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A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 7:13 am
by silverscreenselect
Somewhere, the athletic department at Temple must be laughing their heads off at unloading a shoddy bill of goods on Georgia Tech. This is our third year under Geoff Collins, who now has a lot of his own players in the mix. The team went 3-9 and 3-7 his first two years and seemed poised to break out of the three-win rut. They are likely to do that because I don't see three wins on their schedule (which includes Notre Dame, Clemson, and Georgia). They lost to a Northern Illinois team that finished 0-6 in the MAC the year before. The natural talent was there, but poor blocking, poor play calling, ridiculously bad place kicking, and a defense that could never put any pressure on the passer did them in. Tech was an 18 point favorite in the game, a line that I thought was a bit too low. The only game they'll likely be favored in the rest of the year is the home game against Duke, which is also pretty bad. Collins got a pass his first year and a COVID pass his second year. He's run out of get-out-of-jail-free cards.

Sigh.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:45 am
by mellytu74
Well, sss ....

Rutgers 61, Temple 14. Nobody's laughing.

The weird thing is ... Temple replaced Collins with Manny Diaz, an assistant at Miami. Who, two weeks later, left when the Miami lead coaching job opened up.

SO, the BOT was so freaked about hiring dynamic young assistants who might become a coach somewhere else in five years (See Golden, Al and Rhule, Matt) that they decided go for a guy who would stay for a long time.

Many of us wanted an interim coach from within and then have a real coaching search. Get the next Matt Rhule. Yeah, he might leave but you'll get Game Day at Temple with an exciting game against Notre Dame. they were so busy worrying about losing Matt Rhule that they didn't look for the next Matt Rhule.

We didn't get that. We got Rod Carey from NIU. Nice man but completely in over his head.

You have no idea how many people were saying yesterday on the TUFB fan board that they'd rather have Collins back than 61-14 and 1-6 last year (although they games were far more competitive than yesterday and against ranked competition). The only Temple bowl win since Wayne Hardin came under Collins.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:47 am
by mellytu74
Oh, and turnovers had Rutgers in Temple territory for its first 26 points.

Temple's longtime Special Teams coach Ed Foley was run out by Carey. It had been a point of pride for Temple since Al Golden took over. And was a launching pad for several Owls in the NFL.

Carey has done more than dispirited play calling - he's taken the fun out of the program. Dismantled a culture. the one thing that even NFL broadcaster mention is the Temple single digits. As in "Dion Dawkins was a single digit guy at Temple. It's something the Owls do to signify their leaders."

There are four single digit guys this year. For Temple, it's Enter Sandman or the jump thing at Wisconsin. And it's gone.

Collins brought that fun - yeah, he was a goofy cheerleader but he was a goofy cheerleader who went to two bowl games in two years and sent guys to the NFL. There's 27 Owls in the NFL and Collins was responsible for at least a few of them.

So, given the current circumstances, a ton of Temple people would take Collins back.

Also New President of Temple is a former Stanford football player. Looking for a new AD - I suspect he won't broker any more 61-14 losses to Rutgers.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 4:44 pm
by silverscreenselect
mellytu74 wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 11:47 am
So, given the current circumstances, a ton of Temple people would take Collins back.
And a lot of Tech people would gladly give him back.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:38 pm
by Spock
I learned something new today. I had no clue that Georgia Tech was in Atlanta. I had always assumed that it was in some larger town 100 miles from Atlanta or something.

Li'l Spock clued me in on the Atlanta thing.

