Nov. 28, 2010
By Matt Winkeljohn
Sting Daily
I’ve seen a few theories on internet message boards over the past 20 hours or so regarding Georgia Tech’s football team, and a very interesting column in the local newspaper.
They’ve driven me to ask this question: can the Yellow Jackets somehow grow from their loss Saturday night in Athens in a way or ways that they might not have if the game had unfolded differently?
Tech played extremely hard in losing to Georgia, and the theory that intrigues me the most suggests that the game in Sanford Stadium can serve as some sort of launching pad.
Is that possible?
I don’t agree or disagree, but because this is a new idea to me, I’m looking for input.
This much I’ll say: had the Jackets played with that much passion and focus all season, they would not be 6-6. They would not have lost at Kansas, and I think the Miami and Clemson games might’ve turned out differently.
But can one game turn a team’s psyche from erratic to feisty just like that? And stay that way?
Tech clearly has to do a better job in future seasons of hanging onto the football, and the defense needs to improve. The Jackets need better players.
I don’t buy into the suggestion that they cannot get them, that they can’t recruit on par with their rivals. But saying that does not make it happen.
A column in today’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests that Tech fans did more than take solace in the way they played and the way they were coached at Georgia. The column says fans were uplifted by the effort, that they went into the game expecting to be man-handled. I didn’t expect Tech to be man-handled.
Is that column an accurate assessment of your feelings?
There was much to be encouraged about. Georgia appeared to have a manpower advantage Saturday night, and I think denying that would be folly.
Yet the Jackets were right there, even though Georgia scored 21 points off three Tech fumbles and Tech did not score a point off Georgia’s turnovers. Does that excite you?
How will Tech be different next season? All theories welcome.
Please send them to stingdaily@gmail.com.
