Georgia Tech: Ramblin' On

Its been a quiet month for Ramblin’ On.

I’ve admittedly neglected things here the past few weeks.

But then, in my defense, December was a crazily busy time in our family with birthdays,  a new puppy, a trip to Vegas, deadlines in the office, and two kids who are still young enough to enjoy the magic and wonder associated with all things Christmas.

We’ll load up the Jeep and hit the road headed towards Tampa tomorrow morning.  I’m hoping to make good enough time to be plopped in front my my father-in-law’s new disgustingly large 3D plasma TV in time for kick off against Air Force.  Say a prayer for me if you get a chance…the odds that we’ll make it to Tampa by 5pm are extremely long since the kids and the puppy will require extra stops.  But hey…it gives me something to aim for right?  And there’s always the DVR!

Just in case I’m not able to post again until after New Year’s, I’ll leave you gentle readers with a few thoughts here in the waning days of 2010…

• How would …

Continue reading A Final Ramblin’ for 2010? »

I’ve given myself 24 hours to chew on this one…a personal rule that I apply after tough losses.

Fault?

Can’t lay this one on Scott Blair and the missed PAT.

Blair didn’t choose to go for it on 4th and two on the UGA 19 yard line.  We have to kick the FG there, take the points, and kicked off to UGA again.

Blair didn’t fumble the ball on the UGA five yard line after the defense stopped UGA three and out and GT got the ball at midfield.  Score should have been 10-0 at that point…but it wasn’t…it was still 0-0.

Blair didn’t fumble the ball on the UGA 13 yard line after special teams forced a turnover and gave the offense the ball on the UGA 34.  It was 21-21 at that point and GT squandered the chance to make it at least 24-21 while taking the lead.

Blair didn’t pitch the most costly fumble to an a-back that was about to get plastered.  UGA picked that one up and returned it 18 yards for a TD and the ultimate margin of victory.

Sure…Blair missed a routine PAT attempt after …

Continue reading Jackets Fumble Ball & Game Away »

As the Thanksgiving week winds down, I’d like to give “thanks” to the readers who remembered that this is a “fan” blog and not an AJC “beat” blog.  My mandate with this blog has been to write it from a fan perspective.  That’s been admittedly tough at times this season as the team has stumbled and not played up to expectations.  And people seem to take exception when I bash UGA or the SEC in general…which is something every good GT fan should do.

But really…thanks for reading anyways!

So what else am I thankful for?

• I’m thankful that I’m a Tech Man (Class of 1994) rather than a red-clad mutt simply cheering for the popular state school because its easy to do.
• I’m thankful that I have two beautiful daughters I can dress in White and Gold.
• I’m thankful that they both cheer for the “brave and bold” and request the GT fight song be sung at bedtime each night.
• I’m thankful that the Jackets play in the historic Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field rather than a concrete …

Continue reading Giving Thanks & Clean Old Fashioned Hate »

The next time you see an SEC promo or public service announcement that is related to sportsmanship or conduct, you can pretty much laugh and change the channel.  All they are doing is playing lipservice to the notion that they care…

Why do I care?

Its simple really…their lack of willingness to discipline Nick Fairley leads directly to their inability to discipline the UGA players who left the bench during the brawl at the end of the UGA vs Auburn game.

They didn’t discipline late hitting, dirty playing, fight inducing Fairley because to do so would further hinder a Ted Roof led Auburn defense that already leaks like a sieve.  (GT fans can understand this…that defense cost Joe Hamilton the Heisman in 1999 and the Jackets a shot at a national title…)

And the SEC needs Auburn to beat Alabama because Auburn is the last (and only) chance that the SEC has at putting a team in the 2010 national title game.

So…since the SEC sat on its hands regarding Nick Fairley, they no longer …

Continue reading SEC Protecting Its Investment »

The Game

The Jackets started the game against Duke with a comedy of errors…

• On the first GT drive, a 35 yard TD run is called back on a questionable blocking penalty.
• After a field goal, Duke muffs the kickoff but Tech isn’t able to recover the ball…giving the Blue Devils possession on the 20 rather than putting GT points on the board.
• On the second GT drive, the Jackets drive all the way to the Duke 15 before fumbling the ball away in the redzone.

End result?  The Jackets put three points on the board in the first quarter rather than the 21 that could have easily been posted.

The second quarter was more of the same…

• A 16 yard punt gives GT the ball on the Duke 43 but the Jackets get only a field goal.
• Duke drives about 60 yards, only to be stopped by a fumble around the GT 22.
• The Jackets false start on fourth and one (something that has become a trend) and stall a drive.
• Duke drives 53 yards, the replay ref chokes on his remote control, and the Blue Devils are gifted …

Continue reading Butler & Hill Step Up In Win »

A Tale of Two Fumbles

Sure, ultimately, the Hurricanes simply beat the Yellow Jackets in all phases of the game en route to a 35-10 victory.

