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Georgia Tech got one of its most unassumingly important wins of the season yesterday, downing Duquesne in Atlanta by a final score of 73-67. The Jackets, who fell behind by as many as nine points early on, were able to rebound quite nicely against the Dukes to improve to 10-3 on the year. It was a game that Tech should have won with ease from a talent standpoint, put Duquesne -- also 10-3 following the loss -- is no pushover: the Dukes have wins over Penn State and Robert Morris among other teams so far this year. The victory propels Tech into ACC play with a three-game win streak; they will take the court next against North Carolina on January 2.
Georgia Tech commit Jaylend Ratliffe, a former quarterback prospect who sustained a serious head injury following an ATV accident a year and a half ago, is finally set to enroll at Georgia Tech following his encouraging healing process. Ratliffe, who has been cleared by his own doctors to play football, will finally get to live out the college experience, though whether or not he will take the field at Tech still remains to be seen -- the school doctors will make an independent decision in the coming months. Regardless, it is amazing that Ratliffe has been able to recover so quickly and seemingly fully from such a serious injury. We wish him nothing but the best as he begins his Georgia Tech career.
This bowl season has been absolutely filled with offense, and last night's Russell Athletic Bowl between North Carolina and Baylor was no exception: the Bears and Tar Heels combined for 87 points in Baylor's 49-38 victory. Those poor Heels just couldn't do anything right on defense, allowing a bowl-record 358 first half rushing yards to Baylor which quickly rose to 645 rushing yards by the end of the game. That plus another 111 passing yards gave the Bears a grand total of 756 total yards of offense and, somehow, just 49 points. It is also worth noting that Baylor used five different quarterbacks throughout the game and UNC failed to stop a single one. Maybe Gene Chizik isn't so magical after all.
Have a great Wednesday!