GT needs more cowbell
Georgia Tech and the Mississippi State Bulldogs will tee it up in 2008 and 2009. Apparently, after losing 12 of the last 15 games to Georgia, the Yellow Jackets are eager to beat any type of bulldog. Unfortunately for Tech fans, a victory over the Starkville Dogs will hardly serve as methadone to their aching need to topple their in state rival.
Tech can't even beat the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Old school MSU fans should rejoice in this match-up. Both GT and Mississippi State are charter members of the Southeastern Conference. However, Bobby Dodd and the Yellow Jackets refused to play MSU or Ole Miss in the state of Mississippi. So despite being charter members of the league, GT has only played MSU twice (1908 and 1929), and both times were before the SEC was formed in 1932. GT has only played Ole Miss three times, and only once (1946) during the regular season as a member of the SEC (GT played Ole Miss in the 50s in the Sugar Bowl).
Tech's refusal to travel to the Mississippi schools when it was in a position of power in the 1940s, 50s and 60s came back to bite them in the early 70s when the Jackets program was struggling. After leaving the SEC in 1964, the Jackets came back to the conference needing to be readmitted. The Mississippi schools were the driving force behind GT not returning to the league.
The move is interesting in that GT already had booked a complete 2008/2009 out of conference schedule. It appears that the Jackets are dropping a home/away series with Louisville to fit the Bizarro Dogs in.
Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville
All ball busting aside, this is smart scheduling by GT. There is greater local fan interest in GT playing SEC teams out of conference. Even bad ones like MSU. GT needs to sell tickets to winnable games of interest. Tech's future SEC opponents include:
- UGA - obviously
- Mississippi State - 2008/2009
- Vandy - 2009/2013
- Ole Miss - 2010/2011
- Alabama - 2012/2014
pwd
7 comments:
Off Subject-
Anybody else notice Shockley finally got that final last minute drive in the Dome last night that he should have gotten the last time he was their? Anybody doubt the outcome would have been different in the last game?
What a joke. It figures that, to make room for one of the worst teams in the entire SEC, Tech would dump Louisville, easily the most competitive non-conference team they have on the schedules for '08-'09 other than Georgia (whom, of course, they have to play). It's almost as if someone in the Tech athletic department is involved in a concerted effort to make the program look as silly as possible.
Off the subject, yeah, I was thrilled for Shock. Given the welcome he got from the home fans, I'm betting he sees a lot more playing time in the Falcons' remaining exhibition games.
The UL series will be moved around for the '09 date, I fully expect us to play the '08 game (since it will be at home). The problem with '09 would be that we would only have 1 home OOC game if Jax State gets bumped for @MSU. It's more likely @UL gets bumped for @MSU and then @UL gets played in '10 or '11. GT isn't dropping that series though.
And Doug, seriously ... you're questioning GT's willingness to play tough games OOC? We've just finished a home and home with Auburn and are starting one with Notre Dame. Name an opponent even remotely similar to those that Georgia has had an OOC home and home with in years. Alabama is home and home in a couple of years. GT plays one of the toughest schedules in the country year in and year out - heck, we even had a stupid home and home series with BYU a few years ago (WTF WHO WILLINGLY SCHEDULES @BYU TO OPEN A SEASON). If anything our eyes are bigger than our stomachs when it comes to scheduling.
The games with MSU makes sense ... it's a BCS school, but not a great program. So while it's a solid OOC game, it's also a winnable one (both years). There's also a discussion going on that GT will play Georgia Southern as one of the "patsy" opponents on the early season tuneup schedule here sometime soon - that would be interesting as well.
There's some commentary on GT sites (unconfirmed) that the UL series was replaced with MSU - so if that does happend (see my comments above, I'm not sure it will be) the fact that Tech plays a pretty darn nasty schedule every year should keep most of the riff-raff at bay.
Eh, who am I kidding ... pot shots away!
War already chalking up a GT victory over State.
So was Auburn. So was Bama last year, and Florida before that. Even in these dark ages of extreme suckitude, State manages to win one or two games a year that they're not supposed to. Usually against a team that comes in with the win already chalked up.
If you don't remmber MSU almost beat us. THe last time we played them. Besides why don't we chear for anyone against GT.
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