Vanderbilt AWAY in 2009???

haywire83

haywire83

Flats Noob
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I was just looking at DRad's latest issue of The Good Word, and I noticed that Vandy is one of our nonconference away games in 2009. So, I thought to myself - didn't we last play Vandy away in 2003 when RB made the crazy dive from five yards out into the endzone for a game winning TD in OT? Does anybody know how this works out that we play Vandy away twice in a row?
 
New contract. 2002 was at GT and 2003 at Vandy. That fulfilled the initial agreement, so the new contract is an independent event. I'm sure we chose to schedule it this way to balance our home and away schedules.
 
IIRC, the home game for us in the new contract isn't until 2013. SO no back to back like the past one was. I could be wrong though. Alot of SEC teams coming up in the next decade...no surpise really with DRad. Ole Miss, Miss. St., Vandy, and Alabama...and that game with those guys up the road of course.
 
gtfan1147 said:
IIRC, the home game for us in the new contract isn't until 2013. SO no back to back like the past one was. I could be wrong though. Alot of SEC teams coming up in the next decade...no surpise really with DRad. Ole Miss, Miss. St., Vandy, and Alabama...and that game with those guys up the road of course.
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Here you go (very tough ACC slate in 2008):

Future Out-of-conf./Non-division Schedules

2008- Miss. St (9/20), Jax St., @Army, @UGA
@Clemson, FSU, @BostonCollege

2009- @Miss. St (9/19), Jax St., @ Vandy, UGA
Clemson, @FSU, WakeForest

2010- OleMiss, MTS(10/16), SCSt, @UGA
@Clemson, NCState, @WakeForest

2011- open, @OleMiss, @MTS(9/24), UGA
Clemson, @NCState, Maryland

2012- open, @Alabama (9/15), MTS(9/8), @UGA
@Clemson, @Maryland, BostonCollege

2013- Elon (8/31), Vandy, open, UGA
Clemson, FSU, @BostonCollege

2014- Alabama (9/13), open, open, @UGA
@Clemson, @FSU, WakeForest
 
Guys, I'm sorry but some of these OOC games are a F#*%ing joke.

I'm embarassed.

maybe it's because I played AU UA UT and the nad lickers. I'm not asking for the hardest schedule but ELON? SCST? JAX ST? These are complete jokes.
 
Agreed fridgemover, if Rad wants big crowds he's not going to get them with cupcake teams. I would much rather play big name teams and be exicited about them, and perhaps even lose, than to play no nothing boring teams, with small crowds and no energy.
 
Basically every team in the country schedules like this. You will be hardpressed to find a team that played two teams OOC that were ultimately ranked at the end of year like we did this past year. We play UGA every year, and with the new 12 game schedule, every team will schedule two or three cupcakes so everyone should be embarrassed. If we were to schedule nothing but powerhouses for OOC then fan support still wouldn't be that great, because we woud accumulate more losses and it would really put a damper on the ACC schedule. It also wouldn't help us one bit in terms of getting a better bowl unless we were to win every single one of them.
 
geez, you'd think that horse would be beaten to a bloody pulp by now....
 
It's worth noting that the two rules the NCAA passed a couple years ago:

- All Division I-A teams must play 12 games.
- Teams can count one D-IAA win every year towards bowl eligibility instead once every four years under the current system.

Considering that scheduling a D-IAA team gives you another home game and that a win against that team could be the deciding factor in becoming bowl-eligible, the decision to schedule Jax St., SCSt., etc. becomes understandable. Furthermore, if I was forced to decide between a schedule that consisted of 11 D-IA opponents and a schedule with the same 11 D-IA opponents and one D-IAA opponent, I don't see the real harm in going with the latter.

Also, compared with competing BCS schools, our OOC schedules rank pretty well. We rank higher than most with our UGA game alone and we also have some decent opponents in those low to mid-teir SEC schools.

For a truly horrifying schedule, take a look at who Virginia Tech plays in the coming years.
 
refrigeratormover said:
Guys, I'm sorry but some of these OOC games are a F#*%ing joke.

I'm embarassed.

maybe it's because I played AU UA UT and the nad lickers. I'm not asking for the hardest schedule but ELON? SCST? JAX ST? These are complete jokes.
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Dare I disagree, partially, with one of my favorites...but....

I agree they are a joke...but it puts us on an even playing field with the LSU's, Auburns, etc. of the world that play TWO lame teams each year like an Elon or Jax St.

