Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia), which pits Georgia Tech against LSU.
Overview/Matchup: Georgia Tech had a heck of a season under Paul Johnson in 2008 and they get rewarded with an upper tier ACC bowl. They get really rewarded because they don't even have to leave campus to play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Les Miles and LSU do, however, and there should be some pretty stout pressure on the Tigers to pull of a postseason dubya here, what with fans questioning Miles' ability to generate enough offense in the bayou.
Hotels: For luxury accommodation close to the stadium The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta is your best bet. The Westin Peachtree has a higher rating, but its sleek design borders on frigid and leaves many guests feeling more like they've entered a bank than a hotel. In the mid-range category the Embassy Suites Centennial Olympic Park is a few hundred yards from the Georgia Dome and offers excellent service for the price. The open atrium and waterfall don't hurt either. For the budget-conscious traveler the Holiday Inn Atlanta Downtown is the best hotel in the area that offers rooms for less than US$100 per night.
Restaurants: After your team wins the big game, or maybe before if you're feeling confident, head to Bone's for a thick, perfectly grilled steak. The prices are steep but the food is worth it. If you're staying in downtown Atlanta, and you need a reasonably priced meal that will fill you up, look no further than Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's Chicken and Waffles.
The situation: Georgia Tech is down 20-17 against Virginia Tech with 2:24 left. GT has two timeouts. It's fourth and seven. Paul Johnson goes for it, Josh Nesbitt is sacked, and the announcers question his decision.
After a fairly unpalatable morning set of games, we had some intriguing matchups this afternoon; Georgia, East Carolina, Oregon, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech -- the latter by default because the ACC is horrible -- all had BCS aspirations heading into the third week of college football.
Four of those teams still do, but it wasn't for a lack of trying to fail.
Georgia needed a last second interception by Chris Smelley (Dugout Name and license plate: SMLLYCOX) to overcome what really is looking like a disturbingly stout South Carolina defense (it wasn't just NC State, we swear!). The 'Cocks held Knoshown Moreno to just 79 yards on 20 carries even though he punched one in, and Matthew Stafford was hardly effective. But the Dogs held on and their BCS chances prevail.
Exciting recap I know, but that's because I spent most of the afternoon watching a shoddy YouTube-like feed of East Carolina squaring off against Tulane. ECU AD Terry Holland had oh-so-generously offered to play the game in Greenville as Ike, et al approached the coast (what a guy, huh?) and Tulane oh-so-obviously declined the invite.
Remember Joe Hamilton? Diminuitive quarterback par excellence at Georgia Tech a few years back. Heisman Trophy runner-up. The last known relevant Georgia Tech season was played under his command. Then he disappeared into football obscurity because the No Fun League has no need for guys that good.
Anyway.
Hit and run DUI, folks. Aaaaaaand our football God returns just in time to beat a hasty retreat.
Former Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton resigned from his position at the school Wednesday, a day after he was charged with marijuana possession, driving under the influence of alcohol and hit-and-run.
The charges came about a week after the 31-year-old was hired as the school's assistant director of player personnel.
"Today, I sadly accepted Joe's resignation," said Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson.
YouTube of the good times below (on the right side of the law) in lieu of further commentary.
When Paul Johnson was hired at Georgia Tech, he assured fans, players, recruits and the media -- and anyone else who'd list -- that he'd adjust his triple option offense to the ACC and throw the ball. With the departure of yet another Yellow Jacket wide receiver Johnson may not have any choice. Even if he wanted to throw the ball, there's no one to catch it.
The latest pass catcher to leave, James Johnson, didn't blame the new offense as his reason for giving up his final year of eligibility. He simply said he was just tired of football. Tech's depth chart at wide receiver now includes one freshman, two sophomores and one walk-on.
Johnson's offense only averaged 5.6 completions a game last season. Yet, the Middies scored at will averaging 39.9 points per game and more than 440 yards of offense per game. If Johnson can get his new QB and running backs to pick up his system quickly, there is no reason why Georgia Tech can't compete in the ACC without throwing. However, the necessisity of running in Year 1, will probably undermine his ability to recruit WRs and passing QBs down the road. But no one will care if he wins...and beats Georgia.
