College Football 2009: UGA munches on GaTech

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets outscored the UGA Bulldogs by three points nearly a year ago in Athens.  Tonight, the Dawgs rode over to the capital city to try to save some face.  Broadcast on ABC, and narrated by Matt Millen and Sean McDonough, the first quarter began with the Bulldogs on offense.  Half a dozen plays into the game, Bulldogs running back Washaun Ealey got into the red zone with a thirty-four yard run.  His teammate Caleb King made a touchdown on the following play.  UGA 7 and GaTech 0.  The Yellow Jackets did decently when they took their turn with the ball, despite running back Roddy Jones’s near fumble-non-recovery.  Yellow Jackets’ first go at scoring was a failed field goal.  The next Bulldogs possession yielded a fumble that was recovered by the Yellow Jackets.  Quarterback Josh Nesbitt had to step out of the game after he was brought down to the ground.

The second quarter started with Scott Blair making a forty-two yard field goal to get his Yellow Jackets a few numbers.  UGA 7 and GaTech 3.  Would it be a broken record for the Yellow Jackets’ defense?  Every other tackle one of them has trouble getting up?  The Bulldogs increased their lead with a field goal in the middle of the quarter.  UGA 10 and GaTech 3.  Jaybo Shaw threw an interception–into the bosom of Reshad Jones–when stepping back onto the field for Nesbitt.  The Bulldogs separated themselves ever more with a Michael Moore TD catch in the end zone.  UGA 17 and GaTech 3.  Josh Nesbitt went back onto the field in the bottom of the quarter.

The Yellow Jackets got a much-needed adrenaline and confidence booster in the top of the third quarter with a seventy-six yard rushing TD by wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.  UGA 17 and GaTech 10.  The Bulldogs spat right back with a seventy-five yard rushing TD by Caleb King.  UGA 24 and GaTech 10.  Yellow Jacket running back Jonathan Dwyer jumped over the goal line and into the end zone in the middle of the third quarter.  UGA 24 and GaTech 17.  For every figurative step forward that the Yellow Jackets made, the Bulldogs hop-scotch over two steps…if not in actual score then certainly in morale.  Two words: Washaun Ealey.  Or in the bottom of the third quarter, Blair Walsh.  He kicked out a field goal.  UGA 27 and GaTech 17.  Josh Nesbitt fumbled the ball in the stomach pit bottom of the quarter.

The Yellow Jackets kept the Bulldogs to a field goal as the fourth quarter started.  UGA 30 and GaTech 17.  Inching halfway through the quarter, Josh Nesbitt arguably got his upper body across the goal line.  Would the booth review concur?  Replay officials decided the ball was short of the end zone.  On the second go, Nesbitt definitely got over the line.   A fifty-five yard field goal attempt by Blair Walsh was no good in the bottom of the fourth quarter.  With under two minutes left to play, both Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets fans perched at the edge of their seats, what could GaTech do to execute the marvelous?  Three long but incomplete passes; Demaryius Thomas unable to hold onto the ball.  UGA 30 and GaTech 24.   Final score.

Observations & Miscellania:

1.  During the commercial break before kick-off, sideline footage included an extreme close-up of Russ, stand-in for the late Loran’s Best.

2.  UGA wore red jerseys, GaTech wore white; they looked like ketchup and honey-dijon mustard.

3.  One of the cameras caught former UGA quarterback Matthew Stafford standing on the sidelines of his alma mater.

4.  An elderly gentleman, who was watching the game from the UGA sidelines, was knocked down inadvertently when linebacker Darryl Gamble made a late hit on Demaryius Thomas.  One of the Bulldogs players could be seen in the background asking the man if he was all right.

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College Football: GaTech uncorks UGA with pow

1893. Grover Cleveland was the President of the United States. Thomas Edison was forty-six years-old. F. Scott Fitzgerald wouldn’t be born for three years (he hadn’t even been conceived). DW Griffith was eighteen years-old. And, for our purposes today, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the UGA Bulldogs first felt the pangs of anything-you-can-do-i-can-do-better.

The stingers and the barkers doled out their best moves in Athens today. Would UGA win for the eighth time in a row? Would GaTech yank the handkerchief from the Bulldogs’ breast pocket? Televised by CBS, the first quarter started with a Bulldogs possession which led to a touchdown catch by tight end Tripp Chandler, who spent most of the season injured. UGA 7 and GaTech 0. In the bottom of the first quarter, UGA quarterback Matthew Stafford threw an interception–right into the arms of GaTech safety Morgan Burnett, who then ran thirty-five yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The extra point snap wasn’t executed well (due to the rain perhaps?). An improv two-point conversion was not successful. UGA 7 and GaTech 6.

