Good:
Zero penalties
Studs on O in King, Haynes, Singleton
Offense can play with anyone

Bad:
Special Teams
Dropped TD passes

Ugly:
Defense across the board
Tackling
Linebacker and secondary play, especially safety
Punting down 10 with 6:45 left, soft mentality

Thoughts:
The one decision Key made that I was dumbfounded by was keeping Thacker. He is a scooter protege.
Quit talking about toughness and then coach and play soft.
People griping about DL need to watch the LB and S play. It’s way worse.
Thank goodness for the O. King playing great and we have hope only because of them.

Hey All,

Had two items to discuss, both related to ole piss game tailgating, so decided to combine them into one.

First off, need a new GT Tailgate Canopy tent and can't find one anywhere! Looked at Dicks, Walmart, Amazon, Academy, the bookstore, and ramblinwreckstore. Can anyone point me at one that will arrive before the Ole Miss Game?!

Second, wanted to share what I've learned about tailgating in the grove for any interested parties:

• There's a "running of the gumps" at 7:30pm on Friday to get a spot in the grove. I would reccomend getting there at least a few hours early if you can. From what I can tell, if you don't get there early on Friday and line up you won't get a spot if you're setting up a tent. If you just want to walk around/hang out you don't have to screw with any of that.
• The cops actually seal off the grove on Thursday night/Friday morning to make sure no one gets a spot before 7:30pm on Friday.
• Once you set up a tent, the spot is officially yours. They take this shit very seriously, to the point where if someone tries to take your spot you can get the cops involved.
• DON'T stake your tent into the ground. You will get thrown out of the grove for this apparently.
• You can either chain up your stuff or pay a college kid to hang out with all your shit overnight. Personally I am just going to leave a shitty folding table and a few chairs, I don't think anyone will go anywhere with that.
• It's technically illegal to drink but no one will give you any issue as long as you keep everything in a solo cup and don't act the fool.
  • Your alcohol must be transported into the grove in a cooler.
  • It's super illegal to have beer (and wine) out, even if it's in a kookie. If you don't want the cops to heckle you, pour out your beer cans into a solo and then dispose of the can immediately.
  • It's ok to have liquor on tables/on display for some reason? Idk don't ask me
• Some folks say to lock up your cooler because then technically the cops can't search it, but most people have said they won't search it unless you're causing trouble.
• Parking is a HUGE pain in the ass, Your best bet if you're not setting up a spot is just park at one of the far away lots with a shuttle. There's allegedly some free parking within a mile of the stadium but I'm guessing that will be full by 10am or earlier.

Ok that's it, anyone else got any tips?

Kelly just gave me this idea in the mailbag thread. What other potential realistic candidates would have intrigued you at the time. Here are the most recent I can think of, and by all means please provide more pre-Chain Gailey options for us to consider...

2008 - David Cutcliffe
2008 - Rick Nieuheisel
2019 - Jeff Monken
2019 - Willie Fritz
2019 - Ken Whisenhunt

To keep this discussion level-headed, Deion is not a listed choice

It's late and I'm tired.

Besides beating the dead "defense sucks" horse, here are a few other observations of mine from Ole Miss and a few things we need to learn from and incorporate:

First off the Grove. Holy crap. Words can't describe it accurately enough. If you have a chance to go, do it.

Stadium Experience:
-Getting in was easy. Little to no security really.
-PA system and announcer are good. They had it bumping in there and got the stadium loud on 3rd downs even if the crowd wasn't very loud. It was never ear piercing but it was loud, sounded good, and they kept it playing until we were nearly snapping the ball. I don't know what the rule is on that but they were playing music well down near 10 secs left on the play clock many times. I know we have a lot of traditionalists that like the band chords on 3rd downs and what not, and I do too, but that music is definitely loud and makes it hard for offensive calls.
-They had a DJ set up in the corner of the student section...lol... been there. The one thing I found weird about that was they had like an actual DJ booth set up for him with bright flashing lights and all that were probably near eye level for the QBs and they never cut them off.
-Fans all around us were extremely nice, even when we were trying to make the comeback.

Home cooking:
Man why is it everywhere seems to benefit from home cooking besides us? I know we had zero penalties in the game, but very few penalties as a team so far has been a trend this season. We must be better at teaching how to hold inside and not get caught. Either way, there was still a LOT of home cooking evident to me:

-First off the chains. That was the biggest horse-shit I have ever seen in my life. It happened 3x, all on GT drives when we had just gotten a few chunk plays in a row. The chain crew does not travel with the actual refs nor are they a part of the official crew. IIRC, those are "SEC officials" but hired by the school. They likely have the same crew every home game, and the chains themselves are owned by the school.

