In the on-going quest to equip the football public with inside information, we take a break from speculating on Matthew Stafford’s x-ray vision in order to give you the skinny on Thursday Night’s Clash between Georgia Tech and Virginia. Quickly and without bias, here are several indicators.
UVA's Mascot. Seen here with something more gay.
Mascots: Yellow Jackets vs. Cavaliers
For one of the rare times on it’s schedule, Georgia Tech University faces a school with a mascot less intimidating than its own. The hard-core football fan and cynic might ask, “How much impact does a mascot have on a game?” Good question. But this is the ACC. And in the ACC, this year especially, every point counts.
And try as we might to not give the nod to the Jackets, Buzz clearly comes out on top here. Which begs the question—is there a mascot in the history of football less intimidating than the Virginia Caviler?
Perhaps the only other candidate includes that other swashbuckler, the old school Tampa Bay Buccaneer who looked as if he’d gotten lost on his way from Midtown in Atlanta to Key West, Florida and ended up in Tampa on a shrimp boat.
Tampa Bay eventually had the resolve to change its mascot and its attitude which led to a Super Bowl victory. Unfortunately, for the Cavaliers, the only change this year has been its rapid meteoric descent into suckiness.
None of this is playing well in Charlottesville where now UVA seems to be a house divided as it comes to Atlanta. Word out of Charlottesville is that the UVA fan base is outraged as several alumni have written strongly worded emails to Athletic Director Craig Littlepaige asking him to look into “the most quarrelsome matter of our hardships on the fields of American Football.”
(UVA FAN TAILGATE: where discussions of turtle neck fashions, Warrick Dunn being stopped at the Goal line, Volvo repairs, Peach Bowls, and Whole Foods stock reign supreme)
For managing to have a wussier mascot than Buzz and given the fragile psyche of Cavalier Nation, we give a touchdown and a field goal for the Jackets.
ADVANTAGE: Tech +10
Coaching Match-Up
Where's Vinny?
(Happier times when Gailey had a non-midge quarterback who could count to four)
Both head coaches Chan Gailey and Al Groh have an NFL pedigree. Which is saying something. But not much. Chan Gailey went a pedestrian 18-14 in two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. And Al Groh went 9-7 with the New York Jets in 2000 before turning in his Jets sweatshirts for the Cavalier kind.
What do either of these brief stints in the NFL point to? Mediocrity. Pure and simple. And while both similar records seem to represent a push in this category, Gailey was slightly above average with Troy Aikman. Al Groh had a winning record with Vinny Testaverde. That distinction alone gives UVA three touchdowns.
ADVANTAGE: UVA +21
Intangibles
Perhaps the biggest key to Thursday Night’s contest is the psychological advantage for Georgia Tech. Make no mistake about it. Thursday Night is ALWAYS a big time for Georgia Tech Football and its fanbase.
Thursday Night’s game has been officially declared “Throwback Thursday." To commemorate Georgia Tech’s "Glory Years" (sic), the team is going to be wearing a special uniform. We, at the Georgia Sports Blog, were tempted to crack back smart-alec like and ask if it was really safe for either team to wear leather helmets. But as a credible news source, we’ll forgo the easy route and do some research:
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Tech will don uniforms reminiscent of the early 1970s, including gold jerseys, white pants and white helmets. Tech wore various gold jerseys with white or gold helmets from 1968-1971.It’s hard to imagine if the GT AD could have picked a better era to honor as the essence of Georgia Tech football as those four years mark a standard worthy for all Georgia Tech teams to strive for.
- 1968 4-6
1969 4-6
1970 9-3 Sun Bowl (W)
1971 6-6
23-21. Two games over .500.
This teary eyed nostalgia for the mediocre past and mustard uniforms will certainly generate some excitement among the GT crowd (sic). This writer sees Throwback Thursday is worth at least two touchdowns and a blocked extra point from GT kicker Travis Bell.
Georgia Tech +13
The Outcome:
What can you expect from one team who struggles with Troy and makes Notre Dame’s secondary look fast and another a team with losses to Pitt and Western Michigan?
The outcome will be predictable, mediocrity always is, but when you tally up all the points we’ve outlined here, look for the Jackets to prevail 23-21 with the spirit of 1968-1971 pushing Tech to something like victory.
JeromeFromDecatur
