Congrats GA Tech and SSS

[BackInTex]

Georgia Tech defeats Clemson 24-21 ending a 9 game losing streak to Clemson (last win was in 2014).

GA Tech kicker kicks a career long 55 yd field goal as time expired to break the tie and secure the win.

[silverscreenselect]

I went to the game yesterday. Before the season started, I was excited by Tech's prospects and picked up tickets for all the home games (except Georgia, which is a home game but played at Mercedes Benz Stadium, and for which ticket prices have gone crazy). Mrs. SSS died the night before our first home game against Gardner-Webb last week, and I wasn't in any shape or had any desire to go to that game. But the funeral was Friday and it was a very nice service. My daughters insisted that I go to the Clemson game. I did get emotional a few times during the game, but I think it did me good overall. Coming back on the train with a bunch of disconsolate Clemson fans was an enjoyable feeling.

The game itself was great, coming down to the last play. Clemson tied the game with a little over three minutes to go, but I think that everyone in the stands knew that Haynes King was going to bring Tech down the field for a victory, the way he did FSU last year and Colorado earlier this year in very similar situations. Our coach, Brent Key, who played at Tech as an offensive lineman in the late 90s and was an assistant under Nick Saban, has instilled a degree of toughness in the team that's winning over a lot of casual fans who see them play. Tech football was a disaster under Geoff Collins, a Temple hack who somehow bamboozled the athletic department with a lot of smooth talk. He talked a great social media-savvy game but couldn't produce. They won 10 games in his 3 1/3 seasons as coach. One year, he lost to Clemson 73-7. In his last full season, he lost his last two games against Notre Dame and Georgia by a combined 100-0 score (which could have been worse but Georgia coach Kirby Smart took it easy in the second half).

Things changed right away uner Key. This is now his third full season, and he's got the players he wants, especially Haynes King. Tech is never going to get the top five-star recruits, but a lot of very good players like the style of play and Key's attitude. A lot of people watch college football either to see their favorite team play or to bet on games, but Tech is making a lot of believers. We've probably got the toughest quarterback in the country in Haynes King, and his bond with Coach Key is almost at a father-son level. A lot of teams will come looking at Key in the offseason (Florida for sure), but he's a Tech man who's in his perfect job.

Tech caught a big break in the ACC scheduling this year. We don't play Miami, FSU, Louisville, or SMU (and we don't make any west coast trips) and should be favored in every game up to the season finale against Georgia. Tech has had problems in the past staying mentally focused against some of the lesser teams but Key has them believing and won't let them get down or take opponents lightly in these games. That begins with Temple next week, and Melly best beware.

[silverscreenselect]

A footnote, courtesy of the AJC. Yesterday was the first time that all seven of Georgia's Division 1 FCS and FBS teams won on the same day. There's a bit of a caveat because West Georgia just became Division 1 last season, but it was a historic occasion.