, it hasn’t.
It’s lost by one point (2001). It’s lost by 31 (1992).
Tech coach Paul Johnson hasn’t put too much stock into history. As I wrote in Monday’s paper, he said it doesn’t help you block and tackle, and it doesn’t give you any points.
So, this may be one time when the team’s general lack of experience may prove a benefit.
There are only seven fifth-year seniors (and five on scholarship) who could be familiar with the house of horrors that has been Charlottesville.
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Johnson wasn’t able to speak to us after practice today because of a speaking engagement in Macon. So, I don’t have a lot of news for you.
I would like to know what you thought of the new videos on MegaJackeTron that played during Saturday’s game against Virginia Tech. I wrote about them in the notebook in Tuesday’s paper. That story should be posted …
Just win, baby
Well, Tech knows where it is in the BCS (12), it knows where Miami is (two spots ahead at 10), and where VT is (two spots behind at 14).
The Jackets know they must win out, and that either Miami must lose once in the ACC, or (if I’m figuring this correctly) that the Hokies must stay within five spots of the Canes and keep them all together in the tiebreaker scenario. Should that happen, it’ll come down to a draw.
I’m not sure anybody wants to see that.
Comrade Jeff Schultz posted a very interesting scenario on how Tech can make it all the way to the national title game. Make sure you check that out.
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As always, please follow my GT page on facebook at http://bit.ly/T16am
I want to thank all those who posted photos and videos from last night’s game on there.
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Here are the ACC stats, straight from www.theacc.com. It’s stunning that UVA is 3-3 when you see where they rank on offense and special teams.
SCORING …
Nesbitt on Kam Chancellor’s comment
I would be remiss if I didn’t revisit the comments made by Virginia Tech safety Kam Chancellor this summer during an ACC media session in Greensboro.
Paraphrasing, Chancellor said he picked up something while watching film of the Jackets that he thought gave him a pretty good idea where the ball was going and what the play would be.
When asked about that at the same media session, coach Paul Johnson said that Chancellor should be able to make every tackle.
Chancellor had six tackles on Saturday.
Josh Nesbitt was asked if the team talked about Chancellor’s comments this week in the lead-up to the game.
He smiled and said, “How about them Jackets?”
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Oh, and if you have the goalposts and would like to post a photo of yourself with them on my GT facebook page, the address is http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/AJC-Ga-Tech/164582392136?ref=mf
Your GT report card
Hopefully you’ve read the Georgia Tech report card I’ve written. I’ve love to hear your thoughts based upon the categories:
rising star
falling star
enigma
what’s going right
what’s going wrong
prognosis for second half
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Roddy Jones says he’s not disappointed that his numbers aren’t what some may have expected. His longest run this season is less than 20 yards and his yards per carry average is 3.7, among the lowest of the most active A-backs. He said as long as the team is winning, everything’s cool.
Keep in mind, he didn’t come on last season until the final two regular season games when he had more than 300 yards rushing.
On a side note, Jones, a big baseball fan, said he’s rooting for the Dodgers in the playoffs now that the Rockies have been eliminated. And, if not the Dodgers, then anybody but the Phillies.
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Kickoff for Saturday’s game will be 6:01 sharp. As you know, Georgia Tech likes to start fast….
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Please join my Georgia Tech page on facebook at: …
Hewitt, and thoughts on “No Dome”
Paul Hewitt held a press conference with the press today ahead of full practices, which start Friday.
This is courtesy of the sports information department at Tech:
- On strengths of this year’s roster:
“Compared to last year, our back court is much stronger from a health standpoint, experience standpoint, and talent standpoint. I think a lot of people point to the addition of Derrick [Favors] and think that that will be the big difference. But last year I thought Zachery Peacock, Gani Lawal, and Alade Aminu played extremely well. I thought that frontcourt was as good as any in the league maybe with the exception of North Carolina’s. I think our back court will be the big difference this year. We have Mfon Udofia, and having D’Andre Bell back is as important as any addition we’ve had in the last year. We have more depth with Brian Oliver and Glen Rice. Lance Storrs is improved this year. So now we’ve got more options. Last year, we basically played with one ball handler in …
Paul Johnson’s press conference:
A transcription of head coach Paul Johnson’s weekly press conference, courtesy of Tech’s sports information department.
Opening Statement:
“I was proud of our team Saturday night. It wasn’t always pretty, but I imagine it was a fun one to watch. Our guys fought hard, never gave up and came out in the second half and made some stops when we needed it. We found a way to win a tough football game on the road. Florida State played with a lot of emotion. You have to give our guys some credit for coming out of there with a win.
“This week is a huge game for our team and our program. One of our goals every year is to compete for an ACC championship and we’ve gotten ourselves to the point that this is game is meaningful along those lines. If we win, we have a chance, if we lose we probably have no chance. We’ll find out if we’re good enough on Saturday. Virginia Tech has a very good football team that is strong in all three facets of the game, so it will be a challenge. All you can …
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