-PI on Zamari waved off. Both Z and Singleton had hands on each other but Z 100% grabbed and pulled Singleton not allowing him to get back to the back shoulder throw. It's one thing for a no-call, but to throw the flag on that and then pick it up?

-Hold on Seither on the fake punt. Wow, how did they miss that? I've seen a bunch of arguments about "it's allowed in the first 5 yards." No it isn't. Legal hand contact, along with bumping, etc., is allowed in the first 5 yards, but not grabbing and pulling. That isn't allowed anywhere. PI can't be called there but defensive holding is the call.

-Ole Miss snapped the ball 2 seconds after play clock expired once. It was near the goal line and they ended up turning it over on downs anyway but the play clock expired for nearly 2 seconds (I am not exaggerating) before the snap. A flag was thrown, then it looked like they were discussing potential PI and I was about to be extremely livid if they called that but not the delay of game. Can't that be reviewed anyway? I certainly hope it would have been.

-Defensive substitutions. How long are the refs supposed to allow the defense to make a sub? Can there ever be a defensive delay of game when subbing after the offense subs? I know the rule is to allow them to get the correct personnel on the field, but OM did it as absolute slowly as possible all game. When they subbed on offense and we subbed on D, we were sprinting on and off the field. They still had plenty of time on the play clock after we made our sub and the ref turned the center loose. When we did it, their subs slowly jogged or even walked on/off and many times the play clock would be near 10 by the time the ref would turn our center loose. If there's no set time or rule, we need to take more advantage of this. Sub slower on defense when the offense does and cut their play clock down/give our guys a few extra seconds breather.

-King got hit sliding once and no call.

-Holding on Pettus in 4th quarter when we were down 7 only resulted in 8 yard of penalty. It was 2nd and 1 and happened directly at the LOS, next play was 2nd and 9. TV shows 2nd and 11 but look at where the ball is and where the 1st down marker is.

-Zamari hit on Rutherford was extremely early and 99% of time that's called as hit on a defenseless receiver.

-If Blaylock stepped OOB, late in the 4th, it was after 9 yards. They spotted it way short of that.

There were just numerous occasions of bad calls all slanted their way.

It makes zero sense.

Conner Weigman A&M - 74/105 - 909 yds, 8 TD/2 INT, 11 rush 69 yds 2 TD - QBR 92.8

Drake Maye UNC - 74/102 - 891 yds, 4 TD/4 INT, 28 rush 116 yds 1 TD - QBR 83.8

Haynes King GT - 68/102 - 910 yds, 9 TD/1 INT, 25 rush 95 yds 1 TD - QBR 74.5


WTF?

I was proud of Josh Taylor for at least running down the field ready to make a play after his first ever college rep 😆

THE FLATS – Season tickets for the 2023-24 Georgia Tech women’s basketball season are now on sale. Season ticket members are guaranteed the best seating locations for Georgia Tech’s exciting home schedule that features 16 games in McCamish Pavilion this season.

The upcoming season, the fifth under head coach Nell Fortner, officially tips-off on Nov. 6 against Coastal Carolina. Highlighting Tech’s home non-conference schedule is the inaugural ACC/SEC Women’s Basketball Challenge matchup against Florida on Nov. 29.

Additionally, a challenging nine-game ACC home slate features seven teams that reached postseason play a season ago, including NCAA Elite 8 teams, Louisville and Miami. Visiting McCamish Pavilion for ACC matchups this season will be: Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Virginia and Wake Forest. Dates and tip times for ACC and non-conference games will be announced later.

Under the direction of Fortner, the Yellow Jackets have made two NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons, including a run to the Sweet 16 in 2021. This season’s squad returns seven letterwinners, while adding six newcomers.

In addition to offering the maximum value and best seat locations, season ticket benefits also include:

• Priority post-season ticket access;
• Amazing fan experience;
• Ticket flexibility with the freedom to easily transfer tickets;
• Significant cost savings;
• Reserved and best seating locations.

Pricing

• Regular season tickets: $65 per seat
• Courtside seats: $150 per seat

To purchase season tickets, please click here or call the Georgia Tech Ticket Office at 888.TECH.TIX. Season ticket renewals are also available. The deadline for renewals is Friday, Sept. 29.

Buzzer Beaters
Fans will also have the option to purchase a Buzzer Beaters membership for just $35. Membership includes eight (8) pre-game Chalk Talks with snacks and beverages, locker room tour and an exclusive invitation to an open practice. Please click here to purchase a Buzzer Beaters membership.

