November 7, 1999

1. That crashing sound you hear is the sound of Tech's BCS bowl chances and Joe Hamilton's Heisman Trophy lead being blasted into tiny little pieces. Tech will be lucky to even get into a January 1 bowl game now. The loss to the Cavaliers also vaults Ron Dayne back into the frontrunner's position for the Heisman, which he'll wrap up after breaking Ricky Williams' career rushing record when Wisconsin plays Iowa.

   But lost opportunities aside, this was probably the worst collapse by a Tech team ever. There's no question it was the team's worst defensive performance of this decade. Worse than the 49-3 loss to FSU in '96. Worse than the '97 Duke game when Tech almost blew a three-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter. Worse than anything I've ever seen. There aren't enough words in the Oxford English Dictionary to describe how putrid the defense played against Virginia.

   I'm not upset by the fact that Thomas Jones gained 213 yards rushing. Let's be honest here - there's not a better running back in the nation than Jones. Even the Criminole defense couldn't stop him. It was obvious going in that he would pick up his 150 or 200 yards rushing. What was not obvious going in was that Tech's overall defense would collapse completely after the first quarter. This is how bad the Tech defense was: Virginia's backup quarterback, who's clumsy and slow-footed and one of the least-talented QBs in the ACC, looked like the Heisman Trophy winner out there. He had plenty of time to throw the ball, thanks to a non-existent pass rush, and plenty of wide-open receivers to throw to, thanks to an unending series of blown pass coverages.

   Tech's defense went beyond bad. It set new standards for its lack of ability to stop an offense. Normally, when a defense looks as bad as Tech's did in the second quarter, you can at least hope that the coaches will make adjustments at halftime to alleviate the problem. If Ted Roof made any halftime adjustments, they were obviously the wrong ones. Virginia absolutely rolled Tech in the second half. No run-stopping. No coverage. No pass rush. No nothing.

   The offense will have to accept part of the blame for the Virginia loss, of course. Joe Hamilton's interception late in the second quarter gave Virginia a chance to score just before the half and grab the momentum. Kelly Campbell dropped a long pass that would have been a TD. Dez White dropped a pass that would have kept a drive alive, and gave Virginia yet another chance to get the ball and score. Joe made a bad pitchout that stopped a Tech TD drive in the first half.

   But in the end, the bulk of the blame must go to the defense. And a big part of the defensive problem can be traced back to the weaknesses in the 1996 recruiting class. O'Leary and his staff signed quite a few DBs in that class: Travares Tillman, Reggie Wilcox, Derrick Dudley, Troy Tolbert. Only Tillman was good enough to become a starter (and a very good one). The others are languishing on the bench or seeing occasional action on the special teams. Thus, the seniors who should have been DB starters this year aren't playing, and freshman like Cory Collins, Marvious Hester and Jeremy Muyres are playing much more than they should. With you have that much youth in the defensive backfield, you're going to get torched, and Virginia lit it up.

   Some things for Coach O'Leary to ponder as he breaks down the film of this game:

   1. It may be time to ask whether Ted Roof is really the best choice for defensive coordinator. Ted was a slobber-knocking linebacker for Tech, and one of the greatest guys you'll ever meet, but it's evident that he's not able to inspire his own players with that same head-hunting desire.
   2. If Tech is going to get out of the defensive rut it's been in for the past six or seven seasons and move the program to the next level, it may be time to shell out the bucks for a defensive coordinator with a proven track record of success: a Joe Lee Dunn or a Mike Stoops or a John Chavis. Hey, maybe we can even bring back Don Lindsey. Somebody.
   3. It's obviously time to start moving some of the team's best young athletes like Jermaine Crenshaw, Brian Camp and Anthony Lawston over to the defensive side. They need some big-time help over there.

   Dr. Football can find no silver lining in the dark clouds hanging over the team after the Virginia loss. None. This was just a god-awful exhibition of football.

1. Dr. Football's father advised him a long time ago, "Never get in a battle of wits with an unarmed man." This is one of those occasions. Like those deluded folks who continue to insist that the earth is flat and that NASA never really sent a man to the moon, Georgia fans will stubbornly cling to the belief that their man is the best quarterback, no matter what the evidence may show.

   Having said all that, let's take a look anyway at what the numbers show us. Joe Hamilton has been among the leaders in passing efficiency most of this season; Quincy's not even ranked in the top 50. Joe's passing percentage is 67%, while Quincy's languishes at 54.7%. Joe has thrown for 2,116 yards; Quincy has thrown for 1,700. Joe has thrown 19 touchdown passes versus 12 for Quincy. Joe has also rushed for 512 yards and six touchdowns compared to 253 yards and three touchdowns for Quincy.

