It's Football time!

The USA Today Pre-season poll has Georgia Tech at no. 15. It's not that big of a surprise that they are ranked as high, moving up seven spots from the 22-spot at the end of last season and after a dismal loss to LSU, considering the effort CPJ has put into building on last year's foundation. Furthermore, they are returning this fall with 17 starters (9 offense, 8 defense), more than any other ACC school, including ACC Player of the Year, RB Jonathan Dwyer. Needless to say, Tech has an opportunity like they haven't had in over a decade!

Unfortunately, there are some things playing against us.
1. Pre-season ranking: This is almost always a killer for ACC teams. The Jackets need to ignore the ranking and look to Jacksonville State. It may seem like an "exhibition" game on paper, but the Bulldogs are not going to relent easily and everyone at Grant Field needs to remember that.
2. Press coverage: The Jackets have had a lot of press coverage and active PR going on in the off-season to boost the overall "star appeal" of the team while keeping the recruits interested. This can easily backfire if they don't produce. They need to stick to the plan and not showboat; CPJ knows his stuff about running an option offense and every player must run their positions flawlessly to put points on the board. Keep their minds out of the Sunday Sports section and in their studies and playbooks.
3. We beat Georgia: They are not happy in Athens. We destroyed the hopes of a top ten ranking for them (both post and pre-season) and we raised lots of eyebrows across the state. They will be gunning for us, at home this November. This will only serve to distract our players as they hang out in Athens on the days off or chat with their friends. Once again, they need to stay focused on the task at hand each week and make each week pay off.
4. Finally, high expectations: I would argue that Atlanta in general has one of the biggest fair-weather populations of any major sports city. The Tech following is unfortunately not that much different. Sure, we almost always filled the stands for the bigger games, but when Tech was losing (even by not much), folks lost interest and stayed away. Regardless of the outcome, the fans need to stay with their team. Go to the games; tailgate; usher the team in to Bobby Dodd Stadium as they take their walk before the game; wear Tech gear; watch them on T.V. and invite friends over.

Well, we are just a few weeks away from kickoff and I wish the best for my Yellow Jackets. I was there during their last, best season (ACC Co-Champions, 1999) and I look forward to watching them rise to the top again. I wish I could come to some games, but the commute from Afghanistan is a little much.

Go Yellow Jackets!