Oddly enough, a main character in one of my favorite books (Battle Cry by Leon Uris-his WW2 Marine novel) planned on attending GT. So the whole "Rambling Wreck from Georgia Tech" thing has been embedded in my brain since my early teenage years.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2021 10:33 pm
by silverscreenselect
Spock wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:38 pm
I learned something new today. I had no clue that Georgia Tech was in Atlanta. I had always assumed that it was in some larger town 100 miles from Atlanta or something.
If you're interested in some Tech trivia, look up the story of Leonard Wood. After he won the Medal of Honor and before he served in Cuba, he was stationed at Fort MacPherson in Atlanta. He enrolled at Tech (which had only been around for a few years at the time) in 1893 to get his master's degree and wound up as captain and coach of the football team. (Eligibility rules were more relaxed in those days.) He coached Tech to its first-ever win.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:45 am
by Spock
silverscreenselect wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 10:33 pm
Spock wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:38 pm
I learned something new today. I had no clue that Georgia Tech was in Atlanta. I had always assumed that it was in some larger town 100 miles from Atlanta or something.
If you're interested in some Tech trivia, look up the story of Leonard Wood. After he won the Medal of Honor and before he served in Cuba, he was stationed at Fort MacPherson in Atlanta. He enrolled at Tech (which had only been around for a few years at the time) in 1893 to get his master's degree and wound up as captain and coach of the football team. (Eligibility rules were more relaxed in those days.) He coached Tech to its first-ever win.
On one of my book shelves, I have a 2-volume Leonard Wood biography that I bought a few years ago.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:52 am
by Bob Juch
silverscreenselect wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 10:33 pm
Spock wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:38 pm
I learned something new today. I had no clue that Georgia Tech was in Atlanta. I had always assumed that it was in some larger town 100 miles from Atlanta or something.
If you're interested in some Tech trivia, look up the story of Leonard Wood. After he won the Medal of Honor and before he served in Cuba, he was stationed at Fort MacPherson in Atlanta. He enrolled at Tech (which had only been around for a few years at the time) in 1893 to get his master's degree and wound up as captain and coach of the football team. (Eligibility rules were more relaxed in those days.) He coached Tech to its first-ever win.
The actions that caused him to be awarded the Medal of Honor were in 1886. He didn't receive it until 1898 after heavy political lobbying.

Wood enrolled in the Master's program a Tech solely to be able to play football. He already was an M.D. He wasn't there for even one year.

He was a white supremacist and was almost nominated for the Republican candidate for President in 1920.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:18 am
by Spock
Bob Juch wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:52 am
silverscreenselect wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 10:33 pm
Spock wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:38 pm
I learned something new today. I had no clue that Georgia Tech was in Atlanta. I had always assumed that it was in some larger town 100 miles from Atlanta or something.
If you're interested in some Tech trivia, look up the story of Leonard Wood. After he won the Medal of Honor and before he served in Cuba, he was stationed at Fort MacPherson in Atlanta. He enrolled at Tech (which had only been around for a few years at the time) in 1893 to get his master's degree and wound up as captain and coach of the football team. (Eligibility rules were more relaxed in those days.) He coached Tech to its first-ever win.
The actions that caused him to be awarded the Medal of Honor were in 1886. He didn't receive it until 1898 after heavy political lobbying.

Wood enrolled in the Master's program a Tech solely to be able to play football. He already was an M.D. He wasn't there for even one year.

He was a white supremacist and was almost nominated for the Republican candidate for President in 1920.
Interesting that you left out his major role (along with Dr. Walter Reed and Dr. William Gorgas) in solving the Yellow Fever/Mosquito connection which saved countless lives in the construction of the Panama Canal and many other lives worldwide as well.

>>>"“Fortunately for the cause of science and of humanity, we had as Governor-General of Cuba at that time General Leonard Wood, of the United States Army. General Wood had been educated as a physician, and had a very proper idea of the great advantages which would accrue to the world if we could establish the fact that yellow fever was conveyed by the mosquito, and his medical training made him a very competent judge as to the steps necessary to establish such fact. General Wood during the whole course of the investigations took the greatest interest in the experiments, and assisted the Board in every way he could.”
― William Crawford Gorgas, Sanitation in Panama<<<<

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:46 am
by Bob Juch
Spock wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:18 am
Bob Juch wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:52 am
silverscreenselect wrote:
Sun Sep 05, 2021 10:33 pm


If you're interested in some Tech trivia, look up the story of Leonard Wood. After he won the Medal of Honor and before he served in Cuba, he was stationed at Fort MacPherson in Atlanta. He enrolled at Tech (which had only been around for a few years at the time) in 1893 to get his master's degree and wound up as captain and coach of the football team. (Eligibility rules were more relaxed in those days.) He coached Tech to its first-ever win.
The actions that caused him to be awarded the Medal of Honor were in 1886. He didn't receive it until 1898 after heavy political lobbying.

Wood enrolled in the Master's program a Tech solely to be able to play football. He already was an M.D. He wasn't there for even one year.

He was a white supremacist and was almost nominated for the Republican candidate for President in 1920.
Interesting that you left out his major role (along with Dr. Walter Reed and Dr. William Gorgas) in solving the Yellow Fever/Mosquito connection which saved countless lives in the construction of the Panama Canal and many other lives worldwide as well.

