In a thread on the hive, it is suggested Ugag

GTCrew said:
Move it.

I agree that they might only want to do this because of the PJ offense, and while we have PJ it might be an advantage to play late, but think about the pros and cons.

Con: UGA gets more time to prepare for the triple O.
Con: Breaks tradition

Pro: I fully expect us to be playing a VERY important game the following weekend nearly every year as long as PJ is here. I actually think this is UGA's angle as well.
The majority of the fan base believes that the TECH/uga game is just as important if not more important.
​
Pro: Way more chance of national TV coverage. We are often passed over for big TV coverage due to the plethora of rivalry games that weekend.
If both teams are winning, then the TV coverage will take care of itself. This year, usc/nd is slotted for prime time for now. Michigan is down, so the osu/um game may not have it's usual fireworks. Also, ku/mizz may be another highly anticipated game along with alabama/auburn. If we win out until the uga game, I think we hop over everyone save for maybe the iron bowl, especially if uga is still undefeated. usc/nd will be on nbc unless nd manages to pull a good season out of their ass.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/schedule?weekNum=14&stable=I-A
​
Pro: Our STUDENT athletes are actually entering a tough stretch in school around Thanksgiving while UGA has no such distractions. Playing them early allows our guys to watch excessive film and focus on the big game instead of classes.
Pro: Depth is less critical in the beginning of the year. Playing early means we are much more likely to be closer to full strength; an advantage for us.
Also, keep in mind the offense we run. Unless we have a lot of experience in a given year, we'll need that time (course of the season) to get acclimated to the offense. Would you really have wanted us to play uga first this year? I wouldn't. Hell, even with the experience, I imagine us still having to get into the swing of things, but maybe I'm selling us short.
​
Pro: Suspensions are served in the first game. UGA players might actually behave knowing the first game isn't Southwestern Michigan A&T.
I have a hard time believing that uga will be so harsh with their suspensions without the cupcake game to fall back on. With use first on the schedule, you'll probably see a lot more "handling it internally"/"deferred suspension"(some guy at climpsun is on this). Also, if you want any edge you can get, knowing that they will do what they can to not get suspended isn't a pro. I think it's a push because they wouldn't be suspended for the Tech game regardless of when it is. (unless they do something really bad)
​
Pro: More likely to be ranked pre-season. This might be conspiracy theory, but UGA will be ranked and some people might want to see both of us ranked for increased TV ratings, to make UGA look better (win or lose), etc.
See my point above about TV exposure. The same idea applies for being ranked entering the game.
​
Pro: UGA will be our toughest game for the foreseeable future. Win and we are catapulted into the MNC hunt. Lose and we still have a chance of clawing back into the BCS. Losing late kills your poll rankings.
Don't discount the fact that losing a rivalry game first thing in a season could really sit in the back of players' minds. I trust that PJ would do everything he can to combat this, but that loss would hang over the entire season.
​
Pro: Better bowls. Losing the last game hurts your bowl selection.
Pro: Playing before school starts could free up some student tickets for sale at $50+ a pop. I bet this is a key UGA angle.
Pro: UGA always looks worst the first game. They seem to take longer to get in sync. Offenses take longer to get in sync. The games are likely to be low scoring.
This goes back to one of my earlier points. We have no experience to know that we won't need a while to get in sync. Even with experienced pieces in place, a high execution offense like we have may prove to need a while to get in the flow of things.
​
Some of these pros are not overwhelming now with PJ, but if we ever lose PJ, I would kill to have the Dawgs early where the playing field is as level as it can be.
Click to expand...


I firmly believe that we should not move the game. None of the so-called pros seem to be either trivial or speculative at best. Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture, but consider me someone who needs more convincing. Play the game last, let the hate build all season. You can look to athens and see them and tell yourself all season "We can beat them. They're not that good." It builds hunger, and that's what this team needs in this rivalry, hunger. I have rarely seen it in any of the more recent uga games.
 
