A 10-7 win for the Jackets; an embarrassment for the program and the fans. Tech, playing third-stringer Calvin Booker at QB, looked dreadful offensively and could not get the Option working at all. The Offensive Line was horrible and looked nothing like they had in the first five games. At least the defense for Tech was solid, especially considering the amount of time they had to spend on the field.  We (Dave, Al, the Minstrel, Ismail and I) kept waiting for the Offense to put G-W away, but they just kept going 3-and-Out practically every Series and allowing for G-W to stay in the game. Before the game, it was inconceivable to Tech fans that G-W would even be able to hang in there, but there they were with nine seconds left with a chance to kick a game-tying Field Goal. Luckily for Tech, the kick was partially blocked and the team saved A LITTLE bit of face by not losing the game.

I realize that the team was probably looking ahead to the Clemson game the next weekend, but you simply can’t play that way against a team like Gardner-Webb. I guess the Pollsters were right in not voting Tech into the Top 25 the week before; I was surprised to see that they still received votes this week considering the lackluster win.

OK, UGA is ranked #1; will they make it through the course of the season undefeated?

That schedule at the end of the season looks rough, especially since there are so many road games. I don’t think they’ll make it through undefeated, but they probably will make it to the SEC Championship and a possible BCS bid.

For the Bowl Season, I thought it would be appropriate to have something College Football Related. As you watch these games, who do you always seem to root for and root against?

Favorites:

1. Tech
2. Notre Dame
3. Florida (purely for anti-UGA reasons)
4. ACC Teams (Miami excepted) -most teams are taking a hit this year
5. Illinois

Against (I could never cheer for these teams unless it helped Tech or ND):

1. UGA
2. Miami
3. Michigan
4. SEC Teams (except FLA)

It looks like it will be Ohio State against LSU in the National Championship game. Is that the correct matchup in your opinion? Naturally, I think Georgia is getting screwed with LSU jumping over them for a title shot but I do understand the idea that the conference champion should be given more consideration but LSU has lost twice as #1, most recently two weeks ago, while Georgia hasn’t lost in 7 weeks. Lesticle Miles obviously doesn’t realize that the SEC East is far superior to the West and that he probably wouldn’t have made the SEC Championship game if he was on the tough side of the league. By the way, if he knew which QB to play during the season the Tigers would be undefeated. I think his white hat is too tight.

Having said that, Georgia did lose twice and would have avoided this by beating South Carolina and crushing LSU in the SEC Championship, much like they did in 2005.

Anybody else out there hoping for a big Blue Devils win Saturday against the Golden Domers? It would be icing on the cake for the worst season in ND history. Nice to know that LSU’s crushing win against an overmatched and overrated Irish team last year has sent ole’ lapband and his team to losing to multiple service academy teams. Guess it’s not even safe playing Navy and Air Force anymore. Jimmy Clausen? Might want to check the family history next time numbnuts. Not a leader among them.

I made my way to Nashville last Friday just in time for the UGA/Vandy game Saturday at 5 pm. I bought tickets about three weeks ago thinking the game might end up selling out since so many fans would make their way up 75 for the game. Sure enough, about a week ago, it sold out. Our seats (Scott went with me) were at the 40 yard line 50 rows up. Not bad since the capacity is an ACC-esque 40,000. I’d say the crowd was 55% to 45% Vandy with lots of red around us (Scott said he felt like we were surrounded by used tampons).

The game started out great with Vanderbilt turning the ball over early and Stafford throwing a TD to Sean Bailey on the ensuing possesion. Things turned ugly after that as Stafford started spraying the ball around and Georgia’s defense having huge problems stopping the ‘Dores pitiful offense. The home team ran off 17 straight points to lead 17-7 at the half. My fellow Bulldog fans were certainly hanging their heads at the half as most expected a cakewalk. I told Scott that Georgia would come out and run the ball on almost every play for their first drive of the half since that’s what most college teams do when they are superior physically. Sure enough, Moreno left and Moreno right were the order as UGA passed once on the first drive. They quickly made it 17-14. They tied it with about 10 minutes left. Vandy then drove down the field, getting it inside the 20 with under 4 minutes left. The ‘Dores then remembered who they were and proceeded to fumble. Georgia then drove down for a field goal attempt with 3 seconds left. Coutu booted it through for the decisive score of 20-17. The numbnuts on this team decided to celebrate by stomping on the V at midfield. Classy! Richt got pissed and ran them off. Do you think Tech would do that if they won at Duke a year after losing to them? I doubt it.

Looks to me like every game from here on out will be a struggle. Even Troy could beat this team (I’m not just saying that either, it would not surprise me at all). Oh well, maybe they’ll play in the Music City Bowl this year.

Oh to be back on the bayou! As part of Stephen’s giant step into manhood, his bachelor party took a Saturday drive to Baton Rouge looking to soak up the atmosphere at Tiger Stadium. Loading up the pary bus at around 2:30 pm, we were shocked at the extreme heat on the bus. The fact it also lacked the promised DVD player hookup and satellite radio was also a surprise. We decided to overlook these impediments and started slugging down frosties early. After picking up some steam via a quick stop at Popeye’s, we made our way to Diddy’s tailgate spot, which was about 200 feet from the stadium. The pre-game crowd was buzzing as this was the first #1 ranking for LSU since ‘58. Stephen made the difficult allocation of two tickets Diddy provided and chose me due to my Keiland Williams jersey and Thor for his oral skills (he’s quite an accomplished talker).