With the Meineke Car Care Bowl fast approaching, I sat down with Boston College Fan House Blogger Bill Maloney to discuss the upcoming matchup between Boston College and Navy. You can check back later at the Boston College Fan House for the second part of our Q&A, in which I address Bill's questions about Navy football. For more Boston College news, including all your coaching updates, you can also check Bill's Boston College Football Blog Eagle in Atlanta.
First and foremost. By now everyone surely knows (I hope) that Tom O'Brien, who coached the Eagles to seven straight Bowl wins, has moved on to NC State and will not coach in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. What, if anything, changes with interim head coach Frank Spaziani at the helm?
I don't expect any real changes. The rest of the staff is in place through the bowl game and I doubt they'll use this time for new looks or twists (there probably busy looking for homes in Raleigh. What may be different, and will be easy to determine early on, is the team's motivation and emotions. If the assistants don't care, since they are moving on, will the team mirror that attitude? Or will the players come out fighting with something to prove to their former coach? I expect the latter.
I've had the opportunity to watch a number of Boston College games this year, and I think the first word that comes to mind, for me anyway, is inconsistency. They've posted some great wins over the likes of Wake, Clemson, Maryland, and BYU, but have also lost to major disappointments in NC State and Miami. What do you attribute this to?
I attribute it to O'Brien, really. The team is a reflection of its coach and O'Brian's steady but conservative and unemotional style lead to this team coming out flat for the Miami and NC State game. Both teams were bad. Both games were winnable and BC tripped up with the classic O'Brien Achilles heals (defensive letdowns, special team's limitations and stubborn play calling). O'Brian's consistency was a big selling point to NC State. But that even keep approach can be very frustrating. At this point most BC fans found it to be a limitation.
They say that things like this are bound to happen. That in all manner events, whether on or off the football field, all things must eventuall come to an end. For Fisher DeBerry and the Air Force football community, the dynasty built during the 1980s and 1990s has come to a sudden halt following a third consecutive losing season, an event which culminated with the retirment of the 68 year old living legend and the beginning of a new Service Academy football era.
And just as Rome did not fall by the hands of the Visigoths alone, so to can we trace the fall of Fisher DeBerry's Air Force program to a multitude of different causes and events. And while one can dispute the label of "fallen," one certainly cannot find argument in the fact that the Falcons of today are not the Falcons of five, ten, fifteen, or even twenty years ago. The possible explanations for this are many, and in reality we will come to find that it was probably a combination of both internal and external factors which finally slowed DeBerry's Juggernaut. From the advent of a more competitive Mountain West to the changing face of the Air Force Academy's administration, these factors finally came to a head in 2003, which, not by coincidence alone, was also the year another Service Academy asserted itself onto a winning stage. But for the sake of argument, I wish to focus in on only one of the many aspects that contributed to the recent downswing of the Air Force football program, and with it, DeBerry's career; The advent of Paul Johnson's resurgent Navy Football program.
For Navy fullback Adam Ballard an injury plagued season came to head on Saturday when, on his second carry of the day, a defender rolled over his right ankle, in the process fracturing his right fibula. My own medical opinion (which consist of one Anatomy/Physiology course during my Junior year of High School) says that this isn't as serious as a fractured tibia, but will nevertheless keep him out well into the off-season. My very own Mother, who is something of an expert in the field of all that medicine/injury stuff, confirmed that Ballard may be back for spring practice at the earliest. That means Eric Kettani and Matt Hall, who have been providing quality depth all season, will get the chance to carve up Boston College's defense on the 30th. Ballard was scheduled to have surgery earlier today.
Ballard told the Annapolis Capital he actually fractured his left ankle two weeks ago against Eastern Michigan, as opposed to the original report of an high ankle sprain. He also said that he "figured I could play with one broken ankle, but playing with two is a little tough." Fine words of wisdom were never spoken.
On a completely separate and unrelated note, I'd thought I'd point you all in the direction of the latest Polls. Navy receiver four votes in the latest AP Poll, ranked ahead of the likes of South Carolina and UCLA. The Mids also received a full two votes in the coaches poll, which on first inspection is actually double what Maryland received. And that, my fellow fans, deserves a much spirited "Hoozah!"