But I thought the Tech hopes in this game hinged and turned on two fumbles that occured while the game was still in doubt:

1. The fumbled kick return that GT recovered deep in Miami territory, only to be told that “forward progress” had been stopped before loss of possession.  Rather than possession in the shadow of Miami’s goal post, the Jackets wound up on defense.
2. The fumbled pitch on the Miami 6 yard line while the score was 21-10.  A touchdown there would have made it 21-17.  Instead Miami marched 84 yards on 11 plays and made the score 28-10 to put things out of reach.

Those two fumbles are a great example of the breaks that just haven’t gone our way in 2010…breaks that DID go our way in 2009 en route to the ACC title game.

The Good

• Perfect Weather…mid 60s…cloudless sky…no wind…one of “those days” that reminds you why you love …

Continue reading Tech Loss A Tale of Two Fumbles »

Hoops…

After splitting a pair of hoops season tickets with a couple of long time football buddies, I found myself back in AMC for the first time in quite awhile.

The Jackets delivered a less than enthusiastic effort and ultimately a 52-39 win over Charleston Southern.  So we’re 1-0 in the 2010/11 campaign.

A few things jumped out at me…

• We only have one “impact” senior on the squad in Mo Miller.  Storrs is the second senior and should get good minutes.
• We’re a smaller team this season.  Only three guys are over 6-6 and all of them are freshmen.
• Daniel Miller is going to be a good player for us.  I’m not saying he’s the next Luuuuke but he is active on the defensive end and runs well.  Seven blocks tonight…more than a few in dominating fashion.
• Jason Morris is definitely a playmaker.  He got good minutes tonight and showed some flashes on both offense and defense.  It looks like Hewitt plans to use him quite a bit.
• Our smaller (guard oriented) offense is going to …

Continue reading Hoops, Engineering Majors, and Miami »

Live First Half Thoughts

The Jackets lead at the half 14-7 and make no mistake…the Hokies haven’t stopped us all night.

We’ve stopped ourselves!

The mental mistakes began on the fourth down during our third drive.  Only needed about 6 inches, which is pretty much a gimme, but we had an offensive tackle move early.  Rather than extend the drive and ownership of the football we end up having to punt.  Luckily the defense stepped up and got the ball back.

Then on the next series we have a penalty on second down that puts us off schedule again.  We end up punting.  This time special teams bails us out by forcing and recovering a fumble.

Then we get third and goal at the VT six yard line (following the fumble recovery) and we get cute and try to throw the ball.  It gets picked off and Nesbitt gets hurt trying to make the tackle.  I can understand “playing to win” but this was a situation where “playing to win” would have been keeping the ball on the ground on third down and …

Continue reading Tech Loses Gutsy Effort Against Hokies »

Its a little ironic that I wrote a blog about Clemson memories and then spent the better part of this past week trying to forget the Clemson game.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a great trip.  The Clemson fans were awesome and the tailgating was top notch as well.  Its one of the best ACC road trips around.

Actually, everything was perfect except for the horrific play of our football team…and horrific might be a polite term for what we witnessed.

When the Jackets weren’t running into kickers, blocking guys in the back, hitting guys out of bounds, and watching punts bounce at the one yard line on special teams they were dropping passes in the endzone, whiffing on blocks against the Clemson defensive line, or chasing Andre Ellington around the field as he ran for over 150 yards.

It was easily the worst Yellow Jackets special teams exhibition of the past several seasons.

And now we go on the road to face Virginia Tech…a team known for special teams.

And also a team that has placed …

Continue reading A Week Off Before the Hokies »

The series between the Jackets and Tigers has included plenty of high drama in the past decade, with great plays and great blunders sometimes deciding the ultimate outcome, and as I packed the Jeep and made plans for the drive to Clemson tomorrow morning I reflected back on some of my other trips to Clemson.  And then I checked the Hive and found this related thread, which included a cavalcade of GT/Clemson memories.

A handful of “highs” jump immediately to the forefront for me…and I’ll rank them in the order of importance:

1. Derrick Morgan’s sack of Kyle Parker in 2009 – Maybe its not the biggest play, but its the timeliest and it secured an ACC title and a BCS bid so it ranks #1.
2. George Godsey to Kerry Watkins in 2000 – Amazing catch to end an amazing game, as Tech defeated an undefeated Top 10 Clemson team on the road.  “Seven seconds left on the clock and Wesley, it doesn’t get any bigger than this!”, will be an immortalized Kim King call for decades to come.
3. “The Muff” …

Continue reading Clemson Memories Both High and Low »