Live from Tech-Tech: Rain (and an upset) could be coming
Georgia Tech's uniforms. Not much gold in them thar duds, is there? (Photo by M. Bradley)
Blacksburg, Va. — Here’s great news. There’s a flash flood warning in effect here until midnight, with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms at 7 p.m. (Kickoff is at 8, or whenever ESPN decides it’s good and ready.) We mention this because …
Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech were set to play here on Aug. 27, 2000, which was so long ago that George Godsey was Tech’s quarterback and some guy named Vick was playing for the Hokies. The game never came off. A savage storm that Sunday night forced the game to be canceled, as opposed to postponed. In ESPN lore, the memory lingers because Lee Corso’s rental car was struck by lightning. (Without him inside, let’s stipulate.)
For more on the non-game, here’s esteemed colleagues Ken Sugiura’s recounting of it. But I’m not worried about a repeat of the washout, for these reasons:
1. The forecast — and I’ve been watching — has actually improved throughout the day, and as I type it’s only partly cloudy. (It was, I should note, a weird drive up from Greensboro. It poured in Winston-Salem and was so foggy at 2 p.m. in the Virginia mountains that it seemed like night. Then it got sunny.)
2. My rental car is so small — it’s a compact roughly the size of the water closet on an airplane — that I’m pretty sure any lightning would miss it.
As previously discussed, this seems the biggest game in what stands as a massive season for Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson. As previously mentioned, I like the Jackets to win. I have found absolutely no one else in the media who seconds that emotion, but I’m accustomed to that.
If it should rain hard and/or long, it could well hurt (Ga.) Tech and its pitch-it-around option game more, but those sorts of forecasts are problematic. (Va.) Tech figures to be the better passing team, so inclement weather could curtail the Hokies, too. And if the ball gets so slick nobody can hang on, there’s no real handicapping that.
I’ve liked (Ga.) Tech’s chances all summer because I think this looms as a bigger platform for the Jackets than for the Hokies. VPI, as we old folks used to call this school, is expected to win by a touchdown. VPI is ranked; GT is not. VPI has beaten GT four of the past five years. Give the hunger edge to the visitors.
But really, who knows? Georgia Tech could win, or it could lose, or the game could be rained out. Hey, it happened once.
And whatever happens tonight, I’d appreciate it if you’d hang around for all the fun and frolic. And I thank you, as ever, in advance.
By Mark Bradley
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1,439 comments Add your comment
CloudmanJacket
September 3rd, 2012
11:47 pm
I like how everyone is blaming Groh. Tech only scored 17 and held VT to 17 in regulation. Doesn’t sound like a defensive problem to me. CPJ’s offense is what it is…terrible. If you hold the other team to 17, than your defense did the job. Why couldn’t CPJ’s incredible offense score more than 17. Once again, he is the only Div 1 coach who runs the triple option exclusively. What a joke. He needs to go.
Topp Dogg
September 3rd, 2012
11:47 pm
Good game,better defense,offense?,TW awful play, overall an B grade, but fun to watch.
Nighttrain
September 3rd, 2012
11:47 pm
One and done. Don’t blame the QB. GT’s defense was soft as butter when they only needed to play big boy football for 44 secs.
cpj
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
Bah, we have bigger fish to fry.
Jackets81
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
Tough loss but am pleased with this team. Defense played great. The broken coverage at the end of regulation and Tevin throwing that pick killed us. Once a Jackets , always a Jacket.
P.S. Do all Dawg fans automatically respond with ” and will still beat you as usual” ? Can you say ignorant? Rednecks
CLEMSON
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
You reckon we can bolt for the SEC??? Any openings
CloudmanJacket
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
Washington reminded me a little of Reggie Ball on that last pass.
pw12
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
Thats thr way our senior qb does finish strong…wow..and groh great calls at end…give away slants for 20+ yrds
Ignition
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
The D got a tired at the end .. Blown coverages and poor tackling but they did enough to win this game.. That one hurt.
Get Real
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
Techster……it is truly sad is it not….I could not believe what I was seeing when he launched a wounded duck while he was falling backwards….just shoot me
Jack Wood
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
Chicken wire on helmets? Why?
