November 30, 2000

1. No doubt about it - no doubt at all. Georgia Tech outplays, outcoaches and outrecruits the mutts. It's that simple. The Yellow Jackets are the dominant college football program in the state of Georgia and will be for awhile. In the immortal words of Kevin Spacey, they rule.

   The reversal in fortune that has taken place since 1995 is remarkable. When O'Leary started the rebuilding process here, Georgia had the edge on both sides of the ball, especially at the skill positions. That has changed as each of Tech's recruiting classes has been bigger, faster and more athletic than the one before it - not to mention better than all those "Top 5" recruiting classes that Jim Donnan was supposedly amassing.

   Come to think of it, the talent equation is a good place to start our discussion of the relative strengths of the two programs.

   Wide receiver? The only school that could even think of matching the quality of Tech's receiving corps would be FSU. Georgia's not even close. Even with his three drops against the mutts, Kelly Campbell finished the season with five more catches, 246 more receiving yards and six more touchdowns than Terrence Edwards. The gap is even wider between Campbell and Damien Gary. And what about Georgia's "Parade All-Americans" Reggie Brown and Durell Robinson? Consider that Kerry Watkins, who's not even a starter, had more catches, yardage and touchdowns than Brown and Robinson combined. Consider that Will Glover, who missed half the season with injuries, had more catches and yardage than Brown and Robinson combined. Consider that Nate Curry, a true freshman who hardly played the first half of the season, had as many catches and more yardage than Brown and Robinson combined. Jonathan Smith played sparingly and only caught seven passes this season as a true freshman, but he will accomplish more in his career at Tech than Brown and Robinson will at Georgia. And guess what? With the possible exception of Campbell, all of those receivers will be back next year.

   Running back? Joe Burns gained almost as many yards rushing as Georgia's TOP THREE rushers combined. Georgia's top three rushers (Millican, Sanks, Smith) scored a combined total of 11 touchdowns - Burns scored 12 by himself. Burns' backups - Sean Gregory, Sidney Ford and Jermaine Hatch - are as good as any of Georgia's starters. And the best running back at Tech this season may have been playing on the scout team (Jimmy Dixon). Georgia's running game is in such sad shape that a slow white guy from Gwinnett County (Brett Millican) who had carried the ball a grand total of 20 times coming into this season was the team's leading ground gainer. In other words, Millican ran for more yards than Jasper Sanks ("the next Herschel Walker"), Musa Smith ("If we can give him the ball at least 30 times we'll beat Tech"), Bruce Thornton ("no, honestly, this guy really IS the next Herschel Walker") and Albert Hollis ("forget what I said about everybody else, he's the next Herschel Walker"). And guess what? Burns and his backups will all be back next year.

   Quarterback? There are an awful lot of fans, sportswriters and coaches who fooled themselves into believing that Quincy Carter would be the centerpiece of a national champion team and a Heisman Trophy-quality player. I'm not sure Donnan ever saw the light, but Georgia fans (at least the more rational ones) are slowly waking up to the reality that a person can be a great athlete and at the same time a bad football player. I won't argue at all that Carter can run faster, jump higher and throw the ball farther than George Godsey. Now, which one would you rather have at quarterback? Which one produced more on the football field? Which one was giving the three-finger salute at the conclusion of last Saturday's game? Great athletes can run a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash or vertically leap 42 inches. Great football players can get the ball in the end zone or knock you flat on the ground. There is a difference. And guess what? Godsey will be back next year.

   The offensive line? Here's an interesting statistic: in the last three Tech-Georgia games, Tech has outgained Georgia in rushing by a healthy margin, thanks largely to the superior play of its offensive line. Although Georgia supposedly had two NFL first-rounders at DT (Marcus Stroud and Richard Seymour) and Charles "Two Words" Grant at DE and all those wonderful young linebackers (Bell, Witherspoon, Bailey, Gilbert, Hollingshed, etc.), Tech still rang up 200-plus rushing yards in both 1998 and 1999. That total fell off a little to 140 yards this year, but that was still more than 100 yards better than Georgia's rushing yardage. On top of all that, Tech's "undersized" offensive line did such an effective job of blocking Georgia's "NFL first-rounders" that the mutts did not once sack Joe Hamilton in 1999 or George Godsey in 2000. Not one single time did Hamilton or Godsey go down because of Georgia's pass rush. Not once. Quincy Carter and Cory Phillips, on the other hand, have taken a physical beating from Tech's pass rushers the past three seasons. Tech's offensive line has whipped Georgia's defensive line three years running, regardless of whether the DC is Joe Kines, Kevin Ramsey or Gary Gibbs.

   The defensive line? Well, as I already hinted, Tech's defensive line over the past three Tech-Georgia games has held Georgia to fewer yards rushing and has registered more sacks than Georgia's DL. Who do you think has more sacks during that period of time, Tito Claybrooks or Charles Grant? Hint: it isn't Grant. And guess what? Tech's top two sackmasters (Greg Gathers and Nick Rogers) will be back next season.

