Reading the palpable pain of so many about yesterday’s latest home defeat after all we have been through these past 4 miserable years is understandable. If we do not pull an upset or two going forward this year, and if my quick check of our historical record is correct, this will be first such streak of five straight losing seasons ever.
Ever.
And only once before have we had four losing seasons, and that was 1929-1932.
So squarely stated, we are in the midst of arguably the worst stretch of football in our school’s history. And this is happening while the hated illiterates to the East are enjoying their best stretch ever.
You can take those objective facts and mix them into a vat of hopeless despair and conclude we might as well give up.
Or, we can take a collective breath and take stock of where we truly are. Perspective.
The experiment of the prior football coach and AD was a disaster. I suspect we all can agree on that. But, I would argue that we are now removed from that time.
Initially, judging Brent Key on a body of work of last season and the first 7 games of this season is premature at best. Those who like him and feel we have the right guy have a lot to point to starting with comparisons like the Ole Miss game of last year on our home field versus the Ole Miss away game of this year. The same is true with multiple others on our schedule even during his brief tenure.
We have gone from historic home losses and brutal margins of loss during the prior coaching regime to playing pretty much everyone close (except Bowling Green- I don’t know why those things happen but I also remember Paul Johnson’s 8 win first year team barely skated by Mighty Gardner- Webb, 10-7, avoiding what arguably would have been the worst home loss in Tech history had it happened).
To give the other viewpoint its due, those who are down on our coach have some things to point to including clock management, inconsistency, a regressing Haynes King, and the aforementioned Bowling Green.
Still, for a bit of historical perspective, we have had four coaches since the sainted Bobby Dodd who rebuilt the program and enjoyed success- Bill Curry, Bobby Ross, George O’Leary and Paul Johnson. Their records through the first 15 games were Curry- (2-13), Ross (3-12), O’Leary (7-8), Johnson (11-4). Brent Key is 7-8.
I would argue that the task that Brent Key has faced is much more akin to what Curry and Ross encountered. Both came in at extremely low points. O’Leary admittedly inherited a disaster too, but in my opinion it also was more a culture disaster than lack of talent, facilities, etc, being just a few years removed from a National Championship. Even the ornery genius of Paul Johnson benefited from inheriting a very solid program that had seen multiple consecutive bowl teams.
Having said this, trust me, I was as aggravated as anyone yesterday. I am sick of losing.
But, as with Curry, Ross and O’Leary, the first challenge was to get back to playing every game close, winning some and being relevant to every team we face. Many coaches like Collins never get to that point. With Collins, we probably had one good win (UNC) in 3 and 1/4 years, and we were routinely blown out and humiliated by good teams.
Brent Key has made a good start at stopping that. Now, like Curry, Ross, and O’Leary, he has a young team that demonstrates frustrating inconsistency (turnovers being the worst and most destructive as Kelly has noted). All but Johnson needed three full years to get things turned around, and win consistently against good teams.
So, we have a young coach and the jury is out on him for many. I personally am a fan, but the most anyone can fairly say now is it is too early to know the outcome. Those who are drawing these dispositive conclusions of failure and spouting negativity apparently would have fired Curry, Ross and O’Leary by the 15th game of their tenures.
Now to address the other issues that are the source of such despair on this board.
NIL-
Tech was later to the game but now is actually very much in the game. While we do not have a billionaire bankrolling extremes, we are competitive in the ACC. If you look at the roster, we have a number who came to us through the portal who were sought by others and who are showing ability. And this time last year, the Tech Way was just getting started and still made a critical difference with limited time. This year, with everyone’s support, it will be better (and, it could really use broader support— sign up).
Bottom line— could we use a billionaire like the guy in Miami whose paramount philanthropic goal is football? Yes, I guess that would be nice. But, while we are not where we would all like to be with money to buy every phenom out there, we are competitive in our market. Those who claim we are somehow destitute are wrong.
Overall finances-
The limits we face due to the stadium and facilities debt load are well known. That hurts us and is a challenge to fix. However, the biggest issue, as all know, is the TV situation with the ACC. We, of course, are not alone in that regard. We could sell out BDS and the deficit with the SEC and Big Ten still would be there. Just ask FSU and Clemson.
In looking to the near future, the abject despair by some is not warranted.
The ACC is not (entirely) stupid and trying to fix the gap. There is a lot going on outside of our control. We need to focus on what we can control.
We have an excellent AD, and you can see the process. Indeed, I am amazed at how we never seem to give ourselves credit for the intense loyalty of our alumni. In the middle of the pandemic and with a controversial coach who was flaming out, Tech raised over $125 million dollars for the new Edge building, locker room, and other facility improvements. The new capital campaign will help more. Few schools could have accomplished what we did.
We will soon have a state of the art Athletic Center second to none, and J Batt and his team are fully focused on the stadium. It needs a major revamp, and they understand that. I will be surprised if folks are not impressed with what they have coming down the road.
A financial commitment of the magnitude it will take to revamp the whole BDS complex cannot happen overnight. Rational fans know that and will give them the chance to execute on their vision and plan.
Attendance-
For those of us who recall the Navy game in 1980 and the barely 17k who showed up that day, everything is relative. We had 35k yesterday who made some noise. We still have a base despite all we have endured. We just need to win consistently for a couple of years. That we still have the fans we have, in and of itself, is sort of amazing and a statement we have a significant core that really cares. The Vandys, Dukes and Northwesterns have crowds in the teens often.
Any school in a major market like Atlanta and who loses will struggle with attendance — Miami, SMU, BC, UCLA, Pitt to name a few. We typically still draw better than any of them. Give ourselves and our fans a little credit.
Tech is well liked by a lot people in Atlanta. I think we all know a fair number of sidewalk fans and our own alumni who will come back, but we have got to win. “Win Baby,” as the man says, and we will resolve this problem.
Perspective-
So in summary, we can all agree we are worn down and utterly exhausted with losing. And yes, it is a dangerous time. College athletics is in a sea change. We cannot take a lot more of what we have experienced these past few years.
But, there are schools flat on their back with no hope. We are not one of them. We have solid resources and are deploying them in terms of facilities, NIL, institutional commitment and financial support. Many of us think we have the right coach who is making hard fought progress in a short time and already has gotten us to being a tough out for those who play us, as opposed to a blow out win. That is progress and should not be ignored.
For every season since 1968, except for three years away, first as a young boy, then as a student, followed by the cycle of life as a young man, middle aged and now moving to the despised elder status, I have made my way to the old stadium for most every home game during those 55 years. I have seen some great times and awful times and plenty in between. Looking back, in every instance when we seemed at rock bottom, with a little perspective, you could see help was on the way and actually not so far away.
I hope our fans will keep perspective and even keep the faith. There is a basis for reasonable optimism and no basis, I submit, for relentless negativity and surrender. Nothing is certain, but it is not Pollyanna to believe we can turn this around — Well…nothing is certain except our loyal fans who have come this far will not give up and will be there on Saturday night to hopefully see another surprise from our team and a great win.
THWG,
Marietta Jacket
georgiatech.rivals.com