The second quarter started with a TD for UGA thanks to wide receiver Mohammed Massaquoi. UGA 14 and GaTech 6. Running back Lucas Cox took the Yellow Jackets into the end zone on their next possession. A deliberate two-point conversion was foiled. UGA 14 and GaTech 12. It’s not my imagination. On UGA’s next go, Mohammed Massaquoi threw the ball in search of wide receiver AJ Green (the pass was incomplete). And then, Massaquoi swept himself forty-nine yards into the end zone. Bulldogs 21 and Yellow Jackets 12. The bottom of the second quarter ended with another Massaquoi TD. Going into halftime, UGA 28 and Yellow Jackets 12. Actually, it literally ended with GaTech quarterback Josh Nesbitt throwing an interception; the ball was grabbed by safety Reshad Jones.

Whatever happened in the Yellow Jackets locker room during halftime–a thundering speech by head coach Paul Johnson or just an austere stare down–worked very well. The third quarter started with GaTech running back Jonathan Dwyer running sixty yards into the end zone for a touchdown!!! He also made it into the end zone for a two-point conversion. Bulldogs 28 and Yellow Jackets 20. GaTech, capitalizing on their newfound electrifying umph, increased their points with a TD by running back Roddy Jones. Another two-point conversion was effectively attempted–the goal line broken by Nesbitt. Both teams tied with 28 points. UGA, on their next possession, had the ball for one play. Bulldogs running back Richard Samuel was ferrying the ball back, and as he was tackled, the prolate spheroid fell out from his grasp. GaTech recovered the fumbled ball; Jonathan Dwyer ran it into the end zone one play later. The extra point kick was good. The Yellow Jackets took the lead with 35 to 28 points. GaTech kicker Scott Blair sent out a field goal towards the bottom of the third quarter. Yellow Jackets 38 and Bulldogs 28. The third-quarter-ending play had UGA running back Knowshon Moreno hobbling off the field (but he was able to go back in in the fourth quarter).

The fourth quarter started with Moreno cramming the ball into the end zone. GaTech 38 and UGA 35. Jaybo Shaw had to step in for Josh Nesbitt when the game clock was about nine minutes. Two plays later, Nesbitt was back in the game. Roddy Jones increased GaTech’s lead with a forty-five yard rushing TD halfway through the fourth quarter. C’etait magnifique! Yellow Jackets 45 and Bulldogs 35. UGA was not about to let their rivalry victory reign slip from under their chins. Aided by successful connections between Stafford and Moreno, the Bulldogs got to the red zone and AJ Green put the ball into the end zone. GaTech 45 and UGA 42. Final score. FINAL SCORE. For the first time since he’s been head coach at UGA, Mark Richt and his Bulldogs lost to the Yellow Jackets.

Observations & Miscellania:

1. Craig Bolerjack and Trev Albert something or another provided commentary.

2. Both teams were on the field before the game, emulating mosh pit frenzy.

3. Brief shots of the spectators revealed a lot of red.

4. The Yellow Jackets wore white jerseys, the Bulldogs red.

5. The interception that Matthew Stafford was the best thing that could’ve happened to UGA. The Bulldogs offense was on fire after that move.

6. One of the UGA fans wore a Grinch mask and some plaid.

7. Product Placement break: Matthew Stafford holding a Coke cup on the sidelines in the top of the third quarter (after the play where one of GaTech’s defensive players had to hobble slowly off the field). I guess a Gatorade cup wouldn’t have matched his uniform.

8. By the bottom of the fourth quarter, the offensive Bulldogs’ white pants had turned greenish-gray on account of contact with the turf. The defensive Yellow Jackets’ white pants, on the other hand, were still quite white.

9. Four minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, each team had only one time-out. UGA used their last time-out with ninety seconds left. GaTech took their final time-out with forty-eight seconds on the clock.

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Pic cred: google image search

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Oh, and New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself last night. He’ll live.

Virginia Tech won against Virginia.

College Football: the Yellow Jackets resin-ate the Hurricanes

…Because resin, like amber, is pretty and sweet but sticky. You touch it, you get stuck in it.

I “watched” Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets host a puddin’ flinging bash against the University of Miami Hurricanes via ESPN’s Gamecast function. I had planned on seeing it at a restaurant but Lady Luck had other ideas. There was no televised aesthetic for me tonight. I suppose what I experienced could be called the “ticker tape/news ticker aesthetic.”