In 2008....not only do we have Miami and VT within our division...but we have Clemson, FSU, and BC from the other...brutal ! Then throw in UGA.

Look at LSU this year....when they got the at large bid for the BCS...no one cared that they had LA-Lafayette and Tulane for two OOC opponents. To top it off ,the other two were a bad Arizona St. and Fresno St. team. All that mattered was wins and losses...and they were in a BCS conference. LSU lost their big games to Auburn and Florida....and still got the BCS at large.

yes...the big OOC games are fun...and we have UGA for that. But it is not the best thing for our program...W's are. I hate it...but it is the absolute truth.

I am happy to see regional games against the Ole Miss and Miss St.'s of the world. ...and we better be careful with Ole Miss...Orgeron is posting his second consecutive Top 20 recruiting class this year and has QB's transferring in from all over the place like Univ. of Texas. I do not even want to think about the Alabama games after Saban has had 4 years!

If we were in the WAC, Mtn West I would agree...but not the ACC.
 
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For a person who prides himself on looking at the big picture I didn't here. Although we weren't contenders in the mid eighties I sure did love seeing the stadium full for some of the biggest rivalries week in and week out.

The ACC has changed and so I need to as well.
 
I thought we were supposed to be going to see our team, not who we're playing. You think TN has trouble with selling seats/attendance when they play Ark St? The fact that this matters says we aren't really big time anymore.
 
ncjacket said:
The fact that this matters says we aren't really big time anymore.
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Agree mostly. Disagree somewhat.
Will it be a shame if Tech/Ole Miss out draws a home date against a wake or umd or bc?

We are bigger time even within our fan base against southern D-1 teams no doubt. And no, we do not have the appeal to pull in a home field sellout when we play Jax State. Not now anyway.
 
I'm not asking for the hardest schedule but ELON? SCST? JAX ST? These are complete jokes.
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Hard to believe that GT fans will get too excited about paying the high price of a season ticket package that includes games like this. Personally I never could get really worked up over playing Samford.
 
Personally, I think it is a good idea to schedule one of the weak teams for the first game of the season. It gives you a chance to break in new players, install new plays, grow depth, and to just shake the rust off. However, Ohio State scheduling Bowling Green in the 10th week of the season is a waste of time. Mover, I believe there was a tie with Furman in one of your years on campus.

I do like the idea of most years playing a lower D-1A team such as Army early for the same reason as above. The other OOC games should be UGA and at least a mid-level BCS team (i.e. not Vandy or Miss. St., they equate to Army). It wouldn't be a bad idea to play out of region for one game against a big name opponent.
 
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It is not unusual for SEC teams to play 8 home games with the only road games being conference games.

Auburn played 8 at home + Alabama. Only left the state 3 times.

Florida played 7 at home + UGA at Jax + FSU at Doak. Only left the state 3 times. Florida has only played 1 non-conference, regular season game outside the state of FL since 1990.

LSU played 8 at home. Only road games were conference games.

We need to build our fan base so we can have this same advantage.
 
hiveredtech said:
yes...the big OOC games are fun...and we have UGA for that. But it is not the best thing for our program...W's are. I hate it...but it is the absolute truth.
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Wins are the best thing for our or any program. b/c when it comes down to it we've been looked at as that 7-5 mediocre team until this past year. It doesn't matter who the 5 losses are or who the 7 wins are against. Down the line it makes you look good just to have the good numbers.

We have to understand that we are going to have a tough enough go at it anyways and not make it any more difficult than it has to be. Why set yourself up for failure? As well as the fact that even marginally better teams are going to beat you up a little more possibly the week b4 a big(ger) game.
 
JTS said:
We need to build our fan base so we can have this same advantage.
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Another reason to pad the numbers. To be going 9-3 or better instead of 7-5 changes the perception of mediocrity to "winners". And everybody (ESPECIALLY ATLANTANS!!!) loves a winner.

But looking at that 2008 sched.---its gonna be tough.
 
buzztheirazz said:
Another reason to pad the numbers. To be going 9-3 or better instead of 7-5 changes the perception of mediocrity to "winners". And everybody (ESPECIALLY ATLANTANS!!!) loves a winner.
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It has to be that Dan expects the acc to be a respected conference again very soon. What he may not understand is that the middle aged to old Tech fans try but just can't get fired up about the acc schedule in general.
 
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