The off-season is longer than the actual season. If your argument against moving it is to build anticipation, you might want to get a calendar. I'm neither for nor against the move, but think of the buildup to the first game of the season EVERY year. Compare that buildup to the Jax States of the football world. That is assuming we would move it to the FIRST game and not just an EARLY game.
 
It pains me to say this as I am a stickler for tradition, but I agree with GTCrew, I think it would be a good idea to move this game

in addition to GTCrew's pros:

Pro: UGA is always deep with talent, UGA can better handle injury attrition at the end of the year than us as they have so much depth. Let's play them first when our guys are at 100%

Pro: UGA has proven that they get better at the end of the year and we have proven to get worse as the season progresses (I do think this will change with CPJ at the helm, but historically speaking this is true)

Pro: I think alot of the "the only game that matters is UGA" mentality that makes us play scared in this game will go away. I think that our teams clam up when we play UGA because all they hear about is this one game at the end of the season. If you play it early and lose, there is still alot of football to be played. If you play it late and lose, well then the season just ended on a sour note. I think the series record would be much more balanced the last 20 years if this game was played at the first of the season.

Pro: Out-of-town recruits are more likely to be able to make it to a late August game as many high school seasons haven't started yet. This could be big exposure with the national TV spotlight, etc.

Pro: This is a non-conference game so this game is much more harmful than helpful being played at the end of the year. Winning it will only incrementally increase our rankings because it is so late in the season (even if UGA is in the top 5) vs. losing it will make us drop like a rock right at the end. I would prefer to play an ACC school at the end of the year where there are very large spoils to be had in winning, such as clinching the ACC Coastal Division. The Clemson game would be a fun one to move to the end of the year, probably wouldn't happen as they play the Cocks that weekend.


If we still had Gailey as our coach, I would say we should keep this game at the end of the year, as beating UGA was the only prize for the season as we were not going to contend for ACC championships/ BCS bowls on a regular basis. But with Paul Johnson running the ship, I think we are going to have bigger fish to fry than just beating UGA including regular trips to the ACCCG and BCS bowl births. Moving this game could help us tremendously.
 
GTWannaBee said:
The off-season is longer than the actual season. If your argument against moving it is to build anticipation, you might want to get a calendar. I'm neither for nor against the move, but think of the buildup to the first game of the season EVERY year. Compare that buildup to the Jax States of the football world. That is assuming we would move it to the FIRST game and not just an EARLY game.
Click to expand...

And the off-season + the season is longer than just the off-season. All that pre-season hype will add itself to what you do during the season leading up to the game itself. Notice the thread talking about us being uga's toughest game. All the hype in the preseason about the new mentality and the new offense is being enhanced by our early success.
 
JimboGT1613 said:
It pains me to say this as I am a stickler for tradition, but I agree with GTCrew, I think it would be a good idea to move this game

in addition to GTCrew's pros:

Pro: UGA is always deep with talent, UGA can better handle injury attrition at the end of the year than us as they have so much depth. Let's play them first when our guys are at 100%

Pro: UGA has proven that they get better at the end of the year and we have proven to get worse as the season progresses (I do think this will change with CPJ at the helm, but historically speaking this is true)
You said it yourself, we don't know if this trend will hold with Paul Johnson. Until this proves itself true, you can't hold the "They get better as the season goes" argument as a pro. Also, we don't even know how we will play at the start of a season, especially with the type of high-execution offense we run.
​
Pro: I think alot of the "the only game that matters is UGA" mentality that makes us play scared in this game will go away. I think that our teams clam up when we play UGA because all they hear about is this one game at the end of the season. If you play it early and lose, there is still alot of football to be played. If you play it late and lose, well then the season just ended on a sour note. I think the series record would be much more balanced the last 20 years if this game was played at the first of the season.
I know that this point can (and has) spawn an entire debate by itself, but the point I will stand by until I die is that the point of a rivalry game is that it is THE game. It's supposed to carry weight.
​
Pro: Out-of-town recruits are more likely to be able to make it to a late August game as many high school seasons haven't started yet. This could be big exposure with the national TV spotlight, etc.