The Yellow Jackets packed the first half with punch with 24 points to the Hurricanes’ 3. GaTech’s numbers came from a field goal in the first quarter and three touchdowns (in the second quarter), courtesy of defensive end Michael Johnson (who intercepted Miami quarterback Robert Marve) and running back Jonathan Dwyer (who TD’d twice). The Yellow Jackets boosted their score with a field goal in the top of the third quarter. The Hurricanes put their first TD on the board not long afterwards (Marve threw to tight end Dedrick Epps). The Yellow Jackets replied with a touchdown, a one yard rush by quarterback Josh Nesbitt. On their next possession, they did it again in the bottom of the third quarter with running back Lucas Cox’s thirty-two yards of endzone-seeking. GaTech 41 and Miami 10.

The fourth quarter took off with Miami recovering a fumbled ball that GaTech quarterback Jaybo Shaw couldn’t quite sandwich. That turnover led to a touchdown for the Hurricanes; wide receiver Leonard Hankerson caught Jacory Harris’s thirteen-yard pass. A two-point conversion was no good. Yellow Jackets 41 and Hurricanes 16 in the top of the fourth. Miami rose up another notch with a TD by wide receiver Kayne Farquharson in the bottom of the fourth quarter. The Hurricanes’ first half was probably an experience that they would like to forget. Although they brought out a stronger second impression, their gusto ultimately could not overcome that of the Yellow Jackets. 41 to 23. Final score.

Observations & Miscellania:

1. Robert Marve quarterbacked in the first quarter and some of the second quarter. Jacory Harris took over in the top of the second after Marve was intercepted. Marve resumed QB work just after the middle point of the second quarter. He also started in the third. Jacory Harris was back in the fourth.

2. There are times when I watch football games (college and pro) on the tellyvision and the pacing of the game-play seem slow. The news ticker approach lacks the audiovisual component of a televised game, but time ostensibly passes by faster. I suppose it’s because there aren’t any commercials to watch or mute. My eyes are also fixed on the lower left part of the internet window. While it’s true that my love of football is predominantly informed by the televised game, my enthusiasm does not diminish just because I cannot see or hear the game-play. Whenever GaTech got into the red zone, I’d shot the usual “come on! get a touchdown!” I think the main difference in viewing experience is the processing of suspense. The game information is updated in real time but cannot be posted until the play has already happened. So the “live” casting is, from a certain angle, watching the past.

3. For a group of GaTech seniors, today’s victory will go down in their personal histories. Four wins in a row against Miami?

Get game summary, stats, and play-by-play here.

Check out this article for some factoids such as what Thursday Night football means for the Yellow Jackets.

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I saw some game footage on local news stations.  Lucas Cox and Jonathan Dwyer–wowness.  Apparently T.I. was at the game cheering on the Yellow Jackets.

College Football: GaTech chicken rotisserie skewers Miss State

A brilliant Saturday breeze in Atlanta, GA. The Mississippi State Bulldogs stepped into the eastern time zone to thumb-war with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Televised on my local CW station, the first quarter ended with two touchdowns by the Yellow Jackets, thanks to running back Embry Peeples and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas. Mississippi State’s running back Anthony Dixon made a swift seventy-yard run towards the end zone soon thereafter but he stopped eight yards before the goal line. There was also a missed field goal. Yellow Jackets quarterback Jaybo Shaw put the ball in the end zone himself halfway through the second quarter. GaTech 21 and Miss State 0. With fewer than forty seconds on the clock, Bulldogs quarterback Wesley Carroll nearly threw a touchdown pass, but Yellow Jackets safety Morgan Burnett intercepted the ball at the one-yard line. Beautifully executed.

The third quarter began with Miss State’s possession. GaTech’s turn started at less than ideal field position (their own eleven yard line). After the snap, Yellow Jackets running back Jonathan Dwyer ran eighty-eight yards for a TD. Bellisimo. GaTech 28. Miss State 0. The Yellow Jackets gained three more points with a field goal. The fourth quarter upped the shine for the Yellow Jackets as running back Greg Smith made a forty-five yard TD run. GaTech 38 and Miss State 0.

That is until nearly the midpoint of the fourth quarter. Miss State’s running back Robert Elliot made a touchdown. Nevertheless, final score GaTech 38 and Miss State 7.

Observations & Miscellania:

1. John Heisman was head coach at Georgia Tech from 1904 to 1915, as the commentators mentioned seconds before the end of the second quarter.

2. GaTech’s third quarter field goal could’ve been a TD by Jaybo Shaw, but a chop block penalty nullified it.

3. In the fourth quarter, the commentators discussed briefly the Yellow Jackets’ redesigned uniforms. The gold is a bit more yellow (to me). Russell Athletic provided the costuming. Here’s what the Yellow Jackets looked like before.

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