From The Rumble Seat - FTRS Presents: 100 Days to KickoffDrinkin' whiskey clear since 2008.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52811/From_The_Rumble_Seat_Minimal.0..png2021-06-02T09:00:00-04:00http://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/rss/stream/55242132021-06-02T09:00:00-04:002021-06-02T09:00:00-04:00Georgia Tech Football: A Rising Tide Lifts All Ships*
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<img alt="NCAA Football: Georgia Tech at Boston College" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/YkXb2dW9GhR9th6FHACs7gei50o=/0x1:3195x2131/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69376595/usa_today_15108761.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>But there’s only so far the ship can go on any given tide, to extend the metaphor.</p> <p id="nLvGXU"><em>Welcome to my Countdown to Kickoff opinion week column, the annual column I write to discuss the links I see between football and the non-revenue sports. Or at least allude to them.</em></p>
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<p id="c4OpWg">As it stands, this is the state of <a href="https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com">Georgia Tech</a> athletics, outside of the gridiron:</p>
<ul>
<li id="TyRQbR">
<strong>Women’s Tennis:</strong> Sweet Sixteen, ACC Runner-Up</li>
<li id="1hnSir">
<strong>Women’s Basketball:</strong> Sweet Sixteen</li>
<li id="ukckoe">
<strong>Golf:</strong> NCAA Top 15 Finish</li>
<li id="1Ir3VL">
<strong>Men’s Basketball:</strong> ACC Champions, NCAA Appearance</li>
<li id="EFHa4Q">
<strong>Baseball:</strong> ACC Coastal Campions, NCAA Result TBD</li>
<li id="t5PIkD">
<strong>Men’s Swimming and Diving:</strong> Top 30 NCAA Finish</li>
<li id="LaaM6m">
<strong>Women’s Cross Country:</strong> Top 30 NCAA Finish</li>
<li id="TZVb6u">
<strong>Women’s Swimming and Diving:</strong> Top 30 NCAA Finish</li>
<li id="7892p4">
<strong>Volleyball:</strong> NCAA Round of 32</li>
<li id="PNmXIV">
<strong>Men’s Tennis:</strong> NCAA Appearance</li>
<li id="n5Wm6K">
<strong>Men’s Cross Country, Men’s Track and Field, and Women’s Track and Field:</strong> Several Notable Individual Performances</li>
<li id="ragXOb">
<strong>Softball:</strong> ACC Tourney Appearance</li>
</ul>
<p id="0qJE6R">For those keeping score at home, this is pretty darn good. Up and down the roster of sports, there were a bevy of record finishes, drought-breaking NCAA performances, and exciting returns-to-form. There were surprises and delights, and on the whole, the good things we saw from all 16 non-football sports at Tech far outweighed the bad.</p>
<p id="TTlvI8">Plenty of ink was spilled, virtual and real, and it was spilled by plenty of writers. These exciting and productive seasons of growth brought joy and notoriety to many, and their endeavors were spread and made known. In the world of social media and streaming services, it is ever-easier to follow along with the teams that historically haven’t had the benefit of large amounts of media attention. The added benefit of this is the increased ease of which people are able to learn about new programs and develop attachments to these sports. </p>
<p id="oVCdTT">There’s only one problem. There’s only so much oxygen in the room. There’s only so much attention people give. There’s one primary front door that people make their impressions of a program on, and that’s football. Everything else, from social media follows, to traditional media coverage, to even content on this here Tech sports website that I do my darnedest to promote the less heralded sports as best I can, skews dramatically in favor of football, and, to a lesser extent followed by the basketball teams and baseball/softball/volleyball.</p>
<p id="qXRHMS">This metaphor, that a rising tide lifts all ships, is often used in the world of college sports. This is a phrase used to describe the Alabama athletic department, or a place like <a href="https://www.landgrantholyland.com">Ohio State</a>. The notoriety and success of Alabama football has done great things for the rest of their program - they have a well-deserved reputation of success on the field and institutional commitment to making sure a program is successful.</p>
<p id="IB7mRR">Rarely, though, do you hear about that working the other way.</p>
<p id="WAJiNi">I think it is a fair thing to say that football has an outsized influence on the perception an outsider or a casual fan has on a school’s athletics programming as a whole. When that reputation is that of underwhelming or underperforming, you can be a literal conference of champions (looking at you, Pac 12) and dominate the Olympic sports like no one’s business, but still have the “what have you done for me lately” attitude about football success cloud your reputation and success away from the pigskin. The athletic reputation of a school is not tied solely to the successes and failures of a team, school, or conference on the gridiron, but there’s darn sure a lot of attention and gnashing of teeth that gets pegged to the successes of that one particular program.</p>
<p id="6ORGI5">The tide, it can be said, at Georgia Tech, is about as high as one can reasonably ask it to get on a yearly basis. Of course, in any given year, a basketball team could make a final four or a non-revenue sport can have an individual champion or even a team champion. Heck, Tech baseball could still make a run to Omaha this weekend, and that would by no means go unnoticed. Tech’s edition of the national pastime does happen to have over 30,000 followers on Twitter alone and a sterling reputation for past success and player development, after all. </p>
<p id="AJgxEh">But there’s a reason that whole websites exist to track football uniforms and historical records. There’s a reason that players returning to campus for the summer workouts warrants a hype video. It is often said that athletics is the front porch to the mission of a university off of the field. If this is true, the sports can be assumed to be other parts of said porch. Basketball are the stairs and the bannister. Baseball and softball can be the porch swing or some chairs. Football is the dang front door.</p>
<p id="l0s4eF">This is how the sport hierarchy perceived by outsiders and newcomers, at least. While you, dear reader, or I might favor the Thrillerdome or O’Keefe, it is undeniable that football has the biggest budget, and the sport has an essentially eternal presence on radio, written journalism, television, and podcasts. It is the sport that, barring the annual novelty of filling out a bracket, is best able to capture the minds of casual sports fans without particular ties to a school or team. And when the perception of that marquee program is poor, there are perception-based consequences.</p>
