Technical Tidbits 11/11

Plenty of Yellow Jackets were honored by the ACC following Georgia Tech's drubbing of the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday. Among those taking home awards are guard Shaq Mason (offensive lineman of the week), linebacker Quayshawn Nealy (linebacker of the week), and B-Back Synjyn Days (offensive back of the week). Each player had a fantastic game against the Pack, but I think my MVP has to be Quayshawn Nealy. The big linebacker finished the game with an impressive line of 6 total tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown in what was a defensive domination by Georgia Tech. I'm not sure how cornerback DJ White was overlooked, but he had a great game of his own, finishing with a pick-six to go with 7 tackles and 2 pass deflections.

Man, the folks over at The New York Times sure know how to make a nice map. The latest installment in their series of cartographic endeavors comes in the form of this map detailing where in the United States people care the most about college football.  The entire southeast, especially Alabama, is pretty much solid purple, as are Oklahoma and Nebraska. There are a lot of interesting trends to look for on that map (who'd have thought that football was so big in Iowa?) and really provide a lot of insight as to where football fans are.

It's the time of year in which Georgia Tech student-athletes thank the many donors that make Tech athletics possible in the annual Thank-a-Thon. The tradition started last season when student-athletes made persoWnal calls to over 500 big donors to express their gratitude for the many contributions that the donors have made. I wonder if FSU has anything similar to this down in Florida. It would be really easy, to be honest. All they'd have to do is dial 911 and thank the Tallahassee Police Department for all of their help these past couple of seasons.

Miami's upcoming game against Florida State is a huge "prove it" moment for the ACC Coastal division, which is constantly regarded as the underdog to the mighty Atlantic. If the Canes can manage to pull the upset, I honestly don't know that it would do that much for the division as a whole as much as it would help Miami's resume. If you have Tech's best interests at heart, you should be rooting for the Noles in this one -- Miami is still threatening Tech's status as second-best in the Coastal. To be honest, FSU winning this game is also necessary for the ACC as a whole to preserve its image, so remember the golden rule:

"An upset in the SEC shall proveth that both teams are top-tier programs whilst an upset in the ACC shall proveth that both teams are crap." -The Media

Who should the various powerhouse programs around the nation call to express their thanks during this month of giving?

Have a great Tuesday!