Joe's Magic

On Friday November, 28 1998, a special edition of the Jim Donnan show (the radio version) aired on the Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network. For some reason, Coach Donnan and Larry Munson were taking calls the day before the game. At least that is how I remember it. Anyway, a few nerds called in to talk some smack. One asked the following...

Coach Donnan. I'm just wondering how you plan on stopping Joe Magic?

The name Joe Magic was an instant classic amongst my friends, Georgia fans and nerds alike. We still call him that to this day.

This week Joe has lived up to his nickname in many ways. Not only was he puffing the magic dragon in his car, leading to his arrest...he also was able to make his spanking new job magically disappear. Way to go Joe. Way to go.


Image from AJC.com

Down Go the Nerds

Wow, Tech's season really just went down the tubes. Could this be a season saving win for Felton and company? Probably not so far as the NCAA tournament goes, but maybe the NIT.

Billy Humphrey led all scorers with 23 points on a bad knee. Yata added 16. The biggest surprise offensively was a walk on for Georgia. When Tech was trying to play catch up late, The Butler Did It, nailing a 3 that was so huge in this game. Corey finished the game with 11 points.

Let's hope this will give our guys some semblance of momentum heading into SEC play. And let's hope Jeremy Jacob heals quickly. We need bodies down low.

Go Dawgs!

Tech Highlights

A couple things to look for.
1) The adjustment CJ Byrd makes on his INT is amazing.
2) The hustle of Knowshon to cause the fumble after the lateral mishap is amazing.
3) If Reshad Jones stayed on the sideline he runs back his INT for a TD.
4) The Thomas Brown Affair!

Thanks to the anonymous commenters who recommended the music!

Tech Wrecked

That game was straight up crazy. It was much, much closer than the score indicated. Tech left at least 28 points on the field. The dropped cinch touchdown pass. Two muffed punts recovered by Georgia for touchbacks that could have just as easily been Tech touchdowns. Finally, the fumble return that would have been a Tech TD had they not fumbled.

The muffed punts were goofs on Mikey Henderson and Remarcus Brown. And the Dawgs were in better position to recover them. So, I don't chalk those up to luck or Tech doing anything wrong. The fumble return was a great recovery by Knowshon. He made a great play in stripping the ball from the Tech defender. But the dropped TD pass was ridiculous. That play could have set the tone for the game and ignited the few Tech fans that were there. Man there was a lot of red in that stadium!

But when you play the what if game, you have to play it for both teams. Stafford just overthrew what could have been a long touchdown pass to Massaquoi. He also nearly hooked up for a deep score with Tony Wilson, but the Tech defender made a great play.

The real surprise to me was that Thomas Brown was the more effective back for Georgia. Tech did a pretty good job of stopping Knowshon. You could tell he was the focus of their defense. When Brown was in the game at tailback, Tech did not respect the run as much. And Thomas made them pay for it.

I also loved Stafford's TD run. I hate to say it, but it really reminded me of Godsey's run against us back in 2000. Both were really, really good ball fakes.

In the end, the game came down to the fact that Georgia capitalized on more opportunities than Tech did. Seven in a row sure feels good. Go Dawgs!

Images above from the ABH.

Related:
UGA vs. GT post-game thoughts.... - Georgia Sports Blog

Motivation

Man I hate Tech.

Keys to the Game

Stop Tashard Choice. If we do that, we'll be on our way. If he gets going, that could open up the passing game. That is the last thing we need. If we have no respect for the play action pass, that's a huge plus for our defense.

On offense, we need to jump on them early. And that does not mean we need to start off throwing the ball all over the place. Tech has a very, very good defense. So we need to stay balanced on offense like we have been. Many of Tech's blitzes are run blitzes. If Knowshon can make them pay for blitzing, maybe they will be hesitant to do so.

I'm glad it looks like we'll have nice weather today. I think a rainy sloppy game would play into Tech's favor. But if you're looking for a Georiga blowout, I doubt you'll see it. I think we're in for a battle today.

Go Dawgs!

Georgia Tech Video Vault

I'm going to post several videos involving Georgia and Georgia Tech throughout the week. Some good and some bad.

First up we have highlights from 1995. This video includes footage from the 1995 Tennessee and Georgia Tech games. This was actually the first Georgia video I made and uploaded to YouTube.

Tickets:
Georgia at Georgia Tech - Empire Tickets

Kickoff Set For Georgia vs. Georgia Tech

Clean Old Fashioned Hate gets a 3:30 pm kickoff on ABC next Saturday. If you are still looking for tickets, Empire tickets has plenty available. The same goes for this week's game against Kentucky.

20 Reasons Why Tech Won't Be Better Than Georgia

The AJC recently gave us five reasons why Tech will be better than Georgia in 2007. I responded with five reasons why I didn't care. Now, I've been outdone by Mark Bradley. He listed 20 reasons why Tech will not be better than Georgia. It's a good read. Also, be sure to read through the comments on the page. The Techies are furious.

Tech Better Than Georgia?

Today the AJC ran a story pointing out that Athlon magazine thinks Tech will finish the year better than Georgia. They got Athlon's senior editor to give five reasons why.

So, I figured I'd give five reasons why I don't care.

1. We are months away from the start of the season. Pre-season rankings mean absolutely nothing. We'll have no idea until a few weeks into the season which team looks better. And ultimately, it won't be decided until November.
2. Georgia Tech is a bunch of nerds. When they win, they freak out and talk crazy trash. When they lose, they hide behind being an "academic institution."
3. I'm really tired of the "losing Reggie Ball is addition by subtraction" theory. It's not often good when you lose your four year starter. And if the theory does end up being true, what does that say about Chan Gailey sticking with him for four years?
4. Calvin Johnson has gone to the NFL; although, it is too bad he had to take his blanket with him.
5. Considering Georgia has beaten Tech six years in a row, I feel no need to defend my school. Recent history speaks for itself.

Random Video Clip of the Week

Future Tech grads. No doubt...

What Will Calvin Johnson Do Today?

So what do you think Calvin Johnson is doing on 4/20? Sorry, that was too easy...

Calvin Johnson Admits to Marijuana Use

Let the photoshopping begin. Reportedly, Calvin Johnson admitted to using marijuana during an interview at the combine. I would love for this to affect his draft status such that the Falcons could get him with the eight pick in the draft. Unfortunately for the Falcons, I tend to agree with Chan Gailey. From the article...

"I doubt it will have any effect whatsoever," said Gailey, a former Dallas Cowboys head coach with 16 years of experience in professional football. "I think he's a great young man who probably did it one time to see what it was like and told the truth [when asked about it]. I don't think it's an issue with him."

If this indeed does not affect his draft status, the Falcons better not trade up for him. I think he's going to be a great NFL receiver, not good...great. However, the Falcons need bodies right now. They can't afford to trade away draft picks to get Johnson.