<p id="ljUJn5">As of last month, I’m now a graduate of this fine Institute. But last fall, I was still in school, enjoying one last season as a student. The predominant narrative from ever underclassman I spoke to that came into this whole “Georgia Tech fandom” thing by nature of becoming a student and picking it up when they got here (i.e., they weren’t a fan until around then) is that Georgia Tech is a school which is not all that great at football, and are generally under-informed as to the state of the rest of the program. Two years of three win football will do that. Four years of football that maxed out with a Quick Lane Bowl appearance and six wins will do that, too. This isn’t a matter of triple option or not, it’s a matter of popular perception. The crazy thing is, though, I found myself saying a lot, is that Georgia Tech won nine games, beat the Athens and Blacksburg boys on the road, and won the Gator Bowl all while I was at Tech, and all of it in the same year. The <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/orange-bowl">Orange Bowl</a> was very much so a living memory of the campus that first fall I was around. But perception is king. It is very difficult to convince a sports-ambivalent or sports-antagonist student to just keep holding on and wait for the turn around, or to get amped up about recruiting rankings they don’t understand, or to wait until baseball season. The same can be said for children or friends of alumni, or casual fans, or new transplants to Atlanta, although I can’t say I personally can vouch for those exact experiences yet, because I haven’t lived that like I lived the life of being the Ramblin’ Reck Club football chair. </p>
<p id="d40Rgd">There’s only so much winning can do when those wins don’t register on the same magnitude as one does on one of 12 Saturdays in the fall.</p>
<p id="UQGg10">I wish that weren’t true. I love writing about non-revenue sports, and I wish that 55,000 people would or could pack a Georgia Tech volleyball game or, heck, even a men’s basketball game, aside from the obvious physical impracticalities of that, of course.</p>
<p id="XH7qf2">But the light at Georgia Tech is on. The stairs are swept, the flower boxes are weeded. It’s time to blow the door wide open. It’s time to fill the porch with students, alumni, fans, and family. It’s time to step out on a field and for toe to meet leather.</p>
<p id="DS77Si">It’s time to win.</p>
<p id="LWfI4Z">It would shine light on the successes of this department, from its other sports, to the improvements in marketing and branding, as well as the successful fundraising and support cultivated in recent years. It would boost our profile in football, in recruiting, and in the eyes of potential athletes in other Tech sports. It would validate the hard, determined work of the staff and coaches of the program. It would be a financial boon, and improve NLI value for the athletes on the field. It would help attract students and fans, the lifeblood of any school or program, and help forge stronger ties among people and between them and the Institute.<strong> </strong>It would help grow support for the very programs we talked about in the beginning.</p>
<p id="hF8DwV">It would lift every ship.</p>
<p id="GxPveg"><strong>94 Days Til Kickoff</strong></p>
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/georgia-tech-football/2021/6/2/22464211/georgia-tech-football-a-rising-tide-lifts-all-ships-time-for-winningJake Grant2020-07-29T21:00:13-04:002020-07-29T21:00:13-04:00Georgia Tech Football: Season...Post-View?
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<img alt="Virginia v Georgia Tech" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/-giSxmL-GYjgWvsbmVsQBQjU9cE=/2x0:2738x1824/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67130265/1070326488.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Let’s play a little side game called “how many members of the FTRS staff are in this picture?” | Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>In order to do this, I need your help.</p> <p id="yJTRqM">With the release of the revised 2020 Georgia Tech football season schedule, we now know that the Jackets won’t be kicking off the season until a week later than originally planned. What that does give us here at <em>From the Rumble Seat</em> is an additional week to preview the season, look at the roster, and break down some of the biggest storylines headed into the (admittedly quite unusual) season. However, if you’ve read the byline before moseying on down to this article, you know that rare are the days when the resident historian/non-revenue sports writer takes a hack at regular football coverage. As you can probably guess, this is not regular football coverage. </p>
<p id="MRvfti">Since we have a couple of days extra to write before the season, I figured I would take a hack at doing a preview of a season gone by, maybe not in complete ignorance of what happened during the season, but at least in a way that could put us in the heads of what Tech fans, players, and coaches were thinking going into the season and how it turned out in real life. </p>
<p id="17eicI">However, since this year’s <s>Building</s> Bracket, I’ve been looking forward to doing another interactive feature. That’s why this post exists - it is up to you, the readers of the site, to pick the season we, uh, post-view. There’s a poll below, to get us into the time span or a general idea of where to start, but leave a comment if you are drawn to a particular year, coach, player, storyline, or event. That’ll tip the scales when it comes time to actually put pen to paper.</p>
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<p id="yP7LxL">So vote and leave a comment below and we’ll be back next week to <s>take a look in the Rearview Mirror</s> look at a “mem’ry of the days gone by,” to borrow a phrase from the Alma Mater.</p>
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<p id="bLNr4V"><em>The Historical Football Season Post-View will go live next Thursday, August 6th, at 8:00 AM.</em></p>
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2020/7/29/21347489/georgia-tech-football-season-post-view-2020-historical-season-preview-article-announcement-ftrsJake Grant2020-07-17T09:00:00-04:002020-07-17T09:00:00-04:00Georgia Tech Football: Position Preview - SPECIALISTS
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<img alt="Georgia Tech v South Florida" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HH8JTREZquJxbqfrEGJz4NZCtMA=/159x0:3000x1894/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67070870/1029335104.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>NEVERMIND THE RESULT OF THIS GAME | Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>SPECIALISTSSSSSS. MOUNT UP</p> <p id="kwarZr">We’ve reached the highest of holidays here at FTRS. The Specialists preview. No 100 days prior to kickoff is more important, none worthy of such adoration and adulation (assuming those are two different things, we’re doing the whole stream of consciousness thing, no editing, real journalism).</p>
<p id="YzCuQN">We know who our punter is. That much is certain. Our touchdown-throwing, missile-launching, bomb-dropping, B-29 of a football player: Pressley Harvin III.</p>
<div id="YcIqdH"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; padding-top: 44px;"><iframe src="https://gfycat.com/ifr/competentglassannelida" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="BuoeKX">You will speak no ill of him, or I will<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpYG1B1d45Q"> Liam Neesson’s</a> your [Aerosmith] (warning - explicit language in the video). I have the Stinger Pass, you never know if I’ll be sitting within earshot. So behave.</p>
<p id="rB925M">Up next, we have the less reputable unit on the Yellow Jackets specialists room: the kickers. </p>
<p id="BTkrcH">Gone are Brenton King and Wesley Wells. King to Liberty, and no word on what Wells’ next step might be. Cliff Gandis is the only returning kicker listed on the roster, and will likely serve as the backup punter as well.</p>
