Technical Tidbits 10/27

Something probably went right if you defeated a top-10 team with one loss on its record dating back to 2012. In the case of Tech's win over Florida State, there were quite a few things that went right and, consequently, a number of weekly awards have gone to some of the key contributors. Most notably was the national defensive player of the week award, taken home by senior safety Jamal Golden after one of the best all-around performances a defensive back can have. Golden has been a leader on this team for years now and has consistently been one of the most productive players on the defense despite getting almost no recognition outside of his special teams abilities. I'm very glad he finally got some recognition and would like to go on record saying that Tech would have lost that game without his contributions.

It has been just a few days since the Miracle on Techwood Drive unfolded, but it is already time to flush the game and move on. I'm certainly not suggesting that we forget the game (or even stop talking about it), but the new challenge will be trying to defeat UVA up in Charlottesville for just the fifth time in Tech history. The Jackets currently lead the series with the Cavaliers 19-17-1, but that isn't reflective of the struggles that Tech has had up north: UVA leads the series 10-4-1 in Virginia. The Hoos and head coach Mike London, whose job security situation is a conundrum in itself, have gotten off to yet another rotten start, currently sitting at 2-5. They will be hungry and looking for a win over a Tech team which may still be riding too high by Saturday.

The University of Miami did the unthinkable over the weekend when they fired head coach Al Golden, finally ending an era of mediocrity at Da U. The Canes, who were the recipients of a 58-0 beatdown at the hands of Clemson over the weekend, had been feeling pressure to fire Golden for years as a result of consistently bad on-field products. In fact, the only reason Golden was still around this recently was because of his phenomenal recruiting class. That, like his legacy, figures to be gone pretty soon. I like making fun of Al Golden for wearing a tie and being bad at his job on occasion, but the truth is that he was dealt a pretty crappy hand at Miami. Golden joined the Canes in the wake of the Nevin Shapiro and had to deal with a notoriously spoiled and unsupportive fanbase, eventually losing the locker room along the way. He never did anything to make me dislike him, so I hope he lands on his feet somewhere. Hopefully somewhere with fans who do more than just fly anti-Al Golden banners from airplanes at Miami games. That is just classless.

GTBob is the real MVP for getting his replay of the Georgia Tech vs. Florida State game up so quickly. If you get a chance, take a look and just watch the perimeter blocking compared to back in the ugly losing streak. It was exponentially better and, contrary to the beliefs of the FSU faithful, didn't cause a single torn ACL! How shocking.

What will Tech have to do to beat UVA in Charlottesville?