ColinAke.com…until I write a book.

It’s thanksgiving tomorrow. I’m thankful that I get to talk crap about ignorant hillbillies that live across town. That’s right, you know who I’m talking about, the Georgia Bulldogs, or, as some people (many who have never been to Athens), the “Dawgs.”

Saturday the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets play the “Dawgs” in Athens, between the hedges, and I’ll be there. I’ll be on the field, shooting photos for Georgia Tech Student Publications. It’s my job to capture the embarrassment on the faces of the Bulldogs as they lose to Tech in what caps off their most disappointing year ever, and the most exciting year for Tech of late.

UGAg started off the preseason ranked #1. Picked to win the title. They were stacked on offense. But their defense sucks, their offense isn’t quite as good as people thought, and they’re not even in the running for a BCS bowl after two UGLY losses.

Tech started off the year with a new coach installing a new offense on a team of players he didn’t recruit. He was picked to win 2-3 games by several major publications. And they’re sitting at 8 wins right now. 8-3. One embarrasing loss, two losses that could have been changed by one play, one series, one little x-factor. The Jackets are coming in off a game in which they piled on Miami’s decent defense for 472 rushing yards.

It’s going to be a close game. But the last 7 years no longer count. We have a new head coach, a head of steam, and I think I’ll be standing on the sidelines as the Jackets eek by the Bulldogs for the first time in recent history. It’d be a fitting endcap to each teams’ season. Jackets exceed all expectations (save their own), and the Bulldogs fail miserably to capitalize on what was supposed to be their coronation.

What’s the good word? To Hell With Georgia.

How ’bout them Dawgs? Piss on ‘em.

I hate UGA. Everyone at Tech hates UGA. It’s time to get some payback.

Colin

PS - And go Virginia! Beat VT!

I thought he was crazy. I liked his attitude, but I thought he was crazy. Paul Johnson, at his first GT signing day, said “It’s great to be here at Georgia Tech - I’m excited to announce our first recruiting class on our way to winning a national championship. Along the way, we’re going to be UGA a lot.”

In the spring of last year, you would have been crazy to buy that line. But one thing is clear - Paul Johnson believes he can compete for a national championship while at Tech.

Right now, we’re 7-2, leading the ACC Coastal division, have a great defense, and are looking towards the UGA game with salivating mouths. There’s nothing we’d love more than to knock off the Dawgs - in Athens - as the endcap to a season they started ranked #1.

In April, nobody would have thought that we would be thinking that way. This season was going to be a bust, it was going to be a learning year, it was going to be a year that we’d have to spend watching some bad football in exchange for some good years ahead. Instead, we’re being treated to a glorious display of enthusiastic football on the Flats. We’re ranked #20 in the BCS system. We finally beat FSU. We’re a couple of lousy fourth quarters away from being 9-0.

And this is just Johnson’s first year. Nobody in the offense is really used to this thing yet. Nobody has settled in, really learned their reads, and become an expert. They’re getting the hang of it, but they have their fumbles and their miscues.

What happens next year and the year after that, when Josh Nesbitt knows the offense like the back of his hand, Jonathan Dwyer has established himself as a back nobody wants to mess with, and our defense is even better?

I submit we can only go up from here. And that, my friends, is something to be excited about.

Paul Johnson was the right hire. And as long as he’s here, we will compete in the BCS system. And don’t tell him he can’t win some national championships. I sure as heck won’t bet against him. He’s the man for the job.

Go Jackets. And To Hell With Georgia.

Colin

I hate UGA. You should know that if you know me. I hate the assumed dominance by the media, the arrogance of their fans, and the arrogance portrayed by their players and coaches, not to mention the crap Heisman talk over Knowshow Moreno.

So you can imagine I loved the outcome of Saturday’s UGA vs. Florida game, formerlly referred to as The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.  That’s right, the “Dawgs” were dismembered play after play. They lost by 39 points. Ouch. So much for “best team in the country,” “best team in the SEC,” and “2009 National Champion.”

While the Bulldogs have underperformed to many (I expected them to fail, so I’m just thrilled), the Yellow Jackets have overperformed. Who - except Paul Johnson - would have expected them to be 7-2 right now, in contention for the ACC championship, and just a few plays away from being 9-0.

In fact, we’re ranked only 7 spots behind UGA in the BCS rankings. We’re picked by a few analysts to be playing in the Orange bowl while UGA will miss BCS bowls alltogether, most likely.

I like that. This college football season is shaping up nicely. Next up is UNC, which will be a good, tough game. Looking forward to that matchup in November.

To Hell With Georgia,

Colin