<p id="yOL8ML">Incoming is Steven Verdisco, who I do not have enough brainpower to come up with a clever nickname for, and <a href="https://kohlskicking.com/player-profiles/jude-kelley">Jude Kelley</a>. Both were preferred walk-ons for the 2020 recruiting class. Kohl’s Kicking ranked Verdisco higher than Kelley, but we all know better than to take rankings and prior history as the law when it comes to who gets trotted out on to the field come gametime. Honestly, your guess is as good as mine when it comes to who will start Game 1, whenever that might be. My gut says Gandis just because he’s been there longer and has had more time working with the snappers and timing of the college game compared to the slower snap-kick times seen in high school.</p>
<p id="DLGecy">I was about to write about the long snappers, but then I realized I forgot KICKOFFS. Just like the coaching staff apparently did last year. From the 11/13 mailbag:</p>
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<p id="tM6D7y">“Hello. You would think would be simple. You would also think we pay somebody a boat load of money to coach 10 young men to run down a field and tackle while one kicks a ball and tells them where to run to. Simplest solution? Kick it out of the back of the end zone. They have to start on the 25. Every time. Zero deviation. But no, <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/463/p3"><strong>WE ARE TIED FOR LAST PLACE IN THE COUNTRY ON TOUCHBACKS. </strong></a>I AM NOT JOKING. SCHOOLS WITH <strong>10+xMORE TOUCHBACKS THAN US</strong>: LIBERTY, INDIANA, SAN DIEGO STATE, GEORGIA SOUTHERN, ILLINOIS, FIU, HAWAII, GEORGIA STATE, WYOMING, UAB, COLORADO STATE, MIAMI (OH), EAST CAROLINA. DO I MAKE MY POINT CLEAR? We are getting [Styx]-pumped on field position week in and week out because we hemorrhage yardage on kickoff coverage and kickoff return. Want a fix to your special team stomach aches? Find somebody that can put their foot through the ball. It doesn’t take having a <span><strong>Harrison Butker</strong></span> to kick a touchback. Hell, everybody but Missouri gets more touchbacks than we do<strong> IN THE ENTIRE FBS.</strong>”</p>
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<p id="Qk1G5j">I do not care if it is a line drive. You hit the back wall padding, and trot your defense out to the 25. If Tobias has to be the one to kick it there, I do not care. Just get it done. Have a tryout amongst the team just to make sure there isn’t somebody with a secret cannon for a leg. Hitting a consistent touchback will likely add 2-4 years to my lifespan. Do it for me if not for your own job security as a football coach employed by Georgia Tech.</p>
<p id="L6NQHv">Finally, the long snappers. <a href="https://ramblinwreck.com/tech-lands-seven-on-phil-steele-preseason-all-acc-team/">Phil Steele</a> has Cade Long listed as his second team All-ACC selection for his 2020 season preview. The fact that I did not know his name prior to “researching” for this article means that he did his job perfectly. Keep it up Cade. Jack Coco appears to be the backup here, with freshman Henry Freer rounding out the group. Shoutout Woodward Academy.</p>
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<p id="bBKtux">Let me know if the comments if you have any burning special teams opinions, I’m an open book.</p>
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2020/7/17/21327800/georgia-tech-football-position-preview-specialistsStephen Murphey2020-06-05T09:00:00-04:002020-06-05T09:00:00-04:00Opinion Week: Identity Above All Else
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<img alt="NCAA Football: North Carolina State at Georgia Tech" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/QWYzX2QEUglErhmfvnwklMJo-6k=/0x0:3872x2581/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66898819/usa_today_13694506.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>who are we?</p> <p id="hB3bij">Today we’re going to harp on a subject I’ve discussed many times on this site: identity.</p>
<p id="kEtf2B">To me identity is one of the most important things in college football (and a lot of other sports as well). When you think of any particular program off the top of your head, the first thing that comes to mind is their identity. Wisconsin? Burly corn-fed dudes pounding the ball for 60 minutes, 4 yards at a time. Clemson? Skill-position talent and the cult of Dabo. Rutgers? Bad. Notre Dame? Prepsters steeped in tradition and history. Auburn? Pure unfiltered chaos.</p>
<p id="iukwCE">Many things can constitute a program’s identity: play style, history, fan stereotypes, particular star players, coach idiosyncrasies, results, etc. All of these come together to form the split-second image in your head of what a program is when you boil it down. We’ve all played the “what’s the first word that comes in your mind when you hear ______?” game. </p>
<p id="rVnSMv">There are two main influencers of a program’s identity: the official branding the program actively promotes and the more organic real-time events that shape it as time passes. What’s neat about this is that both components allow us to follow and consume a highly regionalized sport at a national level. There are simply <em>way</em> too many teams out there to individually keep up with; we rely on these identities to help us put together the puzzle. Narratives are built on them. </p>
<p id="fcPJbh">As a program I think we’re at a critical inflexion point for our identity. Say what you want about the Johnson years, but a central truth is that they had a <em>strong </em>identity. That’s one of the biggest things we’re lacking right now, and one of the biggest challenges for Collins and the rest of the program. When I talk about Tech football, I still get people saying “oh the triple option huh” and to me that is a huge failure on our part to properly create and market our new identity. We have to forge ahead and show people who we’ve become and where we’re going. So let’s talk about it.</p>
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<p id="Ojbb0M">What makes an identity good? First of all, it has to make sense. It has to organically flow from the program. We can’t just make something up because we like it; we need something that others outside of the program understand and agree with. Remember when UGA tried to be from Atlanta and everyone roasted them? Next, it has to be unique. We are a unique program (not necessarily in a “wow we’re more special than anyone” way - every program is unique), and our identity should reflect what sets us apart. </p>
<p id="Bbe8Rx">A good identity also has to be desirable (at least the one the program itself cultivates should be). The fanbase has to rally around it and personify it. Whatever our identity becomes, the fanbase is a huge part of it. Similarly, it has to attract talent. Recruits around the country have to know who we are and what we’re about; that’s how we get “our guys”. </p>
<p id="Sz3rsr">So what should our identity be? I’ve got some ideas based on four central tenets.</p>
<p id="i3nqpy"><strong>A T L A N T A</strong></p>
<p id="TH2OHA">Are the hashtags cheesy? Yes. IS THE ALL CAPS KINDA WEIRD? Yes. Is it a net-positive for the program? Also yes. It may come off as goofy in this beginning period, but I think Collins is an extremely savvy brand creator. It feels like a lot right now but that’s because we’ve never really had something like this. Anyways - we are from Atlanta, plain and simple; let’s embrace it. Get local celebrities to the games. Invite them to practice. Have the band play arrangements of songs by local artists. Get a peach sticker on the helmets or some cool city-inspired alternates. Show the city love and it’ll show it back. People should be associating us and Atlanta whenever they think of either.</p>
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<p id="kaTOWg"><strong>Tradition</strong></p>