Home Opponents in the 2023 Postseason

• Florida (Nov. 29) – WNIT Quarterfinals
• Georgia (Dec. 16) – NCAA Tournament Second Round
• Clemson (TBA) – WNIT Super 16
• Florida State (TBA) – NCAA Tournament First Round
• Louisville (TBA) – NCAA Tournament Elite 8
• Miami (TBA) – NCAA Tournament Elite 8
• Notre Dame (TBA) – NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
• North Carolina (TBA) – NCAA Tournament Second Round
• Wake Forest (TBA) – WNIT Second Round
  

Fun little time waster released today.

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His highlight tape is pretty good. I'd be curious to watch a full game and get a better idea of his game, but I like that he has an outside threat and isn't afraid to defend on the wing in his highlights. He says GT offered him on Wednesday.

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Smith landed an offer earlier this week from GT. He is a meat and potatoes big man, decent shot blocker, good footwork around the rim and a solid rebounder. He gets fouled a lot in the league he is playing in due to his size difference. He is in one of the big Chicago public leagues.

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You can see a bit of theme in these offers, long and athletic type forwards and posts. Souare is from West Africa just like Sacko and is very bouncy on his tape and long and lean. He could be anything from a 3 to a 5 on the court depending on how his body fills out.

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Chase is at Westminster Christian Academy in Huntsville, AL and he was offered by the previous staff, visited in December for a game (Clemson) and now was reoffered by Stoudamire's staff. He is Walter McCarty's son and Damon probably knows Walter because they played in the league at the same time and Walter was also a former Celtics assistant right before Stoudamire joined the staff there. He can fill it up. He is supposed to be going to IMG Academy now.

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Skilled big man, I don't know a ton about him yet.

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I don't know a ton about this kid, but he is local.

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This was a strange offer just because GT is really the first major program to jump in. George moved back to 2024 from 2023. His tape is very good, he appears to be a very skilled PG, he plays with Souare.

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2024/trent-perry-294756

Probably a little bit of a late offer here. I'll be curious to see if they can secure an OV.

I can probably do something at 9pm if people are interested. I just thought I'd throw it out there. I got an earlier flight home today making it possible.

Crazy. I had no idea SMU had this kind of bread.
“Many of the country’s powerhouse athletic programs lean on a small group of millionaires for investments. SMU has billionaires.”

Fire away for Monday

Please. Thanks Jbatt

We aren’t far. No matter the result.

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From perfect game: "Charlie Willcox is a 2025 RHP/1B/3B with a 6-3 205 lb. frame from Santa Rosa Beach, FL who attends South Walton HS. Recorded a 6.92 second 60-yard dash time. Large frame with plenty of athleticism and lots of room to fill out. Primary right-handed pitcher with a drop step into a leg lift above the belt. Coils over the back rubber with above average arm speed. Fastball has explosive carry up in the strike zone. Maintained velocity and garnered plenty of swings-and-misses with the fastball. Showed two distinct breaking balls with a curveball and a slider. Changeup is also a quality pitch that misses bats. Athletic profile really gives a huge ceiling on the mound. Switch hitter with a slightly open stance and a short stride into contact. Quickness to hands and good bat speed. Highest level two-way ability. Tremendous student."

I know there was a lot of mixed feeling about him being named the starter but the staff knew what they were doing. What’s more encouraging is that it was a close battle so when he’s gone we should be in good hands. Here’s some interesting stats on what King is on pace to do by years end.

Over 3,600 passing yards
36 TD’s
4 Ints’s
8.9 yards per completion
380 yards rushing
4 TD’s
only sacked 12 times


Just wanted to give some props to him but also the offense in general.

I don't have a pure lock this week, but I've got a few that I really like:

KState -3.5 vs. @ Mizzou
Vandy -4 vs. @ UNLV
L'Ville -10.5 vs Indy (@ neutral site Lucas Oil in Indianapolis)
Prime -23.5 vs. Colo State
GT/Ole Miss under 63.5
North Texas +4.5 vs @ La Tech
Wake -14 @ ODU
Ohio +2.5 vs. Iowa State

Thanks to our new sponsor Inteleca for helping bring back Q's Take my weekly look at things around GT and college sports from my vantage.




Normally I'd spend this time recapping last week's game, but South Carolina State was not very good and that could've easily been a bigger beat down. GT overmatched them all over the field and other than some tackling issues all I learned is Key has the team pretty locked in and they didn't screw around. I also liked seeing them give Aidan Birr a shot after Gavin Stewart missed another kick. I thought the team played pretty well given the weather delay as well.