Ree Roe
September 3rd, 2012
11:48 pm
So many lulz at ANOTHER fail by Ramblin Wrecked. “Tevin I’m open!!!”
Go Dawgs
-REEcently Roe!!!
pw12
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
Wow..what a finish by our qb
pw12
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
Wow..what a finish by our qb
Hokie Hal
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
How bad does it hurt right now you geeks??
Mike Bobo
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
What a lousy offense
headley lamar
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
This moves CPJ to 2 – 11 vs Va Tech, UGA, and the Bowl Game
Including 0 for the last 7
Most programs that would get you fired.
moorman
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
al groh didnt lose this game………..that tevin dude did………..
headley lamar
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
” No one has ever stopped my offense ”
- Paul Johnson
Same old thing....
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
Was it just me or did anyone else think VaTech stunk?
dawggirl
September 3rd, 2012
11:50 pm
I’d blame Mark Bradley as much as anyone else. He’s a curse on all of our teams. Tough loss, Jackets. Good luck until we see each other in November.
UgaAllTheWay
September 3rd, 2012
11:50 pm
Ah. The first of many losses to come. This should have been lopsided, but VT refused to capitalize on field position on almost every occasion. Their QB was very inaccurate until the end of the game. Trip-Op doesn’t work when teams have time to prepare. Haven’t you guys figured this out yet?
List Mama » Virginia Tech 20, Georgia Tech 17, OT – ESPN (blog)
September 3rd, 2012
11:50 pm
[...] (blog)Virginia Tech vs. Georgia Tech: Michael Holmes, Tevin Washington Among …Huffington PostLive from Tech-Tech: Rain (and an upset) could be comingAtlanta Journal Constitution (blog)SB Nation -Washington Post (blog) -Bleacher Reportall [...]
ReggieBall
September 3rd, 2012
11:50 pm
I love it when the nerds snatch defeat from the jaws of victory
REGGIE BALL LIVES
Techster
September 3rd, 2012
11:50 pm
Wake me up when Vad starts. I would rather see a rookie make rookie mistakes.
LakeDawg
September 3rd, 2012
11:51 pm
Tough loss for the bees. Keep your heads up techmites. That’s the best I’ve seen Tech play in a couple of years. Good season ahead if they don’t let this one linger.
UGABud
September 3rd, 2012
11:51 pm
Where is GTBob? He is always bashing and trashing UGA BOLG. Serves you right.
CloudmanJacket
September 3rd, 2012
11:52 pm
@ Same old thing…agree. Their defense looked pretty good, but their offense is terrible. At least in this game, that QB was a terrible passer. Not impressed at all. He made our defense look good in regulation.
flagboy?
September 3rd, 2012
11:52 pm
Same old thing….
September 3rd, 2012
11:49 pm
Was it just me or did anyone else think VaTech stunk?
___________________________________________
The play calling at the end of regulation AND the giant QB’s passing for most of the game were both pretty bad in my opinion.
Arob
September 3rd, 2012
11:52 pm
How could this be groh’s fault.???????
The defense kept us from getting blown out! All the speed on this team are on the defensive side of the ball. CPJ and his grind it out offense is totally devoid of playmakers. They are all gone and now he can’t recruit that type of talent on the offensive side of the ball. His stubborn refusal to change will never give us anything better than an average team at best.
Same old thing....
September 3rd, 2012
11:53 pm
I think the “dual threat” QB thing is very overrated. Both QBs stunk tonight.
311raiders
September 3rd, 2012
11:53 pm
The reason you havent heard anything about gts offense is because they dont have one! Beamer is a better coach than pj!
BEE SQUASHER
September 3rd, 2012
11:54 pm
Yellow flies you did not look too bad warming up ,but when you hit the field your wings stopped flapping. All in all you played better than i expected. Maybe next year.
Jammers
September 3rd, 2012
11:54 pm
Im tired of hearing how bad Tech recruiting is. Its really hard to recruit 5 star athletes when most of them all have one of the following:
1. 1.5 GPA or lower
2. < 600 SAT score (old test)
3. 1 or more felony convictions
4. Nick Saban paying for their high school coach
5. unwillingness to go to class… EVER
Same old thing....
September 3rd, 2012
11:55 pm
Arob
September 3rd, 2012
11:52 pm
“How could this be groh’s fault.???????”