<p id="rH3JBj">I’ve found that there are very few people out there that know Tech has even won a single National Championship. Tell someone we’ve won multiple and they might not believe you. I bet most people would also incorrectly leave us off the list of winningest Division I programs. To put it simply, not enough people understand our tradition and heritage (ever heard of John Heisman? Hmmm why does that name ring a bell?). We are a <em>very</em> historic program (cc @JakeGrant - read any of his stuff and you’ll be amazed at what we’ve accomplished in our past), and our identity should reflect that fact. Gameday videos should be showing old clips. Old stars should be invited to games and practices. Past teams and coaches and accomplishments should be publicly celebrated. Trophies should be displayed prominently (in real life and on the internet). The country needs to know just how important we are to the historic landscape of college football.</p>
<p id="JVP4bL"><strong>Innovation</strong></p>
<p id="xdnWZn">At the same time that it is steeped in tradition, the Institute has always been about innovation. It’s right there in the motto: <strong>Progress</strong> and Service. Luckily for us there is plenty of innovation to be done in football as well as technology. I would like to see us be on the cutting edge of ideas and techniques in the college football world. This could be everything from training technology to offensive scheme design. No matter what it is, we need to be innovators. Fans unhappy with their own program should say “well why can’t we do it how Tech is doing it”. </p>
<p id="ep5sew"><strong>Speed</strong></p>
<p id="cP742T">I don’t think we’re a power team, I think we’re a speed team. I’d like to make both our offensive and defensive identities all about speed. I want us to build our philosophies around fast players and fast play. Ahmarean Brown is a great ambassador for the player-side of this. Remember when Chip Kelly and Oregon were blowing people away with how fast they were playing? That’s what I want for us. It sounds silly, but I think Adidas is a great asset here; we legitimately look faster in these uniforms than we did in Russell ones.</p>
<p id="XqbmHC">-------</p>
<p id="MVsJ8U">To me these four ideas are what we should build our identity on. To sum it up, I think we need to flaunt our heritage but strive for continuous growth. We’re a unique program and I want the outside world to understand that as well. This is a special place and everyone should know it.</p>
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https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2020/6/5/21280489/opinion-week-identity-above-all-elseChristoper Paschal2020-06-04T08:00:00-04:002020-06-04T08:00:00-04:00Opinion Week: We Do Belong in the ACC
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<img alt="NCAA FOOTBALL: DEC 06 ACC Championship Game - Florida State v Georgia Tech" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/G_sngCX3EDnt6A27PyZGmZdQBlo=/0x50:3000x2050/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66893642/579711016.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Yes, this is a somewhat clickbait-y title, but I couldn’t not use it, especially given Tuesday’s article in this space.</p> <p id="8TBS5S">Every game is a big game. Before we get into it, that’s the takeaway. Every game matters, and we need to act like it does.</p>
<p id="0IqoYS">It’s not often that I come out of the metaphorical FTRS version of the courtyard between Mason and Bunger-Henry, also known as the world of Tech non-revenue sports and history, and much less often do I get to write an opinion piece. But seeing Tuesday’s opinion made this one substantially easier to write. </p>
<p id="SShEQa">Alright, let’s get to it.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="LiBdEu">
<p id="uyrhQj">I’ll begin this by <a href="https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2018/6/14/17457780/rearview-mirror-how-to-win-enemies-and-anger-people-tech-auburn-rivals-railroad-greased-tracks-prank">quoting myself in the fourth ever edition of <em>Rearview Mirror</em></a>, which is, for those who are unfamiliar, From the Rumble Seat’s weekly history column:</p>
<p id="0FHJTy">“I long for the days of playing Auburn. There, I said it. Might as well start with that.”</p>
<p id="BkfLIV">I will be the first to admit that this pro-ACC column is an interesting argument to be coming from the resident historian. I am on the record several times saying that I wish we still maintained our historic rivalries. I get it, I started a blood feud with the Belk Bowl in 2018 after they led us on that that game was going to be Tech/Auburn and instead we got shipped out to the Quick Lane Bowl in beautiful, breezy Detroit. I’ve only been a Tech fan since 2015. I don’t have a lot of legs to stand on here. In Auburn’s case, my only memory of the last football season we played them was being a starry-eyed ten year old on the way to watch Indiana get their [Aerosmith] kicked in by Ohio State at the Rock in Bloomington. But I recall Tennessee in 2017 vividly. I remember when they dug that old cowbell before the Vanderbilt game. Though saying the game against the checkered orange and white-clad fans was a bit better attended might be an understatement, both were interesting, meaningful, and provoked emotion from our fanbase. That was really a fun environment to be a part of. So why am I saying I don’t want that?</p>
<p id="DuJbNr">I think the better question is, why isn’t every game like that?</p>
<p id="fOuarV">It amused me to see an old column of mine cited as evidence that we don’t belong in the ACC on Tuesday. Really, this was shaping up to be a completely different column, one much more “rah-rah, go Jackets” than what this turned into. Levi cites the (admitted) failure of the “Notre Dame of the South” model as a reason we should still be in the Southeastern Conference. I think a much better one to look at would be a look at the late and post-coaching days of Bobby Dodd found <a href="https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2020/5/26/21269605/rearview-mirror-finds-dodd-in-the-wilderness-bear-bryant-feud-bisher-georgia-tech-leave-sec-join-acc">here</a>.</p>
<aside id="9Y7rqm"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Rearview Mirror: How To Win Enemies and Anger People","url":"https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2018/6/14/17457780/rearview-mirror-how-to-win-enemies-and-anger-people-tech-auburn-rivals-railroad-greased-tracks-prank"},{"title":"Rearview Mirror: Finds Dodd in the Wilderness","url":"https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2020/5/26/21269605/rearview-mirror-finds-dodd-in-the-wilderness-bear-bryant-feud-bisher-georgia-tech-leave-sec-join-acc"},{"title":"Rearview Mirror: “The Notre Dame of the South”","url":"https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2019/12/5/20995501/rearview-mirror-the-notre-dame-of-the-south-georgia-tech-departing-sec-1964-bear-bryant-boddy-dodd"}]}'></div></aside><p id="JpBxOB">The SEC, whether academically, institutionally, competitively, philosophically, or legislatively, was rapidly becoming a poor fit for Georgia Tech. That’s the sentence summary right there. For more detail, check out the latter two related articles. But that’s beside the point. We didn’t leave because of the <em>allure</em> of life as an independent, but rather because going alone was <em>less bad</em> than being in a conference of teams that despised us for what we were both on and off the field. Tech being Pat Narduzzi’s whipping boy for its alleged cut blocking was nothing compared to the chorus of accused elitism, media bias, and carpetbagging from most of the rest of the conference. </p>