Pro: This is a non-conference game so this game is much more harmful than helpful being played at the end of the year. Winning it will only incrementally increase our rankings because it is so late in the season (even if UGA is in the top 5) vs. losing it will make us drop like a rock right at the end. I would prefer to play an ACC school at the end of the year where there are very large spoils to be had in winning, such as clinching the ACC Coastal Division. The Clemson game would be a fun one to move to the end of the year, probably wouldn't happen as they play the Cocks that weekend.

If we are consistently winning, we'll have the coastal wrapped up before the uga game (see 2006). I'd prefer to not have to wait until the last week of the season anyway. Besides, if the players feel the pressure of the uga game, what would keep them from feeling the pressure of playing for a division title in an all-or-nothing situation? With the current preception of the SEC, a win over uga (especially if they're top 5) will do far more for rankings and national preception than you give it credit for.
​
If we still had Gailey as our coach, I would say we should keep this game at the end of the year, as beating UGA was the only prize for the season as we were not going to contend for ACC championships/ BCS bowls on a regular basis. But with Paul Johnson running the ship, I think we are going to have bigger fish to fry than just beating UGA including regular trips to the ACCCG and BCS bowl births. Moving this game could help us tremendously.
Competing for the ACC doesn't have to be independent of beating uga. If we rise to the power that we all want, I would rather have the momentum of beating uga going into the ACCCG and beyond. I just don't believe that there is any benefit that is good enough to move the game. Winning solves everything, we should focus on making ourselves better, and winning, and success against uga will come without having to move the game itself.
​
Click to expand...


See notes above.
 
I'm good with moving it earlier, because of UGA's perennial summer disciplinary infractions.
 
beej67 said:
I'm good with moving it earlier, because of UGA's perennial summer disciplinary infractions.
Click to expand...
Because we all know that the piousness of St. Richt would never allow him to suspend his players for the next week's game...

Don't move it. We play a complicated offense that requires time and game snaps to get into sync. And, while I see this game getting on TV, it takes the urgency and impact away from the rivalry. Besides, this game gets on TV every year anyways. I'd rather we played Auburn every year to start the season. That's a nice friendly rivalry.
 
Remember to add to the argument:

1) It allows us to negotiate with the ASC from a whole lot stronger position. By threatening to move the game to Week 1 alone, makes the ASC listen to both of us.

2) It may tone down the rivalry just a little which is a good thing for Tech. Like it or not, but UGA has done a good job to take over the state via the media, politicians, etc. After winning or losing to UGA, the pain of it all (for someone) goes away after one week. This can only help Tech build a broader fan base.

3) It could be the beginning of allowing the ACC to move their schedule up one week and finish with an ACCCG over Thanksgiving weekend. And why not? We need to do something to put some energy into that game and one way to help would be to think out of the box and play a week earlier.

I will say, that we now have an offense that is at its best the latter part of the season and that it would stink to give that advantage up. But otherwise, I have been in favor of "TRYING" the game earlier and see how it works. My biggest concern is how we will work in other OOC opponents. I'd like to play some other fun games now and then and it might make scheduling an Alabama a whole lot tougher.
 
midatlantech said:
2) It may tone down the rivalry just a little which is a good thing for Tech. Like it or not, but UGA has done a good job to take over the state via the media, politicians, etc. After winning or losing to UGA, the pain of it all (for someone) goes away after one week. This can only help Tech build a broader fan base.
Click to expand...

No better example than this morning's sports section on ajc.com. The Falcons whip the Chiefs yesterday to move to 2-1, but the feature story (the one to the left w/ pictures) is that "Georgia football coach Mark Richt says his team will wear black jerseys Saturday in a key game against Alabama in Athens. He's asking fans to don the color as well." :eek:
 
It's a whole lot easier to pick up bandwagon fans during the season than during off season. So an early Tech victory against UGA allows us to pick up fans that we wouldn't normally get.
 
midatlantech said:
Remember to add to the argument:

1) It allows us to negotiate with the ASC from a whole lot stronger position. By threatening to move the game to Week 1 alone, makes the ASC listen to both of us.