   The linebackers? We've heard all this hype from Georgia fans for the past three seasons about all their great young linebackers like Will Witherspoon and Kendrell Bell and the rest. But what have they accomplished? Two consecutive 7-4 seasons. One of the most telling plays of last Saturday's game was Tech's first touchdown when Godsey faked an inside handoff to Burns and took off around the right side for a 33-yard touchdown. This is the Godsey who's so slow that his 40-yard dash is timed with a calendar. All of Georgia's great young linebackers (and NFL first-rounders) went straight for Joe Burns on that play - while slow-as-molasses George Godsey lumbered by them untouched for a score. That's just one play, granted, but it's nicely symbolic of how overrated Georgia's linebackers are. Tech's linebackers, meanwhile, were all over the field stacking up Musa Smith and picking off Phillips' passes. And guess what? Daryl Smith, Reco Wimbush, Ather Brown, Key Fox, Anthony Lawston, and Matt Miller will all be back next season.

   The defensive backs? I'm willing to concede this is still the weakest area of Tech's program, talent-wise. The DBs have given up a lot of completions and yardage over the years and did so again last Saturday. But really, how can you say Georgia's DBs are any better? After three years, they still haven't figured out how to cover Kelly Campbell deep (Kelly did them a huge favor by dropping a sure touchdown pass). They're so petrified of Tech's speed that they sit back in a soft zone and let Glover, Muyres, Matvay, Wakins, Curry, get open time and again over the middle. Jamie Henderson has given up short touchdowns two years running, first to Will Glover and then to Kerry Watkins. DB is an area where Tech still has some work to do, but I like the way Chris Young and Cory Collins put a helmet on the opposition.

   Kicking? Both teams are in good shape here. I'll call it a draw. Tight end? This is the one position where Georgia's players still have the better statistics. But one of the reasons Tech's offense did so well this year, even without Joe Hamilton, was that they threw to the tight ends more effectively. Give Georgia the edge here, if you must - but what good did it do them?

   A question for dawggie fans about the so-called "Top 5" talent that Donnan has recruited. Why is it that Donnan directed the team to a 10-2 record in 1997 with Ray Goff's players, but has seen his record get worse each season as more of his own players have been cycled in? Hmmmmm . . . . I'm still waiting for an answer.

   Talk all you want to about these 5-star recruits and Parade All-Americans that Donnan signs, but the results on the field of play tell me that Tech's talent has surpassed Georgia's.

1. Back in August before the season started, Jim Donnan was declaring that he'd waited all his life for a team this good. By the time the regular season ended on Nov. 25, Larry Munson was grumbling, "Tech is just marching this thing down the field like we were Wake Forest or Maryland or something." That says it all.

1. With all due respect to Ralph, who is one of the truly great thinkers and innovators in college football, I think Tech will do just fine. Ralph called the plays and drew up the schemes, but it was Joe Hamilton and George Godsey who threw the ball, it was Dez White and Kelly Campbell who caught the passes, it was Joe Burns who wiggled into the end zone, it was Ed Wilder who put linebackers flat on their butts. Ralph is a genius as an OC and it will be difficult to replace him, but life will go on. The talent will still be there. O'Leary will still be running the program. Somehow, Tech will survive. If we have learned nothing else in recent years, we should have learned that the Georgia Tech program is bigger than any one person. George O'Leary once told a certain prospective recruit, "We will win with you or without you." That applies to coaches as well. As hard as it may be for some to believe, Tech can win without Ralph Friedgen. It IS possible.

1. That's very hard to project. Ralph has made no secret of the fact that he doesn't like to do all those messy things that head coaches must do: recruit, schmooze with the alumni, deal with the media, delegate the small details to your underlings. Maybe he will learn to be comfortable with those duties, but who can say? The fact that you're a good OC is no predictor of success as a head coach. Homer Smith was the Ralph Friedgen of the 1970s and 1980s - an innovative offensive coordinator whose teams always put up tons of yards and points. But Homer was never very successful during his stints as a head coach. Brad Scott was the OC at Florida State, the most dominant program in modern-day college football, but could not get the job done as HC at South Carolina. David Cutcliffe was a very effective OC at Tennessee, but Ole Miss hasn't exactly become an SEC power under his leadership. Friedgen has a lot to prove over the next three to four seasons, and I'm sure he's well aware of that. We'll just have to wait and see.

1. With pleasure. Tech had only a small number of seniors playing this year, but they all made their own special contributions to the success of the team regardless of whether they were starters or role players. It's sad to think that they won't be back next year, but I salute them all for what they gave to the team:

   Chris Brown - the big guy from Augusta was a starter from his very first game as a freshman (against Notre Dame) and finished his career as an All-American offensive tackle. When Tech needed the tough yards this year, they usually got them behind Chris at left tackle.

   Brent Key - like Brown, a four-year starter in the OL (except for the handful of games he was injured) and a dependable player, week-in, week-out. I also want to thank Brent's mom for her many contributions to the Hive message board.