<p id="yiCDWn">Auburn wanted us out of their neighborhood; the school in Athens wanted us dead to rights. Alabama completely, thoroughly hated us. Compromise would have been a miracle. </p>
<p id="dM8xMm">And it wasn’t meant to be.</p>
<p id="yQusvg">Tech didn’t aim to become an independent, it saw it as the only way for the football program to survive. If you think the effects were mediocre for football, it was a thousand times harder for the rest of the athletic programs, but football was what kept the lights on. Dodd had no way to envision the explosion of conference bowl tie-ins - as late as the early 1960s the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/rose-bowl">Rose Bowl</a> would consider Alabama for the eastern representative slot - monetary payouts, or the other colossal shifts in the landscape. Sure, professional sports were coming, but independence was supposed to be Tech’s way to stay ahead of that curve.</p>
<p id="d4g4io">I think the fact that West Virginia doesn’t play Pittsburgh every year is a travesty. I think that Lousiville and Cincinnati should still fight over a Keg of Nails. Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama falling off of our schedule is a bad thing. One of the great shames of modern college athletics is conference realignment.</p>
<p id="3SrmPI">But here’s the thing: the SEC isn’t going to come crawling back any time soon.</p>
<p id="eV9TI1">The Mississippi schools still hate us. The Athenians would rather eat the posts of their victory bell like beavers and saw the ABSOLUTELY EXTRANEOUS COLUMN out of the middle of their arch made of repurposed lampposts than see us in the SEC East. Great, now I’m worked up about the extra post, too. Auburn was our closest institutional peer in 1963 and wanted us as far away from the conference as possible, for their own benefit in the Atlanta exposure and on the recruiting trail. They don’t want us back now. </p>
<p id="5eYEwl">But it’s not like we have no one where we’re at, either. </p>
<p id="6mk0VF">Clemson is our second most important rival. We stole their legendary, game-inventing coach away with the allure of giving him more money, and rode that all the way to being the South’s first true football power, no matter what Vanderbilt says. </p>
<p id="1Sm6b0">We’ve played Duke for going on ninety years now. Auburn’s time as our second most-played rival is not long for this world. Sure, it would be nice if Duke fans, uh, existed outside of the November to March timeframe, but, for a team that our whole fanbase seems to act is a gimme game every year, we’re only .586 against them all time, pretty competitive, rather than the one-sided tilt one might expect, based on tone. It’s been a chippy game in the past, even so much as becoming a noted storyline from this past year. Familiarity, by definition, breeds contempt. This one is long overdue.</p>
<p id="e0fgZa">Levi admitted as much in the pro-SEC piece, but VPISU has burgeoned into a legitimate rival. End of story.</p>
<p id="3HJV3m">To paraphrase the writer’s room Slack conversation, Miami is not a rival, they’re just [ABBA]holes. But it’s okay to hate [Alan Parsons Project]holes. They earn that right by demonstrating a repeated pattern of not being, well, not all that nice.</p>
<p id="bjaTSJ">Add to that Florida State, for obvious reasons, when we’re lucky enough to catch them on our schedule; North Carolina, a school we have a competitive .545 record against and have played more times than Alabama; Virginia, a school who has every right to give us credit for incinerating their one great hope to win it all and a school that we’ve played more than Vanderbilt (and who, by the way, will match Tennessee in 2021); and the occasional visit from storied rival Notre Dame — that’s the bones of a good football schedule, and some teams that should, by all measures, make your blood boil, for their actions on the gridiron, with conference politics, on the basketball court, or in the classroom.</p>
<aside id="nZWmX4"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Rearview Mirror: You Break It, You Buy It?","url":"https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2020/1/23/21078126/rearview-mirror-you-break-it-you-buy-it-georgia-tech-ramblin-reck-tennessee-vandalism-technique-old"}]}'></div></aside><p id="Wepogy">The main thing stopping any of these teams from being a team that gets our fanbase excited is, well, the fanbase. The reason we see a conference we were in for a shorter time as a “rightful” home is because we can’t take the blinders off and appreciate what’s in front of us. For a fanbase that (rightfully, in my opinion) derides our neighbors to the east when they incessantly carry on about past glories of one Herschel Walker, or whatnot, we sure don’t do a good job of putting our money where our mouth is. The thing is, emotion is contagious. People who see us excited about our team, amped up about our opponents, and living in the moment respond to it. It sells them on the allure of Bobby Dodd Stadium, rather than pining over teams we haven’t come across in decades.</p>
<p id="KEAZfr">Every game is a big game.</p>
<p id="BoKkEw">It takes one game to build this acrimony. I still hear about the Syracuse “Airball” basketball anecdotally, and every time, the mention of the team makes my blood boil. I didn’t come into my Tech fandom with any ill-will to the Orange, but it took one game of heckling and one <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10155465519003163">phone call</a> about <a href="https://www.syracuse.com/axeman/2017/02/syracuse_fan_calls_georgia_techs_josh_paster_to_complain_audio.html">ACC ELITE MEN’S BASKETBALL</a> did plenty for that (Sidenote worthy of Basketball Opinion Week: where did that student section go...?). I didn’t come into Tech hating the school in Athens, but everyone around me told me to. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq4G4meh_Nw">This helped</a>. Talk about it, eagerly talk to people about why they should be passionate about it. And lean into it. </p>
<p id="zWWF51">Every game is a big game.</p>
<p id="820v58">When we treat games and opponents like they matter, when the most important game is the one staring us in the face, they all take on that elevated meaning we use when we talk in hushed tones of the memories of the days gone by. Oh, we haven’t played Pittsburgh enough and they’re too far away? We’ve played them just three fewer times than Virginia Tech, a school with a definable enough rivalry that there’s a reddit flair for it, and have palpable historic roots with the boys on Cardiac Hill. Minnesota and Michigan are a negligible forty miles farther apart and have been trading a little brown jug back and forth for a century, and cultivated a rivalry with 650 miles of lakes, factories, and cheese between them in the days before radio and television, let alone the internet.</p>
<p id="NBsW1P">I’m not saying we have to all wake up, head to Pittsburgh, and metaphorically cut block the Cathedral of Learning. I’m just saying it’s possible to feel for them in a way that <em>just means more</em> than whatever you feel for them now. It’s not lying to yourself, it’s setting aside some of the emotional bandwidth left open for Auburn and Tennessee and directing it towards Heinz Field rather than, say, Jordan-Hare.</p>
