Jan. 1, 2004
BOISE, Idaho – Georgia Tech was scheduled to workout for about 90 minutes this morning at Bronco Stadium, but light drizzle and steady winds forced head coach Chan Gailey to cut the practice down to under an hour. Tech has seen two very different weather days so far for their practices in Boise. Wednesday was a cold, calm, snowy day, while today was just the opposite with slightly warmer temperatures, rain and wind.
The change in weather sent senior captain J.P. Foschi into shorts for today’s practice. Some of the Yellow Jackets also went to the barber overnight. Foschi is one of several players who shaved their heads after their first practice in Idaho.
The forecast for Saturday continues to call for cold temperatures and scattered snow at kickoff and for most of the game.
The Jackets are scheduled for a typical pregame walkthrough tomorrow afternoon in Boise, before their final meetings tomorrow night. The Jackets will have a 6:30 a.m. pre-game meal before their 10 a.m. local time kick off against Tulsa.
SNOWMOBILES AND SNOWBALLS
Tech got their turn today for the Humanitarian Bowl’s “Winter Activities Day” in nearby Idaho City. The reputation of this event practically precedes the bowl itself. Two years ago, it was the highlight of Clemson’s visit to Idaho and all reports are that the Yellow Jackets had just as good a time today on their trip.
While players and guests get their turn on snowmobiles, those waiting could go tubing or participate in the no-holds barred snowball fight.
The only moment of trepidation in Idaho City was when two of the buses got stuck in some of the snow and ice near the lodge on their arrival. There was enough manpower on board to help get the vehicles back on line for the return trip to Boise.
WAC PRIDE ON THE LINE SATURDAY
A lot of the media discussion from the Boise area has already started about the WAC perhaps going undefeated in the post-season if Tulsa can beat Tech on Saturday. With Boise State and Fresno State already posting wins, Tulsa can help the conference go undefeated with a win and help them to earn the ESPN-created “Bowl Challenge Cup” (Conferences must have at least three teams in post-season play to qualify).
While the discussion has made the front page of the local Boise paper today, the ACC could potentially “run the table” as well if FSU, Clemson and Tech can post wins. Any loss by the WAC or ACC, would put each league into a race with the SEC, which currently only has one loss as well, but sent seven teams to post-season and would possibly have the highest percentage.
TECH IN WHITE, TULSA IN BLUE
Tulsa is the home team in Saturday’s game and the Golden Hurricane will be wearing their blue jerseys with gold numbers. Tech will have their popular white jerseys and gold pants for the games. Both schools will have gold helmets.
LATE NIGHT UPDATE
The hospitality of the Boise community continued last night with the Mexican Fiesta at the Basque Center for both teams.
For Tech’s first two nights in Boise, the local minor league hockey team has been at home. The Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL skate at the Bank of America Centre, which is connected to the Jackets’ hotel in downtown Boise. That has allowed many members of the traveling party to take in some or all of the games.
One Wednesday night during the first intermission, punter Hal Higgins participated in the “Hockey Rodeo” promotion. Higgins got to ride a motorized toilet around three barrels against the clock to win the rodeo. He finished second in the competition…out of two contestants.
