Sept. 13, 2007
By Jack Wilkinson –
She’s a long-time Georgia Tech season ticket holder and, while not an alumna of the Institute, Andrea Zimmer has a whole lot of Institutional[cq cap I] knowledge. Especially when it comes to football. Especially this week.
“To me, it seems like the ideal third game,” Zimmer said. “We’ll see if they’re for real or not.”
For the second straight season, a major Catholic college from up north comes calling at The Flats for a nationally-televised Saturday night special. Last year, it was Notre Dame which opened the season under the bright lights at Bobby Dodd Stadium. This time, it’s Boston College, which no one should mistake for the Irish welcome mat laid out at Notre Dame Stadium two weeks ago. Zimmer doesn’t. “Opening at Notre Dame, and beating them, became huge because they’re Notre Dame,” she said of that 33-3 pasting in which coach Charlie Weis employed three quarterbacks, one for each point his Irish scored.
“And you’re floating,” Zimmer said. “But then to see what Notre Dame did last week, well, maybe not floating as much.”
Not after the Domers’ 31-10 defeat at Penn State. Yet it wasn’t so much what Notre Dame did last week as what the Jackets didn’t.
“They didn’t do their usual thing versus Samford,” Zimmer said. To wit: the week after a resounding road triumph, Tech didn’t overlook and stumble against, much less fall to, a sure-fire gimme back home.
That 17-14 home-opening loss to I-AA Furman in 1983? The season-opening 17-17 tie at home with the Paladins in ’86? The 21-17 squeaker over nascent Central Florida at Bobby Dodd in 2000? All ancient history.
And now? “Now,” Zimmer said, “this will be the real thing. We’ll see.”
We’ll see a Top 25 matchup and, perhaps, a preview of the ACC championship game. No. 21 Boston College is 2-0 and atop the Atlantic Division after beating reigning ACC champ Wake Forest 38-28 and N.C. State 37-17 (both divisional opponents). No. 15 Tech gets tested in its ACC debut after scoring 102 points against Notre Dame and Samford (69-14). Its vaunted defense must contain Matt Ryan, a big-time quarterback on a prime-time stage.
“This is prime-time television,” said Tech tailback Tashard Choice, he of the nine consecutive 100-yard rushing games. “It’s playing against a ranked opponent. More important, its our ACC opener.
“I hope it’s sold out,” Choice said. “It’d be nice.”
As of Tuesday, according to the Tech sports information office, tickets were still available. That included some 3,000 tickets BC – the ACC’s northernmost outpost – returned from its original allotment.
This, despite a new deluxe charter jet service now available for Eagles fans. A 200-seat Boeing 757 jetliner is already booked for road games at Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Clemson. Not this weekend, however. Not that Choice minds, mind you.
“I love fans when they cheer for us, scream for us,” said Choice, who rushed for 196 yards and two touchdowns at Notre Dame, then 110 (in just 11 carries) and two more TDs against Samford. A lot of players love that. As for as being on national television, you always love playing in front of the whole nation.”
As to whether these are the ACC’s top contenders, Choice said, “We’re both ranked, but every game has its own twist…We’re trying to make it 1-0 in the ACC.”
Just what, he was asked, was it like the last time a Catholic school from up north came to town? “I don’t know,” Choice said, tongue firmly in cheek, trying not to smile. “It might be my first time.”
Smile. Big smile. “With Notre Dame last year [a 14-10 loss to the No. 2 Irish], it was different,” Choice said. “It was huge. [ESPN’s] Game Day was here. It was my first game of the season [as Tech’s starting tailback, who went on to lead the ACC in rushing with 1,473 yards while scoring 12 touchdowns). And, with an 8 o’clock kickoff, you have all day to get worked up.”
With another Saturday night comes another 8 o’clock kickoff. And what type of atmosphere might Choice like to see this time? Why, a One Million B.C. crowd for BC. Prehistoric and positively nuts.
“Crazy,” Choice said. “I wanna see it crazy. I love when the fans show up. Some people say we don’t have the greatest fans. But the ones who show up, they are great.”
Including Andrea Zimmer.