College football is starting to show Paul Johnson some love. Once thought of as an old school southern coach with an offense that would never work on the highest levels of college football, Navy's head coach has been snagging some serious attention lately in regards to a number of Head Coaching vacancies. Already he's been mentioned as a possible candidate for both the Alabama and North Carolina State jobs, and even made an appearance on the Jim Rome show, in which he refused to discuss hypotheticals.
On Tuesday, Annapolis Capital reporter Bill Wagner asked Johnson about being a candidate for the Alabama job, to which Johnson responded with a matter of fact "Wow." When asked to elaborate about what he thought of the opportunity, Johnson clarified where his focus was.
"I don't think much about it. I haven't thought about it at all. I'm thinking about trying to get ready to play Army."
That's not surprising, and any questions regarding whether Johnson stays or goes will not be addressed until after the season. One of Johnson's finest qualities as a Coach is the amount of focus he has for the next game, and amount of focus and intensity he demands from his players. I don't want to put words in Coach Johnson's mouth, but it seems to me that when he says there is nothing to discuss about the issue, there is really nothing to discuss. After the season however, well, then we'll talk.
A cataclysmic event might be something of an overstatement, but probably not by much. You see, after last night's loss to in-state rival East Carolina, North Carolina State fans are up in arms over the state of the program, its coaching staff, and (get this) Navy Coach Paul Johnson. Weird I know, but apparently the talk started some time ago, when it was apparent Chucky Chuck Amato was a horrible if not somewhat off-his-rocker Head Coach. It seems, from what I can gather, that some enterprising NC State fans started throwing Paul Johnson's name into the pool of potential replacements, despite the fact Johnson has several years left on his contract and no reason to leave a very good situation in Annapolis. The talk centers around Johnson's unique flexbone spread option offense, which (gasp) runs more then it passes. Obviously a school like NC State, with obvious National Title aspirations on the line, can't possibly think about hiring such a "gimmick" style offense. Finally, a voice of reason.
I DO NOT WANT THE NAVY HEAD COACH...LISTEN TO YOURSELVES...NAVY???????
WE NEED COWHER OR CHOW. NO ONE ELSE.
Um, that was harsh. I mean, this is only a Navy team which has had four consecutive winning seasons and two straight Bowl wins, but what do we know about football anyhow? The only thing scarier then this twisted and outdated logic is a conspicuously titled "Paul Johnson Lovefest" thread, which, open entering, is more akin to a Paul Johnson sucks thread. I don't mean to relish in the obvious implosion of fan frustrations here, but damn, the stuff in here is almost to good to be true. There's even a letter from Jim Grobe refuting one fan's claim of the ineptitude of a run-based offense.
yep, that offense sucks. it could never work in the acc.
sincerely, jim grobe
Thanks for chiming in Coach and sticking up for the Triple Option. That's all I've got for now, but keep checking back in on this during the day because I've got a feeling things are going to more or less spiral out of control in Wolfpackville. Best of luck to the NC State crowd on finding a new coach, just as long as it's not ours.
Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia), which pits Georgia Tech against LSU.
The situation: Georgia Tech is down 20-17 against Virginia Tech with 2:24 left. GT has two timeouts. It's fourth and seven. Paul Johnson goes for it, Josh Nesbitt is sacked, and the announcers question his decision. 
Remember Joe Hamilton? Diminuitive quarterback par excellence at Georgia Tech a few years back. Heisman Trophy runner-up. The last known relevant Georgia Tech season was played under his command. Then he disappeared into football obscurity because the No Fun League has no need for guys that good.
When 
With the Meineke Car Care Bowl fast approaching, I sat down with Boston College Fan House Blogger Bill Maloney to discuss the upcoming matchup between Boston College and Navy. You can check back later at the 
They say that things like this are bound to happen. That in all manner events, whether on or off the football field, all things must eventuall come to an end. For Fisher DeBerry and the Air Force football community, the dynasty built during the 1980s and 1990s has come to a sudden halt following a third consecutive losing season, an event which
For Navy fullback Adam Ballard an injury plagued season came to head on Saturday when, on his second carry of the day, a defender rolled over his right ankle, in the process fracturing his right fibula. My own medical opinion (which consist of one Anatomy/Physiology course during my Junior year of High School) says that this isn't as serious as a fractured tibia, but will nevertheless keep him out well into the off-season. My very own Mother, who is 
A cataclysmic event might be something of an overstatement, but probably not by much. You see, after 