This is going to come off with harshing everyone's buzz, but I want to set my expectations for this coming weekend before everyone gets too high ahead of kickoff.

So here comes a big old test in SEC territory away from Atlanta for Georgia Tech coach Brent Key and his staff facing Ole Miss. The Rebels pulled away late against Tulane in a back-and-forth affair last week. If you win in Oxford it is a huge step forward like leaping over a step in my opinion. I think at this point I'm looking for a competitive game and probably one more akin to the UGA game last year. Hanging with the Rebels and if you can position yourself and not make mistakes maybe you will have a chance to win the game.

This is not a great matchup for GT on either side of the ball and I'm very concerned about the Ole Miss run game against Tech's defense that struggled against an option team on Saturday in BDS and still has issues tackling in space against WRs. Lane Kiffin knows how to find matchups and really to this point in the year GT has not been tested vertically much and that is a secondary concern.

Key like Coach Johnson has given fans hope in games where they are massive underdogs, but I'm also saying this is the opposite of the SC State. This is a game on paper where GT is overmatched at multiple spots across the field. Ole Miss is top 30 in scoring defense and 5th in scoring offense.

It will take a strong day from the Tech lines of scrimmage to have a shot in Oxford. The defensive line has shown in the past they are capable of playing better while the OL is still rebuilding. If the DL is short both Eddie Kelly and Sylvain Yondjouen that will be a problem. I have no knowledge of Eddie's status for this week, it just was a rough-looking injury with his reaction.

Key and his staff are laying the groundwork to make these games more competitive both on the field now and in the future with recruiting and the portal, but if it gets pear-shaped I would not be shocked either. This could easily be the UNC game last year or the FSU game last year.

So just keep this in mind with a game that should've just been outright canceled years ago when the Rebs were afraid to face the TO under CPJ.

As Key likes to say, it is a process and they will do whatever they can to come up with a plan to win the game, but as I like to say sometimes you can be overmatched and I really dislike this matchup for this team right now. Take it as a warning and not a buzz kill.

The states of North and South Carolina released their rosters for the Shrine Bowl today. All three of Georgia Tech’s commits from South Carolina made it-

DT Marcus Downs
RUSH Jordan Boyd
DB Troy Stevenson
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Some interesting games relative to the ACC.

Louisville vs Indiana noon
Minnesota at UNC 3:30
VT at Rutgers 3:30
Pitt at WV 7:30

Team Notes

· Georgia Tech fell to 1-2 on the season, while No. 17/19 Ole Miss moved to 3-0.

· Georgia Tech fell to 2-4 all-time against Ole Miss with its fourth-straight loss to the Rebels, dating back to 1971. The Yellow Jackets’ last win in the series was a 24-7 win in the 1953 Sugar Bowl, which clinched the 1952 national championship for the Jackets.

· Georgia Tech has lost eight-straight games against opponents from the Southeastern Conference, with its last win over an SEC team coming in a 33-18 win over Kentucky in the 2016 TaxSlayer Bowl.

· Georgia Tech committed no penalties in a game for only the eighth time in school history (first time since Sept. 3, 2015 vs. Alcorn State).

· Georgia Tech’s 11 third-down conversions (11-of-20) are tied for the 16th-most in school history.

· Georgia Tech’s 17-play 90-yard drive in the second quarter that resulted in a 22-yard field goal was Tech’s longest scoring drive in terms of plays since a 17-play, 74-yard drive that resulted in a 21-yard field goal in a 33-7 win over North Carolina on Sept. 30, 2017.

· Georgia Tech held Ole Miss to 251 passing yards, 148 yards below the 399 yards through the air that the Rebels were averaging this season, which ranked No. 4 nationally. However, Ole Miss rushed for 299 yards, 183 more than its season average of 116 rushing yards coming in to the game.



Individual Notes

· r-So. Haynes King completed 28 passes on 42 attempts for 307 yards and two touchdowns. The 28 completions are tied for the fourth-most in Georgia Tech single-game history and are tied for the third-most completions without an interception in school history. Both are the most since A.J. Suggs also completed 28 passes without an INT vs. Maryland on Oct. 27, 2002).

· With his 15-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter, Fr. WR Eric Singleton Jr.’s has a touchdown catch in each of his first three collegiate games.

· Singleton’s five receptions and 97 receiving yards were both career highs (prev.: three receptions and 69 receiving yards last Saturday vs. South Carolina State).

· Jr. DB LaMiles Brooks matched a career high with nine tackles (prev.: vs. Virginia – Oct. 20, 2022).

· r-Jr. DL D’Quan Douse set a career high with eight tackles (prev.: seven at Virginia Tech – Nov. 5,