FTRS reader and fellow SBN writer Jaxon wrote this on Saturday in regards to his excitement about the Orange Bowl.
This is easily the biggest bowl game of my GT fandom and I'm starting to get a little psyched about it. Being alumni from the 80's the biggest previous bowl was the Citrus Bow in 1990 (which I attended) because of what was on the line. But in the grand scheme of bowls it was a mid-level game played in the afternoon of New Years Day. As far as the game itself it pales in comparison of the Orange Bowl, which back then was played at 8pm New Years Day. It was the schizzle back then I think it still is today!
I could forgive Tech if it comes out nervous on this grand stage but something tells me any early jitters will subside quickly. GT HC Paul Johnson (CPJ) is a very focused coach who demands perfection all year. I can even see an early lead for Iowa only to have the tide turn in the 2nd half. Tech has been good coming out of the locker room all season. Tech fans can take heart in this fact if things look dour early.
My biggest concern is the run defense. The loss to UGA was a new experience for Tech, getting gashed from runs and severely losing the TOP stat. Clemson's CJ Spiller totally abused the Tech defense for more yards than I care to type. Iowa will no doubt look to repeat that strategy.
I might also have a slight worry that there is something to having time to prepare to defend the triple option. Visions of last years loss to LSU still haunt me. Something tells me Iowa doesn't quite have the combination of size up front and speed outside as LSU, but that's just me.
I also recommend all Tech fans savor this game as well. When in recent years has Tech had so much NFL talent? Dwyer, Morgan and thomas could all be first round talent. Given the implications of the NFLs pending labor contract dispute, prospective Juniors would be smart to go early or potentially lose millions under a rookie salary cap.
Finally can we please win so I don't have to read the smack talk from the Iowa fans. They've been quite lively on this blog, more so than any other non-ACC team in this blogs short history anyway.
Crap, still 11 days to go.