Mailbag 12/23

Who are your offensive, defensive, and overall MVPs from this year? Oh, and special teams if it’s anyone other than PH3. - SullyGT

Ben: On offense, while I think there is a case for Jahmyr Gibbs, I’m going to say Jeff Sims. The entire offense ran through him, and I think he had a lot more pressure on him since Tech actually has good running backs other than Gibbs. On defense, I will go with Jordan Domineck. Tech did not have much in terms of a pass rush, but what they did have mostly came from Domineck. On special teams, I’m gonna say Gavin Stewart. I think Tech has finally gotten a decent kicker and his brother is Brad Stewart. Gavin only went 2-for-3 on field goals, but he went 22-of-24 on PAT attempts, which is great, considering how bad Tech’s kicking game has been.

Jake: O - Jahmyr Gibbs, D - Agreeing with Ben, Domineck, Overall - Gibbs

Chris: Offensive - Jahmyr Gibbs. He was so much of the offense and it was noticeable when he was out. Defensive - agree with Domineck. Special Teams is absolutely Harvin. Overall I’d debate Sims vs Gibbs (is it weird to give overall MVP to an offensive player that I didn’t give offensive MVP to? idk).

What was your favorite play by Georgia Tech this year? - SullyGT

Ben: Pick a Jahmyr Gibbs touchdown.

Jake: Though I loved the scoop and score against ND and the Duke fumble touchdown madness, Jahmyr Gibbs vaulting a Louisville dude on the goal line was excellent.

Chris: AB throwing a touchdown to Jalen Camp against Louisville.

Did the playoff committee get it right or who got snubbed the most? - SullyGT

Ben: Cincinnati got snubbed and should have been the No. 4 seed.

Jake: I’ll echo Ben. aTm lost to a playoff team by like four scores. ND had just lost to a playoff team by 24 THE PREVIOUS DAY. Why even have conference championship games if they don’t matter, too. Put in Cincy.

Chris: Agree with Cincinnati. In the current world of G5 teams being not real to the Committee though, I’d say Oklahoma would probably be way more interesting against Bama than ND is gonna be...

Who’s winning the national title this year? - SullyGT

Ben: It’s going to be Bama-Clemson again in the National Championship, and quite honestly, I don’t know that I care who wins that game for the umpteenth time.

Jake: Roll, Tide, Roll.

Chris: Bama-Clemon for sure, and between the two they’ll probably score 90 points. It’s honestly probably a toss-up in my head, with maybe Bama getting the slight edge.

And since it’s never too early, what’s your prediction for our record next year? - SullyGT

Ben: I like the moves that Tech has made so far, and I think Tech is going to see some improvement next year. A lot of it depends on improvement on defense this next year. The defense took a step back this year, so they will need to take a huge step forward. If they can do that, and Jeff Sims can cut down on the turnovers, I think Tech goes bowling, but I’m not ready to commit to a record prediction at this point.

Jake: I mean, who knows if we’ll be back to the normal schedule next year...
If so, I’d say sweep the non-u[sic]ga, non-Notre Dame out of conference games, pick up three of the eight in conference (Duke, two of the three games against the Virginias/Pitt) for a 5-7 season. I need to see some improvement here.

Chris: 5-7 feels reasonable. NIU and Kennesaw should be auto-wins. Duke and Virginia Tech should be easy conference wins. At least one of UVA, BC, or Pitt should be doable as well. Stretch goal I could believe 7 wins, but probably not higher than that.

Does PH3 win the Ray Guy award? - popehats

Ben: He absolutely should.

Carter: If he doesn’t I will DECLARE CRIMES.

Jake: We’re down to three! PH3 and the punters from checks notes two of our most hated rivals.

Chris: Biased take, but it would be very deserved. But nice things are unheard of, so it’ll probably end up being the uga guy.

Please to power rank Taxonomical

Order: Carnivora

Family: Hair Band

Genus: Rock god

Species: Rg-Guitar Hero

Subspecies: Lead - DressHerInWhiteAndGold

Ben: Ummm....are we being asked to rank 80s hair bands who appeared on Guitar Hero by their lead singer? If so, I am ill-equipped to answer this question.

Jake: I don’t understand! I am sorry.

Chris: I too am confused. I’ll go with Ben’s interpretation though:

1. Jon Bon Jovi (Bon Jovi)
2. David Lee Roth (Van Halen)
3. Bret Michaels (Poison)

Can we not talk about 2020 in 2021 or ever again? - BuzzForPresident

Ben: Why are we still talking about 2020 now?

