ContactBuzz said:
Currently, he's just speaking in generalities - saying what most fans what him to say. The only stance he's taken so far (football-wise) is to lighten up the schedule - Braine would've been killed for doing the same thing.
Braine was unfortunate in that he initially had to deal with the old ACC. There were only two conference opponents that GT fans were really passionate about in FSU and Clemson, and a third secondary rival in Virginia. Everyone else more or less brought a collective yawn in Atlanta, and still does. Maryland and NCSU are now better and somewhat more interesting, but their fan bases still emphasize basketball first.
So when Braine got here GT fans were tired of a schedule of UGA, a couple of patsies, and the old ACC. We wanted to play more opponents that we collectively care about, not to toughen the schedule but just to make it more interesting.
And the opponents that we care about do not include Louisville, no matter how good they are. Tech fans want to play any of the 11 non-Vandy SEC schools, and we want to play national powers with a big name and some sort of history with us, such as Notre Dame or Colorado.
The most desired opponents of course are the big-name SEC schools that fit both categories and who generally are our traditional rivals.
The new ACC really changes things though. The schedules are SOOOOO much better. Especially in 2008. Just in terms of big name football schools our '08 schedule is like taking one of O'Leary's schedules, throwing out three "basketball schools" in Maryland, NCSU and Wake, and playing three serious football schools in VT, Miami and Boston College instead.
That is a significant upgrade in interesting opponents. VT and Miami are up there with the likes of LSU and Florida, and despite being Yankees, Boston College can easily match UVA for passion and usual team quality. In the late '90's I hung out with some BC alum girls and they had a large print of the '93 BC kick to beat #1 ND on their living room wall.
And DRad lightened the schedule in a SMART way, which admittedly Braine was already starting to do by scheduling Ole Miss and Vandy. DRad got rid of Louisville, a good team noone cares about, and added a non-Vandy SEC program that looks likely not to be as good as GT in the next couple of years. The difference is that DRad did this to establish his first impression, while the first impression Braine made was trying to schedule patsies.
The reality as you and I both well know is that the 11 non-Vandy SEC schools have the most football passion of any conference and certainly represent the majority of football passion in the South. Playing any of them adds excitement to GT's schedule and also adds interest to locals who are not necessarily GT fans. I am so excited about GT's schedules and the promise of our program for the next 10 years.