Because Johnson will never take responsibility for a loss.
hunkerdown
September 3rd, 2012
11:55 pm
Tech had great opportunity to steal a win in Blacksburg. Missed tackle to set up tying the game was pivotal. Exciting game and wish the Bee’s could of pulled it out. Good luck remainder of the season until Novenber. Go Dawgs!
CloudmanJacket
September 3rd, 2012
11:56 pm
Fire CPJ and hire Brain Van Gorder
CloudmanJacket
September 3rd, 2012
11:56 pm
Fire CPJ and hire Brian Van Gorder
Dukie boy
September 3rd, 2012
11:56 pm
Wow Tech has become the Vandy of the SEC
WnE
September 3rd, 2012
11:57 pm
re:
CloudmanJacket
September 3rd, 2012
11:47 pm
I like how everyone is blaming Groh. Tech only scored 17 and held VT to 17 in regulation. Doesn’t sound like a defensive problem to me. CPJ’s offense is what it is…terrible. If you hold the other team to 17, than your defense did the job. Why couldn’t CPJ’s incredible offense score more than 17. Once again, he is the only Div 1 coach who runs the triple option exclusively. What a joke. He needs to go.
______________
The genius’s Offense really only scored 10 in regulation, the fumbled punt snap gave us the ball deep in Va. Tech territory (maybe the 22-yd line?), so in reality GT’s offense only drove the ball down the field twice all game long for 1 TD & 1 FG.
Yet CPJ still spouts that extra time has no effect on his offense.
Jackets81
September 3rd, 2012
11:57 pm
Reggie Ball Lives? Please. Tevin is no where near as horrible as Ball was. Tevin runs this offense great. He makes one bad choice and you compare him to Reggie? C’mon Man. Apples and Oranges.
Same old thing....
September 3rd, 2012
11:57 pm
Jammers
September 3rd, 2012
11:54 pm
Save your breath. You wouldn’t be playing the academics card had GT won the game.
BLT
September 3rd, 2012
11:58 pm
WOW, just read thru the past 12 or so post and realized this is a HATE GT forum. Good for you MB. 25 pages of hatred…for a team based in the State of Georgia. All of you trolls must feel proud! Hopefully most of you bet the line! FYI- you lost and owe money and for the others that don’t understand well it just proves my opinion of the average uga fan. For those few wishing GT well, thanks. I’m looking forward to your visit to Mizzou though. You won’t mind me returning the favor to your other…how should I put it…”those that think a library is a toilet fans”, “those that think Mike Adams hurt uga fans”, etc. Th real UGA grads know what I mean. GATA LOL
ricky bobby
September 3rd, 2012
11:58 pm
very disappointing loss.
i don’t know what’s more disappointing: the interception tevin threw, or the fact that our defense couldn’t hold vpi out of field goal range for 44 seconds.
reminds me a lot of the utah bowl game – i felt then like we invented ways to lose that one, and same thing here.
think we can still have a solid year though, liked what i saw tonight overall, just killer mistakes at the end in crunch time.
moorman
September 3rd, 2012
11:58 pm
but that ONE bad choice tevin made ruint this game…………
Al
September 3rd, 2012
11:59 pm
Why are you blaming the loss on me TECHIES
Jackets81
September 3rd, 2012
11:59 pm
Same old thing
You really want to go there?
Tpical Dog fan.
CloudmanJacket
September 4th, 2012
12:00 am
@ Jammers…don’t use that excuse. Other top academic institutions do it and are able to compete at a higher level and GT has done it before…1990. Since CPJ is the only coach in D1 to run the triple option exclusively…he is either smarter than all other coaches or he is an idiot. There is a reason no other team in the top 50 run the triple option exclusively.
Topp Dogg
September 4th, 2012
12:00 am
I know one thing, your defense played better than ours.Saturday night we will see what we are ,god or bad.
Pitbull
September 4th, 2012
12:00 am
I do believe that Tech has mistakenly hired Paula Johnson for their head football coach.
Paula is Paul Johnson’s ugly twin sister.
And as you Dragoncom queens know, the Force is with me. I sensed at least a thousand Georgia Tech fans gagging and the sound of choking coming from Blacksburg about 11:30. Very strange this is.