We’re behind you all the way, Coach.

Hey, anybody heard from Tommy Lowhorne Lawhorne and Bob Bishop lately?

Observations from the armchair, Georgia Tech edition

Yeah, I wasn’t there yesterday – my first missed Tech game since 1999.  My usual ticket sources dried up, I was hearing ridiculous sums for scalped tickets and there were rumors about a bunch of counterfeit tickets being offered, so I bagged it.  Needless to say, was I pissed when I saw the opening shot of BDS with all the open seats.  Jeebus.

But the broadcast did little to diminish my enjoyment of the day’s proceedings (although Jones and Cunningham did their best to distract).  If that was what looking forward gets you, I can’t wait to see how the Dawgs look fully focused.

Here are some things I saw:

• I got a kick out of the opening shot of the South Asian students cheering.  Football, the new melting pot – although I wonder how those kids explain things to the folks back home.
• As I expected, Al Groh came out running the Kentucky game plan, a five-man line and plenty of run blitzing.  One of the game keys was that Bobo made him pay for that by quickly going to the passing game.
• Orson Charles led all receivers with five catches.  He could have had twenty, if Bobo had called ’em.  Tech had no answer.
• Garrison Smith had a great game.  Tech gambled frequently with double teams on Jenkins and Geathers and Smith made them pay for that.
• Christian Robinson, on the other hand, not so much.  Silly offside penalty and some big missed tackles hurt.  Gilliard, surprisingly, whiffed a couple of times, too.
• Murray and King finally looked like they were on the same page.  But, damn, Tavarres, what was the story on backing off that first down at the end of the first half?
• Loved Richt’s aggressiveness at the end of the first half.  Getting that score and Boykin’s run back to start the second half really were what sealed Georgia’s control of the game.
• And if the only decision by Richt I can grumble about was going for a long field goal to go up by 24 instead of punting, that’s a damned good day.  Richt did an especially good job with clock management at the end of the first half.
• Two signs that it was Georgia’s day:  Johnson’s icing the kicker move blowing up in his face and Charles’ fumble on the first drive of the second half bouncing right back to him.
• The play you’d like to have back was Murray’s overthrow of a wide open Tavarres King mid-third quarter.  If he hits the receiver in stride, King is still running.
• SEC refs can’t catch holding and pass interference to save their lives, but by Gawd, they’re all over an excited kid spiking the ball after a big play.
• Nice run, Zander Ogletree.
• And good for you, Ken Malcome.
• The first three touchdown catches came off defensive breakdowns of various shapes and sizes, but the last catch by Aron White was due to a brilliant throw from his quarterback.  The look on Al Groh’s face after that play told it all.
• Don’t know what I enjoyed more – Johnson calling dive plays late in the third quarter with his team down by 21 or Tech’s passing game.
• The triple option didn’t seem to slow Ogletree and Jones down much.  And you knew Jarvis was going to get a sack before it was all over.

Ten out of the last eleven.  These are the glory years for COFH.  Long may they run.

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A Rocky, Rocky Flop

It may take a few days for the magnitude of how awful Tennessee’s loss was yesterday to sink in.

Then again, maybe not.  And you’ve gotta love this:

Roark, a senior receiver from Acworth, Ga., didn’t even warm up at quarterback before the game.

Mike Hamilton, the gift that keeps on giving.

Spurrier’s new foil

Fulmer is long gone, so Dabo will have to suffice.

https://twitter.com/#!/GamecockFB/status/140671708653826048

Not bad.

Opening up another bottle of tasty, bitter tears

As you might expect, the schadenfreude on the Tech message boards is fairly epic – they’ve had a lot of practice, after all – but these are my two favorite threads so far:

• My friend, what you call the ACC’s circle of parity is really a circle of mediocrity.  By the way, in case you weren’t paying attention, the score was SEC 3, ACC1 yesterday.
• If Tech fires Paul Johnson, who should be hired as the replacement?  It’s a serious question that gets a delusional answer.

Best thing for me is that I’m sure they’ll be topped.  Just give ’em time.

Quote of the day, #2

“This was too big of a game to overlook. It’s one of the biggest games of the year for us,” Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray said. “It’s a good feeling to know you won’t have to deal with Tech fans all year now … for another 365 days of trash talking.”

Sweet!

This is what a decided schematic advantage looks like.

This may be the first eighteen-yard loss quarterback sneak in the history of college football: