August 29, 2001

1. The pieces of the puzzle on offense are slowly falling into place, even though it looks like Tech is still using only about 50 or 60 percent of its playbook. I'm sure that's not an accident, with the game against you-know-who on the horizon. You have to think the coaches are hiding quite a lot on offense, and Tech fortunately has the kind of early schedule that allows them to get away with that.

   What I liked about the Citadel game: George Godsey's timing on pass plays was much improved over his performance against Syracuse. Jonathan Smith showed more of what he can do at wide receiver, which is quite a lot. The tight ends were used more effectively than anytime I can remember during the Friedgen era. Andy Hall got his most extended playing time at backup QB and did some good things (as well as make a few mistakes). He's not quite there yet, but I see reason to be optimistic. In fact, I think Hall is performing better as a backup than George Godsey did during his days as a backup to Joe Hamilton.

   On the other hand (and there's always another hand), the offensive line blocking on the running plays is still a disappointment. If improvement isn't shown by the FSU game, Tech may be in trouble here. There were also way too many penalties, but a lot of that comes from the inexperience of the players who saw game action for the first time.

   The defense was as stalwart as ever, surrendering only 202 yards total, and that was with some starters like Greg Gathers seeing action for as few as six plays. For the season, Tech is giving up only 64 yards per game rushing and 222 yards per game total. You can't do much better than that.

   It was heartening to see the kids get some serious minutes of playing time. Levon Thomas looked great at wide receiver, which is why the passing game wasn't hampered by the holdout of Kelly Campbell and Will Glover. Nat Dorsey got in some reps at left tackle. Jimmy Dixon showed glimpses of the power running style we've been waiting to see for the past two seasons. I loved the way Matthew Etheridge, a walk-on at linebacker, was flying to the ball. He may not be as beefy as some linebackers, but he makes up for it with his speed. I liked what I saw of Omar Billy in the D-Line, Fred Wright at rush end, James Butler and Dennis Davis at DB, and especially Tony Hargrove at defensive end - this kid is really going to be something special at Tech.

   There was excellent punt returning for the second week in a row by Kelley Rhino. Congratulations are in order for Luke Manget establishing the ACC record for consecutive extra points (keep the string going, Luke).

   Sure, it was just the Citadel, but it was the kind of tuneup that will help the Jackets for the tougher games ahead.

1. Based on what I saw of the Maryland-N.C. game, Ralph has the look of a very happy man who is finally living his life-long dream. And how many of us can say that? I would have been happy to see him beat anybody (except Tech, of course) in his opening game, but there was something extra special about Maryland whipping up on the school whose fans are a bunch of arrogant, snotty, Chablis-sipping, Brie-eating twits. Ralph, you're my hero. Maryland could very well be 5-0 heading into the Tech game. North Carolina WILL be 0-3 after their former head coach beats up on them this weekend. Sweet.

1. Yes we can. Wake Forest has the smallest enrollment of any school in Division I-A and its program doesn't have the resources the bigger schools have, but the Demon Deacs smacked around a better-than-average East Carolina team last weekend. It was not a fluke victory, either, because Wake simply outplayed the Pirates (maybe they caught them napping like they caught Tech back in 1999). Jim Grobe has parachuted into an almost impossible situation, but perhaps he can actually win a few games at Wake this season. If he does, he'll be right up there contending with Ralph Friedgen for coach of the year honors. Of course, if Wake loses to Appalachian State again, disregard everything I just wrote.

1. Seldom have so many people been so wrong about a team as all of those who kept insisting that Alabama would beat UCLA, cover a three-point spread, and reclaim their rightful place in the Top 25. All I heard from every talk show host in the Atlanta market - Beau Bock, Buck Belue, John Kincade, you name it - was that Bammer was going to beat the Bruins by at least seven to 10 points because they had so many "athletes" and so much "talent" returning from last year. Let's all give thanks to Cory "Tiger" Paus and DeShaun Foster for shutting up the 'necks for another year.

   I'll concede that Mike "Dumbo" DuBose is probably the dimmest bulb that ever strapped on the headphones for a Division I team, but I never bought the argument that he was entirely responsible for the Tide's losing record last year. I just don't think Alabama's players, especially at quarterback, were very good. If there was that much talent on the team, they would have finished better than 3-8 regardless of how screwed up the coaching staff was. Dennis Franchione is a good coach - anyone who can win at a reeking cesspool like TCU has to know what he's doing - and he may get the Tide back to a 6-5 record this year, but it's unrealistic to expect much better than that.

   Memo to Bama fans: the Bear is still dead, and he ain't coming back.

1. We've already discussed Alabama's extraordinary performance against UCLA. Arkansas certainly laid the wood to UNLV. Vanderbilt really taught Middle Tennessee State a lesson. And look at Georgia, holding a powerhouse like Arkansas State to a mere 17 points. Yes sir, the SEC is obviously the greatest conference ever created in the history of college football. Just like the Italian Army is the most fearsome fighting force in the history of warfare.

1. Georgia will go 12-0 at roughly the same time Richard Simmons is named in a paternity suit. They've got a paper-thin offensive line blocking for a freshman quarterback. If there are any injuries on that O-line, David Green will be exposed to pass rushers who will open him up like a California sea otter ripping apart a clam. Jasper Sanks is still fat. Reggie Brown is still overrated. Musa Smith piles up great numbers against defensive powers like Ole Miss and Arkansas State, but against teams like Tech he's prone to do things like gain 12 yards in 11 attempts. Their defensive line is both thin AND young. Their linebackers have never been as great as Georgia's fans claim they are. This team could very easily go 6-5 this year. They play Florida, Tennessee and Georgia Tech away from the friendly confines of Sanford Stadium. They play Auburn AT Sanford Stadium, where Auburn hasn't lost since 1991. They have to play a South Carolina team that has 16 starters returning who helped beat them 21-10 last year. The interesting question to ponder is whether Georgia fans or university president Michael Adams will insist on the dismissal of Mark Richt if he finishes with a worse record than Jim Donnan did last year.

1. For those who may have missed this, the Dallas Morning News ran a story a few days ago on Quincy Carter that quoted Godfrey, Carter's high school coach, as saying that Quincy "was a black quarterback in a big redneck program, and all they were doing was waiting for him to mess up and then they crucified him. They had to have a scapegoat." Let me just say that Buck Godfrey knows a lot more about football than I do. If he thinks Georgia is a "big redneck program," I have to accept him at his word.