   Let's look at how the two performed against their team's toughest opponents this year. In Tech's game against FSU, Joe completed 22 of 25 passes (88%) for 387 yards and four touchdowns; he also ran for 18 yards and a touchdown. In Georgia's game against Florida, Quincy competed 6 of 23 passes (26%) for 76 yards and no touchdowns; he gained 30 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns. Thus, in games against the very best teams on their schedule, Hamilton accounted for 405 yards total offense and five touchdowns; Carter accounted for a total of 106 yards and two touchdowns.

   One mark of a good quarterback is his ability to take his team down the field for a score when the game's on the line. In 1998, Hamilton engineered fourth-quarter scoring drives that enabled Tech to beat Virginia, Clemson, Georgia and Notre Dame. In 1999, Hamilton has led Tech to fourth quarter (or overtime) comebacks against North Carolina and Duke. I can't remember a single time when Carter has pulled out a game for Georgia under similar circumstances. If Georgia wins a close game, it's usually because the other team misses an extra point or a two-point conversion.

   How have the two players done head to head? In their single meeting last year, Joe drove Tech down the field for a last-second field goal to beat Georgia. Under Quincy's leadership, Georgia couldn't even make a first down in the fourth quarter.

   How do others view the abilities of these two quarterbacks? Joe has been widely considered by sportswriters and broadcasters to be among the leading two candidates for the Heisman Trophy. Quincy's name is never mentioned.

   I've already discussed the intangible quality of leadership, the ability of a quarterback to convince his teammates that a game can still be won when all looks lost. Joe has demonstrated he can do that. That leadership is a mark of Joe's maturity as a player. How about Quincy's maturity or leadership? Well, we know that in the Tech game last year, one of Carter's own offensive linemen (Jonas Jennings) slapped him because Quincy wouldn't stop complaining to the officials about being tackled by Tito Claybrooks. That's not a good sign.

   In light of all these facts, an objective, rational observer could only conclude that Joe Hamilton is by far the most productive college quarterback. Note, I used the word "college." It may well be that at the pro level, Quincy will have a longer and more productive career. Quincy is bigger and taller than Joe and has a little stronger arm, and maybe he'll grow up a little and develop some maturity. We'll see how that plays out next year, when Joe and Quincy are both testing their mettle in the pro game. But at the college level, it's no contest. Joe is the man.

1. Yes - Flaggot, the legendary Tech flag boy. A lot of the younger posters on the Hive wouldn't know this, but back in the early days of this message board Flaggot would occasionally visit us and "post" a message for our entertainment. He once posted his "analysis" of Tech's 1998 recruiting class, and it beats anything I've ever seen from Forrest Davis or Jamie Newberg. I'll reprint it here:

   Well, from the sound of things around here lately, you'd think it was the final curtain call for Love!Valour!Compassion! I haven't heard this much shrieking since Atlanta's finest raided Loretta's. As such, I feel the time has cum to give you lads a real man's perspective on this year's crop of boy toys.

   What's not to love? A mountain of a back named "Burns" (don't worry, honey, I'll bring my knee pads for the rug) with more moves than Baryshnikov. A bigger lil' Joe from Truman Capote's home state. Big, burly linemen who, with my training, will develop into true "hogs" (blush). The Big Cat (purrrrrrrrrr). Mr. Marvelous - talk about a back-pedal! And they say he even breaks to the ball faster than I do! (They obviously haven't seen me on "Queen Night" at Backstreet!) I'm thinking "scat back" for Chris Young, and as Tennessee Williams once confided to me, the best "receivers" come out of Louisiana. There's enough here to make a queen drool! Personally, I think these are the lads who will take us "over the top"!

   As for the ones that got away . . . hmmm . . . let's see. Terin Smith (personally, I like my ends a little meatier), Sanford Samuels (I can't even *think* of him without Lamont), and Mssr. Cromartie (I think he was slightly intimidated during his visit to the Flats by my obviously superior "coverage ability." I just had to show him what it means to be "in his pants") are all lovely lads, but losing a Tight End named Diamond . . . I cried that night like I had never cried before.

   Remember, boys, it's like I've been trying to tell the boys over at Boneshaker's in Athens, who keep rehearsing "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Alliance" - nothing matters 'til opening night!

1. Carl Torbush and Gerry DiNardo should both be sent to the butcher at their neighborhood Publix - they're the deadest of dead meat. The only question at LSU and UNC is which school's athletic director will be the first to get Terry Bowden's name on a contract. Unless, that is, the rumors about Jim Donnan going back to Carolina really have some substance to them.

1. As we explained several weeks ago, Dr. Football is not a medical doctor - he has a Ph.D. in reflex kinesiology from Life University. Based on the description of your symptoms, however, I would say you're about due for a trip to the urologist and a shot of penicillin. I'm just guessing here, but you probably belong to a fraternity at the University of Georgia, right?