Thursday, August 19, 2010

Georgia vs. ACC - Not a simple matter

First of All, See Hash’s post from earlier, and help us put together our Blog Poll.

“Is it better to Beat Georgia or Win the ACC”

Beating Georgia feels so good, but the game, and Tech, will never rise above a regional story if Tech isn't consistently good.

Which leads to…

Winning the ACC and loosing to Georgia consistently would confirm that the ACC is indeed a second rate conference, and would thus dim the luster of any season.

Solution, be a good football team. Raise the level of play so Tech is consistently a top 25 team, and has the ability to threaten the very top every few years. Some may ask for more, but I think consistently in the top 25 is as good as Tech can be without selling its soul (more than most schools). I’m not discounting a National Title, I think Tech is completely capable of that, but I don’t think Tech is a place where success should be judge only on the level it is Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Texas, Etc. At those schools its BCS Championship or bust, and after all we have students to educate. If Tech runs out a streak of five or six straight years of top 25 finishes with a few top 10 and top five finishes Tech fans will always be able to hold their heads up high.

As to the original question, If Tech is consistently in the top 25 its going to win its share of ACC titles and beat Georgia plenty.

To put it another way, lets look at some hypotheticals for 2010.

If Tech rips of nine or ten wins and doesn’t win the ACC but beats UGA, that’s awesome, or…

If Tech wins the ACC again and goes to a second straight BCS bowl game equally, but looses to Georgia, also awesome...

Tech wins nine or ten games and looses to Georgia and doesn’t win the ACC, not quite as awesome but still pretty good. That would guarantee Tech a pretty good bowl Game. Conceivably a two loss Tech team that doesn’t win an ACC Title and losses to Georgia could still find its way into a BCS game. It’s a long shot that requires Georgia to be a top ten team, and the ACC to really spark it up in out of conference play, but its possible. Even if the stars don’t align, Tech would still be a top 25 team, perhaps event top 15…

Next, Tech wins seven games. Seven wins isn’t winning the ACC title, and beating Georgia would be like throwing a drink in your significant others face in the middle of a party after a previously unknown lover rushed in to proclaim undying love for your spouse to a room full of friends and family. Sure you walk out on a high note, but you’ll never be able to shake the shame of being mad a cuckold…

4 comments:

  1. I gotta be honest Hash, beating Georgia and drinking whiskey at home in 2008 may have felt better then beating Clemson in Tampa last year. Maybe it was the losing streak. I'm just calling it how I see it.

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  2. To be honest, I prefer beating UGA as it makes the conference look better as a whole and gives us a better reputation in our own state (which helps with recruiting as we primarily recruit in the state of Georgia which is heavily considered 'SEC country')

    That's not to say winning the ACC isn't great as it will definitely help recruiting in states like NC, VA, and SC where the ACC is king. Yet, winning the ACC means going to the Orange Bowl and it's probably the most mundane of the BCS bowls and definitely the least watched.

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  3. Interesting points, everyone. I'm an ACC Championship guy, FWIW. Our goal needs to be to elevate the level of our program so we are in consistent contention for a conference crown, i.e. VPISU. In the past we've had winning teams; a group that comes in & excels once every few years above and beyond the norm. My hope is CPJ is building a nationally relevant program where we are consistently excellent & simply reload from year-to-year. That's what having a program is all about; losing one set of players only to replace them with an equal or better bunch. That's why this year is big for us. We have a chance after losing the four juniors to take the next step toward being a good program, not just a good team. Conference championships in the broad view are more indicative of a program's standing than one individual game per year. Not that I don't love beating the Mutts!

    -Hash

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