<p id="JPp81x">This is all not to say that there could be windfalls, particularly financially, if we went back. The eyes on the football program might change. Or we could struggle for relevance and attention. In the ACC, particularly in the Coastal, particularly right now, we are in a place that <em>institutionally</em>, academically, on the football field, and in every other sports, is a good fit for Georgia Tech.</p>
<p id="0tKAVr">Could it divisions be better? Absolutely. I’ve thought long and hard about positive realignment in college football, and whether it’s something like an ACC South (Miami, FSU, Tech, Clemson, Louisville, and the Virginia schools) and North (Boston College, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Tobacco Road), ideally with a cross-divisional rival like, say, keeping Duke, pods, or just having a few protected matchups (Clemson, FSU, VPISU, Duke, etc.) and rotating the rest, meaning we’d see the mysterious Syracuses and Boston Colleges more often, allowing to build some of those shared experiences, I think internal reorganization could benefit the conference greatly.</p>
<p id="JYdZ8a">Georgia Tech has a path, though not always smooth, if things work out, to being the Coastal’s equivalent of a Clemson-like behemoth sitting on top of the division. I know that’s a bold thing to say about a team that went 3-9 and lost to an FCS team last year, but branding, investment, and hype are what this team needs. So be the conference’s answer to big city attention and its keystone in the capital of college football. Schedule series with Alabama, Tulane, and Vanderbilt, have Chick-fil-a Kickoffs against Tennessee, and try to get Auburn back on the schedule. These are good things. But they can <em>complement</em> what we have, rather than not focusing on what is now in favor of what used to be.</p>
<p id="Hs9mkw">Dare I say it, but we already have a model for that. That’s Georgia Tech baseball.</p>
<p id="NauN0Z">They have their three game set with the school in Athens, annual home-and-homes with Auburn and the other in-state schools, the conference schedule, and some non-conference games. Yes, I realize that comparing one of the most extensively scheduled sports with something about as miserly as cross country or swimming is a bit counterintuitive, but it works well. Much like football, the schedule is aggressive, but gives Tech a chance to thrive. Notably, it has a balance of regional opponents, conference opponents, and major programs. Softball is similar, albeit with less historical oomph behind it, being a program that’s about nine decades younger, after all.</p>
<p id="xCPqgI">Critically, baseball also has a clear window towards divisional dominance.</p>
<p id="l2aO28">In baseball and football, we have to seize a chance to win here and now, and to own these matchups and this league. We have to act like big games are big games and support our teams as such. We have to use our most powerful tool, our word of mouth and our actions, to demonstrate to others the value we place in them and our team. We have rivals and significant matchups, so we need to act like it, and we have opportunities to grow here, driven by an unparalleled basketball standard of excellence, competitive football and baseball peers, and the class of the country in non-revenue sports, and first to mind are tennis and golf.</p>
<p id="ds6HDw">Could volleyball and softball, on the whole, be better? Sure. But we are positioned to take a commanding post, if we play our cards right. We sat alone in second place in the conference in volleyball last year, and softball is ripe for the picking outside of Florida State. When it’s time to add sports, the ACC provides a holistic, sound slate for sports like soccer, a sport which some major conferences nearby lack competitions for men in, as well as things like lacrosse and field hockey.</p>
<p id="8gJzJz">Opportunities abound, up and down the roster of athletics.</p>
<p id="JgzpSm">Circling back on the Dodd point, the ACC wanted us from the start. We are in a place we <em>belong</em> and have <em>wanted for decades</em>, no matter how often we feel as if Tobacco Road sucks up all the oxygen. It’s time to let go and love-uh-hate them back. Rejoining the SEC, in its current form, is never going to happen. Besides that, we weren’t a great fit when we left, and are an even worse fit now. Culturally, academically, programmatically, we are at home in the ACC. So it’s time to act like it, and set the blood to a low boil.</p>
<p id="UspA0O">Every game is a big game.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="UC7GT4">
<p id="SZ6EIC"><em>91 Days to Kickoff</em></p>
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2020/6/4/21278814/opinion-week-we-do-belong-in-the-acc-georgia-tech-football-countdown-to-kickoff-2020-sec-too-lateJake Grant2017-08-15T07:00:02-04:002017-08-15T07:00:02-04:00100 Days to Kickoff: Opponent Previews - georgia
<figure>
<img alt="Georgia Tech v Georgia" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EQksgNhLfQD9NuTYbhm_tDJL4ik=/0x0:3875x2583/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56157629/625968562.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A preview of the second best team in the state</p> <p id="3BQTK3"> <strong>Countdown to Kickoff: 20 days</strong></p>
<p id="BDWGs1"><em>As our 100 Days to Kickoff continues on, we begin our opponent previews to provide a quick look at each of the teams coming up on our schedule this season. Each team has changed and provides new challenges than in years past, so this week is all about learning about those changes and learning exactly what Georgia Tech’s opponents have to offer.</em></p>
<h3 id="9ISTHi"><strong>Alabama Lite</strong></h3>
<p id="LidwuF">For starters, here’s a link to <a href="https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2016/8/9/12402164/georgia-tech-football-2016-opponent-previews---uga">last year’s preview to explain Bama Lite</a> if you’re unfamiliar.</p>
<p id="bWmolV">The second-best football team in the state enters 2017 with its annual lofty expectations and preseason ranking. The team is perennially picked to win the East, be a playoff contender, and at least beat its in-state rival.</p>
<p id="Ei53aZ">None of that happened last season. </p>
<p id="iiPem6">Even though the team in Athens has a massive athletic budget, is placed in one of the most fertile states for recruiting, has the largest fan base in the state, and has every competitive advantage possible, Alabama Lite has not won their division since 2012, or finished ranked since 2014... where they finished one spot behind a Georgia Tech team they also lost to that season.</p>
<p id="byfqTw">Despite seemingly pulling in top 10 recruiting classes for decades and winning the spring game national title last year, Alabama Lite and the Kirby Smart experiment went 7-5 during the regular season. This campaign featured losses to Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and (hilariously) Vanderbilt.</p>
<p id="F7LUin">The honeymoon phase came to a very quick end with Coach Smart in Athens after the snarling fan base fired a coach who averaged 10 wins per year. Time will tell if the self-imposed rebuild will pay off in the long term, but Smart needs to start winning quick if he hopes to keep his job. Kirby Smart and Paul Johnson both won the same amount of games against SEC East opponents last season.</p>
<h3 id="ywTJx9"><strong>Who’s Gone</strong></h3>
<p id="VsHPaJ">The first thing missing from their sideline this season is several pieces of their renowned hedges after chunks disappeared during Thanksgiving weekend of the previous year. The Governor’s Cup is also gone.</p>