Thor and I made it to our seats a little before kickoff. There was a guy next to me that was as big and sweating almost as much. He told me there would be some dicey language thrown around and I told him not to worry, nothing would shock me. Little did I know he was speaking for the “lady” behind me that was dropping some salty language from kickoff (not to mention she was grabbing me all night and making our Tiger beads kiss). The game took on a “Florida will dominate” feel early as they took a 17-7 lead at the half. LSU had a few dropped passes and Florida’s offense was able to run with ease and Tebow had all day in the pocket if he decided to pass. The Tigers missed a late field goal that would have cut it to 7.

In the second half, LSU took the opening drive straight down the field by running the ball. They cashed in with a TD, cutting the lead to 3. I thought this would be a big momentum shift but Florida proceeded to do the same and stretch things back to 10 at 24-14. It stayed that way until LSU scored in the 4th quarter to make it 24-21. After a little back and forth, LSU got it with about 8 minutes left. They slowly drove down the field until facing a 4th down deep in Florida teritory. They went for it on 4th instead of kicking a field goal to tie and made it (they were 5-5 on 4th for the game). Then, on 3rd down near the goal line, Jacob Hester bulled his way for the TD that made it 28-24 with 69 seconds left. The crowd went nuts! Thor was cursing the 3 and 18 when Flynn scrambled for a 17 yard gain setting up one of the 4th and shorts that LSU made. Teabag was unable to rescue the Gators as a hail mary was batted down in the endzone and I screamed “F_ck Tebow” to no one in particular. We heard after the game that he was crying. Good to know that both the coach and QB have shed tears after losing in Death Valley. Urban Cryer indeed!

The party bus was actually cool when we got back on but Chris (I believe) ran the smoke machine so Thor could give him a Handy and we had to crack the windows, which let the hot air in. To the others that attended, please fill in any blanks or views from your side as many aspects are now only a blur.

Any predictions on the multitude of games this weekend?

Will Tech beat BC? I think so.

I’m really not feeling it for Pro or College ball right now. Obviously, the Falcons are a mess right now and it’s hard to get too excited about their prospects. Before all of the Vick mess, I was hoping that Petrino would finally figure out a way to best utilize Mike’s skillset. Now, we’ll never know.

As far as Tech goes, Gailey’s returned for another year of mediocrity, so that basically spoils it for me. While Ball won’t be there, neither will Calvin, so I don’t expect to see much to cheer about. I’m sure that there will be some huge wins, but those will more than likely be tempered with losses to teams on the Duke/UNC level; more than likely, these losses will come directly after those huge wins. Of course, we’ll lose to Georgia again, something that has become a Gailey specialty.

I’m sure i’ll watch both teams’ games out of a sense of duty, but I don’t see myself building any anticipation for them or getting too worked up over the results, whether they be positive or negative.

After driving back to Atlanta on the afternoon of December 30th, my dear mother and I made the drive down to the Dome to see the Peach Bowl. Parking was a pain as our secret lot was overrun by hippy types smoking their dope waiting for Widespread Panic to perform at Phillips. In fact, the lot was so crowded I backed into a metal pole, causing a little damage to my bumper as I tried to find a parking spot. Needless to say, the famous Colwell driving temper took over and I blew a gasket. Once we got situated, we made our way to row 26 in section 311, the last row at the top of the stadium. I sat down on a Falcons hat and tried to find the owner to my left but nobody was claiming it. I guess even the cleaning people at the Dome have given up on the Falcons.

 The first half was miserable as Georgia did their usual trick of falling behind. Stafford was erratic to say the least and when he did make a good throw to Kenneth Harris deep, Harris dropped the ball. The defense was hurt by a trick play that went for a TD that put the score at 21-3 at the half. The VA Tech band played the hokey-pokey at the half. I’m sure Dave and Steve have participated in this ritual during their annual trip to Blacksturd. In the second half, Georgia turned things around by doing an onsides kick after a field goal. Makes you wonder where Chan came up with the idea? The defense picked off 3 passes and forced a fumble as they rattled off 28 straight points to win it going away. Not a very successful bowl season for the ACC as the number 2 team in the conference loses to the SEC #5.

After 4 and a half hours of luscious sleep, I woke up early to drive back to Nashville for the Titans/Patriots game on Sunday. I tailgated with Scott and a few of his friends before the game. We also stopped by a Budweiser hospitality tent where Kim was working for free beer and hot dogs before entering LP Field. It was raining pretty heavily by kickoff and the field looked awful (the Music City Bowl was played three days prior). On one end, there was a mudpit at the 20. After the first quarter, we walked down from the upper deck to find Scott’s friends. Their seats were on the 15 yardline in the third row. I’ve never seen a NFL game from that distance before. The Pats led 19-3 until Pac-Man Jones ran a punt back 81 yards in front of us. The Titans got it as close as 26-23 in the second half but New England sealed it late with a TD from Testiclenerdy to make the final 40-23. Vince Young had a pretty bad game passing but did score on a 30 yard run in the third. I’m pretty optimistic Tennessee will make the playoffs next year as they have 10 draft picks and 40 million in cap space. I wish they could trade some picks and move up for Calvin Johnson but that isn’t likely to happen as their pick is too low for any team to justify trading down to that slot. Hopefully, Matt Millen will prove that idea wrong.