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
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
1,439 comments Add your comment
I'm gonna tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John...
September 3rd, 2012
8:09 pm
That first series was impressive!
Supersize that order, mutt
September 3rd, 2012
8:09 pm
@ Mark…..enough with the silly jokes and sarcasm. Just cover the game, please, sir
Pdx
September 3rd, 2012
8:09 pm
Honeycomb on the helmets…..I was not aware that yellow jackets produce honey.
ACC Means no D
September 3rd, 2012
8:10 pm
Wow what a creative, awe inspiring series that was! Good way to start the season!
MFranklin
September 3rd, 2012
8:10 pm
What is with GT and the constant changing of uniforms? And what is with the one tonight? They look like they are wearing one of those webbed sacks you buy onions in.
The ACC has no shame.
Supersize that order, mutt
September 3rd, 2012
8:10 pm
@ Pdx…….it’s not a honeycomb, per se. It’s the shape of cells in a yellow jacket hive. Check it out on Google, dummy
LHarding Dawg
September 3rd, 2012
8:11 pm
todd graham – Azzhole on a perfectly good Tech football blog. You need to grow up!
GT Girl
September 3rd, 2012
8:11 pm
Lord please help our offense!
buckheadboy
September 3rd, 2012
8:11 pm
We’re in for a long night if that first offensive series is any indication of things to come.
dawgs01
September 3rd, 2012
8:12 pm
Good luck Tech. I am huge uga fan but i love seeing georgia boys excell in sports. I think alot of paul johnson he may be @ss but he is a heck of a coach. I cant wait to see how Zack Laskey does tonight i have known him since he was 13 and he is a great young man. I started working with him when he was 13 all the way till he graduated. Why he only had scholarships from the academies and tech i will never know. Go look at his senior yr at stars mill and you will see that he was one of the top backs in georgia that yr and every coach that has ever coached will tell you he is a monster in the wt. room very unassuming young man. He has legit 4.4 speed and like i said is strong as all hell. I hope he has a great game and when he was recruited i told yall everyone will know who he is by time he leaves tech. I expect him to leave tech as one of the fan’s favorite bc that how he is. A team leader and someone who will give you everything he has. Trust me this kid has a huge chip on his shoulder and he is also a great linebacker which is his original position got moved to rb due to his blazing speed.
MFranklin
September 3rd, 2012
8:12 pm
Goodness gracious, I critique Tech’s weird netted unis and my comment gets crimped by the censor.
Gone Fishin'
September 3rd, 2012
8:12 pm
Nerd Herd gets destroyed by team that has more than 1 week to prepare for HS offense…..
Smart like a fox
September 3rd, 2012
8:12 pm
lets calm down and play….
todd grantham
September 3rd, 2012
8:12 pm
STOM, Mark may as well keep the blog intertaining cause the game ain’t.
Pdx
September 3rd, 2012
8:13 pm
That’s okay, I’ll take your word for it, supersized gut.
Gone Fishin'
September 3rd, 2012
8:13 pm
Yellow Jackets are wasps, correct supersize?
I'm gonna tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John...
September 3rd, 2012
8:13 pm
I like Al Groh! Very creative fellow.
ACC Means no D
September 3rd, 2012
8:13 pm
Hey was that a forward pass? Wow!
Gone Fishin'
September 3rd, 2012
8:13 pm
Where’s UOAD?
Supersize that order, mutt
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
“intertaining”??? Where did you go to school, bubba?
Man-boobs must go
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
If this first series is any indication…..we ARE in BIG TROUBLE!
Uga stud
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
Let’s go Tech! Need to get Washington to play smart and I’d guarantee a win!
todd grantham
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
LHARDING: suggestion noted.
buckheadboy
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
This evening is not looking positive for the Jackets. Especially that first offensive series.
MFranklin
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
I remember last year when the Gamecocks (not a bad word) had chicken legs on the backside of their uni pants.
Gone Fishin'
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
All we need now is Tampa Gator to pipe in……..
Supersize that order, mutt
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
@ Gone Fishin’……Yep, and they build hives with hexagonal cells in them
Smart like a fox
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
looks like Ga fans like watching the game as much as Tech fans….thanks for the closet support dawg fans
ACC Means no D
September 3rd, 2012
8:14 pm
Like a hot knife thru butter……
todd grantham
September 3rd, 2012
8:15 pm
STOM: believe it or not Georgia Tech is my alma mater.
Under The Bleachers
September 3rd, 2012
8:15 pm
DL is standing up getting pushed around too much.
MFranklin
September 3rd, 2012
8:15 pm
Uh oh… I mentioned the University of SC team name and got censored again!
Okay AJC… Steve Surrier’s team is the angry chickens from now on, lol.
Gone Fishin'
September 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
What’s the spread on this game?
Mark Bradley
September 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
Third-down conversion by the other team. Shades of GT 20111.
dawgs01
September 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
Tech fans yall keep an eye on Zack Laskey tonight i have worked with him since he was 13 and he is a hard worker and one of those kids who gives you everything he has. The young man has legit 4.4 speed and his senior yr. he was easily one of the top backs in the state. i have no clue as to why his only offers came from service academies and tech or why he was rated a 2star. I told yall when yall signed him that yall just got a steal. He will be a fan favorite when it is all said and done. He is a monster in the wt.room and is fast is all get out and a leader on top of all that. good luck tonight tech and keep your eye on laskey.
JACK THOMPSON
September 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
first impression of teck is ugly uniforms. looked better on twitter!!
JACK THOMPSON
September 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
first impression of teck is ugly uniforms. looked better on twitter!!
todd grantham
September 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
can’t believe hexagonal made it past the filter.
Man-boobs must go
September 3rd, 2012
8:16 pm
5 first downs for hokies…..4 total yards for Jackets……..sheesh
Under The Bleachers
September 3rd, 2012
8:17 pm
Tampa Gator is too busy getting his next pro UF blog overhype ready for the UGA blog
dawgs01
September 3rd, 2012
8:17 pm
i double posted cause this is so slow sorry about that
todd grantham
September 3rd, 2012
8:17 pm
20111?
Sonny Clusters
September 3rd, 2012
8:17 pm
When we was being recruited by Georgia Tech we was promised a TI-84 scientific calculator but Clemson promised us a John Deere. We was definitely going to Clemson but things changed.
ACC Means no D
September 3rd, 2012
8:17 pm
Jackets D is solid!
I'm gonna tell Aunt Mary about Uncle John...
September 3rd, 2012
8:18 pm
uoad and yellow fuzz only post on UGA blogs. They are real jacket fans!
todd grantham
September 3rd, 2012
8:18 pm
man, i must have been alseep quite a while
buckheadboy
September 3rd, 2012
8:18 pm
The start of this season is beginning to look too much like the ending of last season. Where’s the defense? Come on, come on, Jackets.
Birmingham Jacket
September 3rd, 2012
8:18 pm
One program gets it done in February.
One doesn’t.
Max
September 3rd, 2012
8:18 pm
3rd down is a killer. As usual!
Tj is unimpressive.
Gone Fishin'
September 3rd, 2012
8:18 pm
Hornets are wasps also…..nice nest in neighbor’s yard…..waiting for cold weather to retrieve it. All jokes aside good luck to the Yellow Jackets tonight. Still have to throw a few jabs, however