Jake: Deal.

Chris: sure.

Which Early Signees are Enrolling Early? - Physically Fast

Ben: Nothing has officially been announced by GTAA, but I know pay sites have put up a list, so I would recommend checking those out; otherwise, GTAA normally will post something at the beginning of January.

How many more recruits/transfers is Tech going to take on signing day in February? - Lake Park Jacket

Ben: I think Tech will probably take a couple more guys before February, but I would say that it will be more transfers than anything else.

Will any of our current 2021 signees see a bump up in their ranking going forward? - Lake Park Jacket

Ben: I know a couple players are still wrapping up their seasons, so I think there’s a decent chance a player or two could see a bump. But this year, recruiting rankings are essentially a crap shoot, since they can’t do camps.

Jake: And to add, I don’t think even getting senior film on the guys we do have already is even a given yet, either.

What is a GT Themed gift you want for Christmas this year? Or what is a gift from your past you enjoyed? - Notwima13

Ben: I always love a good Georgia Tech coffee mug!

Jake: I found a site that’s kind of a ripoff Homefield, but I would say Homefield if that was an option.

Chris: I’d love a good-looking adidas hoodie.

Ben: First thing’s first: Make Notre Dame make a decision. After that, I would personally love to see the ACC shift to pods.

Jake: I really like this question. I personally don’t think the ND situation half-in on the conference is all that fair to the teams that are actually all-in on the ACC, and I think them not being in limits our TV potential revenue and a group. I worry about the SEC going full ESPN in their new TV package, so I think the ACC being able to work with NBC to sweeten the conference TV deal would be ideal. If ND were to come in full time, there would have to either be an elimination of divisions (three pods of 5?) or something like that, but I think seeing teams more often than every 6 years would be a positive change, too.

Chris: I like what Jake said. TV deals are definitely huge. Shaking up the alignment (whether or be through ND + pods or otherwise) would also probably be good long-term. I also think bringing in another team along with ND would be great; a strong G5 team would be a great addition to a conference that’s very top heavy.

Hello Everyone,

Merry Christmas and or Non-Denominational Holiday of your choosing. I read Jeff’s article today titled “Georgia Tech Football: Season Review - What We Learned”, which I found to be misleading because I clearly haven’t learned a damn thing. I’m still cheering for a team that brings me nothing but pain and suffering, and I will continue to do so next year because I hate myself. Maybe y’all should write a series of weekly articles titled “Why Do We Do This To Ourselves?”. I’d read that while gorging myself on Christmas Cookies and cheap Eggnog... So that’s a fun thought for the holidays.

Anyway, my question for this week is based around the Army. Since they are not in a bowl game this year they will likely lead an attack on another bowl game to steal the trophy for themselves (and honestly, if that happens I’m all for it). I know this can be taken the wrong way, but what is your favorite war story, or story that happened during a battle or a war? This Christmas Truce during WWI was what motivated me (other than Army getting screwed over) to bring this up. How despite all the fighting both sides came to a peace, if only once, to celebrate the holiday together. Not necessarily what people think of as a war story but that one tends to get me emotional. Hope y’all have a happy holidays.

Your Friend,

Red XIII

UPDATE: So now Army is in a bowl game. Proving that if you just complain hard enough people will get annoyed and give in to your complaints. I think that’s how the system works. My question from earlier still stands, I just wanted to address that my earlier comment about Army not being in a bowl game no longer applies so that they will not need to invade another bowl game, and I made a typo in my earlier email. That’s embarrassing. Have a good day y’all. (submitted via email)

Ben: I really like that idea! Might be good for during the holidays. I don’t know that I have a favorite war story, but my grandfather has plenty of them to tell!

Jake: I love the Christmas Truce. And Army invading to steal a trophy reminds me of MIT invading the Yale/Harvard game to prank both teams. Agreed on the article title, too. For a war story, I think accidentally blowing up the Parthenon is amusing (but tragic - also, I know some Tech CivE guys who were doing restoration work on it a few years back, which is neat) and I think there’s a lot of intrigue that happens during conflicts. Allowing myself to change the subject slightly from a war story, the greatest American prohibition story came when a large tank at a Boston distillery exploded due to thermal expansion, bursting the rivets out of the tank and causing a tsunami of molasses to sweep through the streets of Boston at 35 miles per hour.

Chris: Just came here to tell Jake that I actually live a block away from the site of the molasses explosion in Boston and its an incredible piece of history.