<p id="Z6xDYq">Perhaps the most prominent player gone from offense in 2017 is big-play WR and all-world punt return man Isaiah McKenzie. The wideout averaged 14.4 yards per catch and ended the season with 7 touchdowns to his name. He was the leading big-play threat on the perimeter, and Eason will need a replacement to step up very quickly.</p>
<p id="pKAAJL">Alabama Lite actually loses both of their return men to graduation with kickoff returner Reggie Miller needing to be replaced as well.</p>
<p id="pBzIQY">On the defensive side, four players with significant playing time depart from the secondary. However, even the veteran players taking their place will be pushed by a stacked set of lower classmen.</p>
<h3 id="S0aBXT"><strong>Who’s Back</strong></h3>
<p id="8xyfgW">The hedges did, in fact, grow back.</p>
<p id="y4GPOD">Jacob Eason enters into his sophomore year at the helm of the Alabama Lite offense. He is complimented by the backfield tandem of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel playing in their final seasons between the hedges. While the talent is certainly there, the issue for the offense will be whether or not they have a line that can protect Eason and block for the talented running backs. Guards Isaiah Wynn and Lamont Gaillard are the only returning starters. Coach Smart has plenty of highly rated recruits lined up to take their place, but they’re also inexperienced and young.</p>
<p id="APu9Ki">On the other side of the ball, Alabama Lite returns one of the most experienced defenses in the country this fall, including their entire starting front 7. Trenton Thompson returns after 9.5 tackles for loss last season and 5 sacks, as well as senior linebacker Davin Bellamy. Senior safeties Aaron Davis and Dominick Sanders return as well. However, the 2-deep in the secondary plunges almost straight to freshmen after them. The secondary can ill-afford any injuries this season if they hope to keep experience on the field.</p>
<h3 id="czGQIZ"><strong>Who’s New</strong></h3>
<p id="XC6Lrt">Pushing the veterans in the secondary for playing time will be 5* safety Richard Lecounte III and four-stars Deangelo Gibbs, Tray Bishop, and William Poole. It’s a steep drop experience-wise, but the talent is certainly there.</p>
<p id="Kco0WU">Outside of some new players on the offensive line, fans will certainly also be keeping an eye out for 4* sophomore running back Elijah Holyfield, Evander’s son. Much to his chagrin, he may not see the field as often as he would like with the returns of Chubb and Michel for their senior seasons. </p>
<p id="o7jGqn">Chubb declined going to the NFL Draft after the Georgia Tech loss last season, because he was so passionate about the hedges that were torn up… not because the Ramblin’ Wreck is a rival that they care about losing to, or so they say.</p>
<h3 id="ir0IYv"><strong>Season Outlook</strong></h3>
<p id="qLLlFC">A quick Google search of headlines for the 2017 season for Alabama Lite returns the usual headlines that are printed every year in regard to the team in Athens: <a href="https://www.dawgnation.com/football/uga-next-sec-national-title">Will UGA be the next SEC team outside of Alabama to win a natty?</a>, <a href="https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/georgia-football/5-reasons-georgia-can-win-the-sec-east-in-2017/">5 reasons they can win the East in 2017</a>, <a href="https://dawnofthedawg.com/2017/07/25/georgia-football-three-scenarios-winning-sec-east/">3 ways they can win the East in 2017</a>, <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/5/3/15438234/jacob-eason-kirby-smart-uga-offense">How Eason and Coach Smart can win the East</a>, and stop me if you’ve heard this before.</p>
<p id="t3wZ8a">The most underachieving team in college football will presumably remain just that. All of the arguments for Alabama Lite having a breakthrough season this year amount to, “team that went 7-5 last season returns everyone that helped them go 7-5 last season and are now expected to make The Playoffs.” </p>
<p id="l4oqrH">Half of their division is made up of head coaches from the Saban coaching tree with schools trying to be like Alabama. It is not coincidentally <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/2/9/14560656/conferences-rankings-sec-east-west-2016">the weakest division among the Power 5 conferences</a>, which makes Alabama’s Lite’s continued on-field mediocrity all the more damning, and their future all the more uncertain. Imitation has certainly not worked for anyone in the conference yet.</p>
<p id="IkGSVC">Will a stout defense be enough to carry a fledgling offense for the East to vomit into the SEC Championship Game? Or will they again choke away <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8SmOYEOL3s&t=353s">game</a>, after<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usxOXBK_dQg"> game</a>, after <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpB4piwvb0Q">game</a>?</p>
<p id="f7X0u0"><strong>Projected Record: </strong>7-5 (5-3 SEC)</p>
<p id="h01VMO"></p>
<p id="ac0O6u"><em>What’s the good word?!</em></p>
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2017/8/15/16135768/100-days-to-kickoff-opponent-previews-georgia-alabama-lite-ugaJosh Brundage2017-08-04T07:00:02-04:002017-08-04T07:00:02-04:00100 Days to Kickoff: 2017 Opponent Previews - North Carolina Tar Heels
<figure>
<img alt="NCAA Football: North Carolina at Georgia Tech" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nBvA91gvdpfLDnThbU2B8mmQy5w=/0x103:1869x1349/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56005791/usa_today_8839820.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A preview of the 2017 Tar Heels</p> <p id="SCZxbF"> <strong>Countdown to Kickoff: 31 days</strong></p>
<p id="cCglMg"><em>As our 100 Days to Kickoff continues on, we begin our opponent previews to provide a quick look at each of the teams coming up on our schedule this season. Each team has changed and provides new challenges than in years past, so this week is all about learning about those changes and learning exactly what Georgia Tech’s opponents have to offer.</em></p>
<h3 id="2Ikcc3"><strong>2017 North Carolina Tar Heels</strong></h3>
<p id="V0i0R3"><strong>Who’s Gone?</strong></p>
<p id="pApcoE">As Tech fans, we know all but too well that the Tar Heel offense has had Ted Roof’s number the last couple seasons. It’s honestly a relief to see who they’ve lost. The offense turns over almost everyone and is certain to regress.</p>
<p id="G0mlER">Among the UNC starters that have departed heading into 2017 are QB Mitch Trubisky, RBs Elijah Hood and T.J. Logan, WRs Bug Howard, Ryan Switzer, and Mack Collins, and they also lost 3 of their starting linemen.</p>
<p id="BLBbbi">For those keeping count, that’s every starting skill position player, and everyone but 2 offensive linemen. This year will almost certainly be a rebuilding year for the UNC offense, and it will be the tale of the tape of how well Fedora has been recruiting.</p>
<p id="puIVkB">They also lost defensive coordinator Gene Chizik to retirement, along with safety Dominique Green and corner Des Lawrence.</p>
<p id="78fAs9"><strong>Who’s Back?</strong></p>
<p id="EVpsNQ">The Heels return almost no one on offense, but Trubisky’s backup, Nathan Elliot, returns with very limited playing time. The sophomore went 8-9 passing in garbage time last season for 55 yards.</p>
<p id="O2ObVj">They return one receiver with playing time in Austin Proehl, who is projected to be the Fed Spread’s #1 receiver this upcoming season. </p>