2) It may tone down the rivalry just a little which is a good thing for Tech. Like it or not, but UGA has done a good job to take over the state via the media, politicians, etc. After winning or losing to UGA, the pain of it all (for someone) goes away after one week. This can only help Tech build a broader fan base.

3) It could be the beginning of allowing the ACC to move their schedule up one week and finish with an ACCCG over Thanksgiving weekend. And why not? We need to do something to put some energy into that game and one way to help would be to think out of the box and play a week earlier.

I will say, that we now have an offense that is at its best the latter part of the season and that it would stink to give that advantage up. But otherwise, I have been in favor of "TRYING" the game earlier and see how it works. My biggest concern is how we will work in other OOC opponents. I'd like to play some other fun games now and then and it might make scheduling an Alabama a whole lot tougher.
Click to expand...

Toning down the rivalry isn't necessarily good for Tech. What's good for Tech is to start winning in the rivalry. If we start winning 6-8 out of every 10 meetings, then we will be the ones dominating the media in Atlanta.

In addition, the ACC Championship is suffering because 1.) The schools that have made it recently (Tech, wfu, bc) didn't bring a whole lot of fans with them. I'll give vpi the benefit of the doubt due to the fact that their multiple appearances bring more fans out. Combine this with the fact that Jacksonville just plain sucks, (Went twice in a month back in '06 for the ACCCG and Gator Bowl) and you have a game that doesn't really appeal to anyone. Moving the game isn't going to help if the circumstances around the game still aren't attracting people. That's why I like the move to Tampa, it's a far better place for people coming in to visit. As far fan bases go, that's something that needs to be addressed within each school.
 
GT65_UGA89 said:
No better example than this morning's sports section on ajc.com. The Falcons whip the Chiefs yesterday to move to 2-1, but the feature story (the one to the left w/ pictures) is that "Georgia football coach Mark Richt says his team will wear black jerseys Saturday in a key game against Alabama in Athens. He's asking fans to don the color as well." :eek:
Click to expand...

Nevermind the fact that uga is shooting for a national title, is number 3 in the country, and the upcoming game on Saturday is a meeting between two SEC teams in the top ten. As much as I hate those retards in athens, they are a far more interesting story to general sports fans than the Falcons beating up on an absolutely hapless Kansas City team starting it's third-string QB, two rookie corners, and having a rookie matched up on our best defensive player in John Abraham. Come on, there are far more legitimate things out there to take issue with.
 
GTSaxophone said:
Nevermind the fact that uga is shooting for a national title, is number 3 in the country, and the upcoming game on Saturday is a meeting between two SEC teams in the top ten. As much as I hate those retards in athens, they are a far more interesting story to general sports fans than the Falcons beating up on an absolutely hapless Kansas City team starting it's third-string QB, two rookie corners, and having a rookie matched up on our best defensive player in John Abraham. Come on, there are far more legitimate things out there to take issue with.
Click to expand...

The game --agreed.
The uniforms to be worn for the game --no.

As far as the woes of the Kansas City Chiefs and their QB, CB and OL situation --it's the NFL and I don't care. It's a good win for the Falcons and yes, more interesting than UGA's choice in uniform color vs. Bama.
 
GT65_UGA89 said:
No better example than this morning's sports section on ajc.com. The Falcons whip the Chiefs yesterday to move to 2-1, but the feature story (the one to the left w/ pictures) is that "Georgia football coach Mark Richt says his team will wear black jerseys Saturday in a key game against Alabama in Athens. He's asking fans to don the color as well." :eek:
Click to expand...
I don't think AJC should be used as evidence of anything, other then the lack of intelligence that permeates Atlanta's media. It's a newspaper written by dawgs at a 4th grade level.

As for moving the game to put pressue on the Atlanta Sports Council, all I have to say is **** the Atlanta Sports Council. Do we honestly give two flying ****s about what they do?
 
I don't think I agree with a single thing that I have read from GTSaxomophone. That is probably a good thing for GTSax...

Anyway, I will bet anything that the Tampa games will have even worse attendance than the Jax ones did. Often you are travelling on one week's notice.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top