   Felipe "Tito" Claybrooks - maybe one of the most popular Tech players of all time. I love this guy, especially for the way he'd always get fired up for the Georgia game. One of my fondest memories will always be the 1998 game when Tito body-slammed Quincy Carter to the turf, causing Quincy to go complaining to the referee (and causing Jonas Jennings, in turn, to slap Carter's helmet to shut him up). And who can forget Tito picking up that fumble against Duke and running the length of the field before diving into the end zone? Or the way he knocked down two of Cory Phillips' passes last week and deflected a third pass into the arms of Daryl Smith? Claybrooks was never a fulltime starter, but he still finished his Tech career with more than 20 sacks. If Tito doesn't get to play pro ball, I'd like to see him go up against Goldberg in a WWF smackdown. I'd pay money to see that battle.

   Ed Wilder - one of the saddest things about this season was that Ed's knees kept him on the bench so much (he only caught two passes and ran the ball once all season). When he was healthy, there wasn't a better fullback anywhere. But even with his limited playing time, I think Ed served as a leader by example for the young guys on the team. A pro career is obviously out of the question with all his injuries, but I think Wilder would be a very good high school football coach (if he decided he wanted to do that).

   Jon Muyres - he suffered through some injuries and bounced around a few seasons before finally settling in at wide receiver, but Jon made one of his biggest plays in his last regular season game. Late in the Georgia game, Tech was deep in its own territory and trying to wind down the clock when it faced a crucial third and seven. Jon caught the ball over the middle and ran just past the chains to give Tech an important first down that helped wrap up the victory. I'm happy to have had him in the program and happier still that he persuaded his brother Jeremy to follow him.

   David Schmidgall - the sports information department continues to refer to him as a senior, so we'll include him here, even though he says he'll be back for his last season of eligibility next year. David was that rarest of Division I players, a walk-on who not only wins a scholarship but becomes a starter. He'll be an inspiration to Tech scrubs and walk-ons for years to come.

   Tony Robinson - he got a chance to start his senior year when Guenter Kryszon and Berwin Echols were out of action, and made the most of it. Tech's play at defensive tackle was much improved this year, and a lot of the credit goes to Tony.

   Bryan Corhen and Ira Claxton - they both contributed as backups on the DL as seniors.

   Jamara Clark - he certainly had an up-and-down career at Tech, but I was impressed with the way he fought back as a senior and reclaimed his starting job at cornerback. Jamara made his share of mistakes, but he was never reluctant to slobber-knock some running back attempting to go wide.

   Troy Tolbert - I expected big things of Troy when he signed with Tech in 1996, but I guess it just wasn't in the cards for him to win a starting job. Still, he became a valuable member of the special teams and had the second highest number of tackles there (just behind Kelley Rhino).

   Alex Tetterton and Brett Basquin - these guys remind us that everyone, starter or not, makes a contribution to victory. Brett played special teams, held the ball on placekicks, and even caught a touchdown pass last year against Wake Forest. Alex was a steady long-snapper and could often be seen making the downfield tackle on the punt returner. Nothing fancy about either of them; they were just two blue-collar guys who got the job done.

   Our seniors. Take a moment and drink to all these good fellows who came from far and near. They will be missed.

1. Clemson's seniors went through their entire four seasons of eligibility without winning a single game against Tech. When Tech beats North Carolina and Georgia at Grant Field next year, the seniors on both of those teams will have gone through their entire four seasons of eligibility without defeating Tech. Tech is also part of the ACC triumvirate (along with FSU and Clemson) that has rung up a 9-0 record in head-to-heads with the SEC over the past three seasons. That would be pretty significant in my book.

1. Since 1998, ACC schools are 11-4 in regular season matchups against SEC schools. All four of those SEC victories were registered by Vanderbilt. Somehow, SEC fans interpret those Vanderbilt victories as proof that their conference is the very best in college football. The logic of that escapes me.

1. I see nothing but good times ahead, even though Tech's stadium only seats 46,000 people. I've already mentioned the many players who'll be coming back. Let's look at those who are leaving. Tech loses three starters on offense: Chris Brown, Brent Key and Jon Muyres. There are more than enough wide receivers to cover Muyres' departure (and Kelly Campbell's too, if he decides to leave early for the NFL draft). Clay Hartley, Hugh Reilly, and Leon Robinson should be able to plug the holes left by Brown and Key in the OL. On defense, Tech loses Tony Robinson at DL, Tito Claybrooks at DE (not a starter, but still a very productive role player) and Jamara Clark at DB. Berwin Echols should be back to replace Robinson. We've still got Greg Gathers and Nick Rogers at DE. Albert Poree, probably the best DB on the team, will step in for Clark.

   There's no way of knowing how much the freshmen will contribute next year. Last year at this time, who could have known that Daryl Smith, Key Fox, Nate Curry, Jonathan Cox, John Paul Foschi and Jonathan Smith would have the impact they've had on the program? That's what makes it such an exciting game.

   With just the players already on hand, Georgia Tech should start next season ranked among the top 12 or 15 teams. Add to that the players they sign in February, and who knows? As the late Ethel Merman once sang, everything's coming up roses. Who am I to argue?