<p id="O3xZUp">Unlike the offense, the Heel defense was very young last season, and returns their front 7. From <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2017/7/19/15976348/north-carolina-football-2017-preview-schedule-roster">SBN’s Bill C Tar Heel preview</a>:</p>
<p id="bRShHz">“End Malik Carney recorded 8.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks last year, while tackles <span>Jeremiah Clarke</span> and Aaron Crawford appear to have potential as boulders in the middle. Meanwhile, junior linebackers <span>Cole Holcomb</span> and Andre Smith and senior <span>Cayson Collins</span> combined for 15 TFLs and eight breakups. If younger players like ends Jason Strowbridge and Tomon Fox and linebacker Dominique Ross live up to flashes of potential, the front seven could be fun. And if it isn’t, it probably will be in 2018.”</p>
<p id="NiBISZ"><strong>Who’s New?</strong></p>
<p id="M6UJai">The most intriguing new player for the ’17 Tar Heels is probably LSU graduate transfer QB Brandon Harris. He completed 54% of his passes for 14.5 ypc in 2015 for the Bayou Bengals. He lost his starting job early last season after a rocky start and transferred to Chapel Hill.</p>
<p id="AQLeIY">Also new is the NCAA, who finally begin hearings on the litany of violations the Tar Heel athletic program is facing in 2 weeks. And by “new” I mean they’ve been “investigating for years.”</p>
<p id="T0UMg9"><strong>Season Outlook</strong></p>
<p id="9t6Gk8">With so much turnover on offense and the youth of the defense, the Tar Heels are not projected to be a contender for the Coastal Division this season. Advanced stats have them predicted at 6 wins with several toss up games. </p>
<p id="q5Js9d">However, they miss Clemson and FSU from the Atlantic and their toughest games are all at home with Notre Dame, Louisville, and Miami all making their way to Chapel Hill. If the Heels can get any sort of offense without returning almost any starters, they could make a run at the Coastal… but that’s a big “if”. The defensive front 7 should be better, but that probably won’t be enough to carry this team to a division title.</p>
<p id="zFDAA2"><strong>Projected Record</strong></p>
<p id="Udi73I">6-6 (3-5 ACC)</p>
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2017/8/4/16080530/100-days-to-kickoff-2017-opponent-previews-north-carolina-tar-heelsJosh Brundage2017-08-02T07:00:01-04:002017-08-02T07:00:01-04:00100 Days to Kickoff: 2017 Opponent Previews - Central Florida
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<img alt="NCAA Football: Cincinnati at Central Florida" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/66ccOMH1KUNAMoG3Dx9-6UXmKOA=/129x0:4721x3061/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/56009913/usa_today_9671206.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>The Jackets head to Orlando for a matchup against Central Florida, but Disneyworld is the furthest thing from Paul Johnson’s mind</p> <p id="ns1GPR"><strong>Countdown to kickoff: 33 days</strong></p>
<p id="wXkjeV"><em>As our 100 Days to Kickoff continues on, we begin our opponent previews to provide a quick look at each of the teams coming up on our schedule this season. Each team has changed and provides new challenges than in years past, so this week is all about learning about those changes and learning exactly what Georgia Tech’s opponents have to offer.</em></p>
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<h1 id="QWtjb9">2017 UCF Knights</h1>
<h2 id="kklI3S">Who’s Gone?</h2>
<p id="TcUIH1">The Knights are feeling the biggest losses on defense - the entire starting secondary graduated, as well as three of the starting linebackers in defensive coordinator Erik Chinander’s 3-4. UCF’s defense had taken a huge step forward from being one of the worst defenses in college football in 2015 to one of the better ones in 2016 thanks to the defensive minds of Chinander and head coach Scott Frost. There’s no way they’ll be as good this year as they were last year, but they’ll still be miles better than they were in 2015.</p>
<p id="hhgLYl">Kickoff specialist Donald De La Haye is also out after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA. <a href="http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/ucf-knights/knights-notepad/os-sp-ucf-kicker-ineligible-20170731-story.html">You probably heard about that one.</a></p>
<h2 id="zr2DcA">Who’s Back?</h2>
<p id="FYt2Vb">On the flip side for UCF’s defense, the entire starting defensive line returns, and, while they would be considered a bit undersized as far as defensive lines go, they bring back 19 tackles for loss amongst the three of them, and only one of those three - Jamiyus Pittman - will be a senior this year. The line was a bit soft against the run last year, so Paul Johnson may punish them with QB/BB play repeatedly if he sees its working early.</p>
<p id="fWWyX2">At this point, I’ve covered every position on UCF’s defense except one - outside linebacker, held down by reigning AAC Defensive Player of the Year Shaquem Griffin. Despite that being his first year at that position after switching from safety, Griffin led the AAC in sacks (with 11.5) and racked up 92 tackles, 57 of which were solo - and he did all of that with one hand. (That’s not a joke, he doesn’t have a left hand.)</p>
<p id="9wIZU6">On the offensive side for the Knights, redshirt sophomore McKenzie Milton is the heir apparent to start at quarterback after having won the position early last year. Notable pieces surround him are..... not a whole lot, as UCF had one of the worst offenses in FBS last year. There’s a lot of potential, looking at recruiting stars alone.... but also a lot of youth, and that potential hasn’t translated to a whole lot on the field..... yet. One name to look out for is Tre’quan Smith, who led the team in receiving last year with 57 catches for 853 yards and who was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List.</p>
<h2 id="ouClJm">Who’s New?</h2>
<p id="opGLhH">UCF does have one notable transfer newly eligible this year - former Alabama safety Shawn Burgess-Becker. A four star recruit out of high school, Burgess-Becker was a special teams and defensive contributor for the Crimson Tide in 2015, playing in every game except for the national championship game. He turned down interest from Miami, Oregon, and Wisconsin (amongst others) to play for the Knights and has a good chance to make an impact right away.</p>
<h2 id="31pMvd">Season Outlook</h2>
<p id="yYoM8t">Two years ago, UCF was better known for <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/orlando-bar-giveaway-totals-15000-free-beers-for-winless-ucf-season/">winning its despondent fans free beer</a> than winning football games, probably because it didn’t win any of the latter. New coach Scott Frost turned them around in a hurry last year and immediately got the Knights back into bowl eligibility. His hire is also already paying major dividends on the recruiting front: 247Sports ranked the past signing class 54th, the highest of all G5 teams and higher than several P5 classes. All of this points to the Knights reaching some pretty rare heights...... next year. As for this year, there’s no reason to think they won’t be just as good as - or even a bit better - than they were last year. Depending on how new hires elsewhere in the AAC East shake out, the Knights could be perennial contenders for the AAC crown. But, again, that’s probably not until at least next year. They’ll have to settle for “pretty good” this year.</p>
<p id="ZCDjGi"><strong>Projected Record: </strong>8-4 (6-2 AAC)</p>
https://www.fromtherumbleseat.com/2017/8/2/16073986/100-days-to-kickoff-2017-opponent-previews-ucf-knights-didney-worlCarter Templeton