Mid-Week Updates

A lots been goin on since Saturday's beating of the doggies on their turf. Yesterday was actually a big day in the state of Georgia, and today was a big day for our Jackets.

Saxby wins Runoff

Thank goodness for that. Chambliss (unofficially) beats Martin by a 57%-43% margin, though Martin conceded last night. Big win in terms of the dems not having a super-majority in the Senate (which is bad for everybody).

Braves Trade for Pitching

Last night, the Bravos picked up former ChiSox starting pitcher Javier Vasquez in a six-player deal. To acquire Vasquez, we gave up SP Jo-Jo Reyes (who was good, but never consistent) and SS Brent Lillibridge (a solid prospect). With the recent loss of Mike Hampton to the Astros, Vasquez looks to bolster our rotation for next year, which is still the biggest concern of the offseason.

Paul Johnson - 2008 ACC Coach of the Year

Huge congrats to CPJ for this award. It's Tech's first ACC COTY since O'Leary won it back in 2000. CPJ got 46 of the 67 possible votes, and looks to have an early edge on the national competition.

Jonathan Dwyer - 2008 ACC Player of the Year

Big, big congrats to the big man in the backfield for the Jackets for picking up some more hardware. Dwyer is by far the most deserving player in the conference, picking up 12 TDs on a total of 1328 yards (no other ACC back had more than 1000), including nine 100+ yard games. Dwyer is the first player to win this honor since CJ did it in 2006. This guy's just a sophomore, and will only get better and grow in CPJ's system. Let's just hope he stays after next year.

ACC/Big 10(11) Challenge continues tonight as Tech hosts Penn State

The Jackets (4-0) welcome the Nittany Lions (6-1) to the ThrillerDome tonight for game 7 of the ACC/Big 10 Challenge. The ACC is 9-0 all time in this challenge, but the conferences are tied as of last night at 3 wins a piece (Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Wisconsin have all won). Tech beat PSU 77-73 a couple years ago at AMC; the only active Tech player from that game was Zach Peacock. The Jackets are 1-1 all time against the Nittany Lions on the court. Tech looks to go 5-0 for the first time since that 06-07 season.

Going Bowling - Close to Home

Last night, Tech officially received an invitation to play in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Dec. 31, 7:30 @ the GA Dome). This is big for the Jackets, who have had to travel to the West Coast for many of the past bowl games (Humanitarian in 07, Emerald in 05, Humanitarian in 03, Silicon Valley in 02, Seattle in 01).

Our opponent is TBD, but will likely be either LSU or South Carolina. LSU fans are already sweating over a matchup against CPJ's UCOBS, and rightfully so. The Bayou Bengals are giving up 326 yards and 26 points per game, but have struggled mightily against the big boys (27 to Bama, 31 to Ole Miss, 51 to UF, 52 to UGAy). South Carolina, however, is only allowing 288 yards and 20 points per game, good for 11th and 27th in the nation, respectively. Keep in mind though that the Fighting Spurriers got bombed by the only real option team they faced in Florida, giving up 56 to Urban Meyer's squad (that's 8 TDs, folks).

If we are to in fact play LSU on New Year's Eve, it will be an interesting matchup from a personal perspective. I have four relatives who are LSU alumni, and two really good friends who are current students. Those in my family who aren't LSU alums still cheer for the Tigers, like I have most of my life (not to worry boys and girls, I'll be rooting for the guys in White and Gold and would be very happy for us to get a W over the Tigers). So this game could create a rift of sorts in my family; should be interesting to see. I'm sure I'll never hear the end of it if LSU beats us, and there might be some extended silence if the Jackets win.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to Tech's bowl game. I'm not sure anyone could stop our offense - only outscore us. With the CFA Bowl being 4 weeks from today, we'll have plenty of time to rest up, get healthy, and prepare for our opponent. Bowl practice starts next Friday for the Jackets.