>>>"“Fortunately for the cause of science and of humanity, we had as Governor-General of Cuba at that time General Leonard Wood, of the United States Army. General Wood had been educated as a physician, and had a very proper idea of the great advantages which would accrue to the world if we could establish the fact that yellow fever was conveyed by the mosquito, and his medical training made him a very competent judge as to the steps necessary to establish such fact. General Wood during the whole course of the investigations took the greatest interest in the experiments, and assisted the Board in every way he could.”
― William Crawford Gorgas, Sanitation in Panama<<<<
That's because Wood was just an administrator, not a researcher. Dr. Gorgas did all the work.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 12:31 pm
by silverscreenselect
Bob Juch wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:52 am
The actions that caused him to be awarded the Medal of Honor were in 1886. He didn't receive it until 1898 after heavy political lobbying.

Wood enrolled in the Master's program a Tech solely to be able to play football. He already was an M.D. He wasn't there for even one year.

He was a white supremacist and was almost nominated for the Republican candidate for President in 1920.
Mostly true but somewhat misleading. Wood was a medical officer who was not involved in direct combat during the Geronimo campaign. However, he rode some 70 miles, most of it alone, through hostile territory to deliver important messages. Then when he returned, he marched another 30 miles to his next assignment. He also assumed command of an infantry detachment that lost all its officers later in the campaign. Wood was the only officer during the campaign to receive the Medal. However, it was awarded only a few weeks before the Spanish American War began and the powers-that-be doubtless thought that having an MOH recipient in a position of command would make the war more palatable with the public.

Wood served as personal physician to Presidents Cleveland and McKinley until the war began. Then he and Teddy Roosevelt organized the Rough Riders. He was actually in command of the unit at an earlier battle in the war but was promoted to a higher position by the time of the Battle of San Juan Hill, so Roosevelt had battlefield command at that battle. However, in his new position, Wood had overall command over the various Buffalo Soldier regiments that also fought alongside the Rough Riders (but which were largely overlooked in the history books). After San Juan Hill, Wood again assumed direct command of the Rough Riders for the rest of the war. After the war, Wood was promoted to Governor General of Cuba and later of the Phillipines. Most of the charges of white supremacy against Wood are based on his harsh conduct in putting down the Moro Uprising in the Phillipines, which included killing a number of women and children in some of the battles. I don't know how accurate those claims about him are.

Wood was the leading candidate in the first few ballots during the Republican convention of 1920, but when the field appeared deadlocked, they eventually turned to Warren Harding as a "safe" compromise candidate. Ironically, the Democratic candidate that year, James Cox, was the sitting governor of Ohio at the same time that Harding was a Senator from Ohio.

Wood apparently attended Georgia Tech for only one month. He was eventually awarded a masters degree (the school only had courses in mechanical engineering at the time) but that may have been political as well. He actually stumbled across the school when he was on a horseback visit to Atlanta and saw a group of men playing football on a field near Tech. The sport was rather new in the south at that time. He did organize the team and coached them in the 1893 season. Again, eligibility rules were rather lax and several schools had ringers on their teams.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 1:24 pm
by Vandal
I’m betting Melly played the TL;DR card many posts ago.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 2:35 pm
by Bob Juch
silverscreenselect wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 12:31 pm
Bob Juch wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 9:52 am
The actions that caused him to be awarded the Medal of Honor were in 1886. He didn't receive it until 1898 after heavy political lobbying.

Wood enrolled in the Master's program a Tech solely to be able to play football. He already was an M.D. He wasn't there for even one year.

He was a white supremacist and was almost nominated for the Republican candidate for President in 1920.
Mostly true but somewhat misleading. Wood was a medical officer who was not involved in direct combat during the Geronimo campaign. However, he rode some 70 miles, most of it alone, through hostile territory to deliver important messages. Then when he returned, he marched another 30 miles to his next assignment. He also assumed command of an infantry detachment that lost all its officers later in the campaign. Wood was the only officer during the campaign to receive the Medal. However, it was awarded only a few weeks before the Spanish American War began and the powers-that-be doubtless thought that having an MOH recipient in a position of command would make the war more palatable with the public.

Wood served as personal physician to Presidents Cleveland and McKinley until the war began. Then he and Teddy Roosevelt organized the Rough Riders. He was actually in command of the unit at an earlier battle in the war but was promoted to a higher position by the time of the Battle of San Juan Hill, so Roosevelt had battlefield command at that battle. However, in his new position, Wood had overall command over the various Buffalo Soldier regiments that also fought alongside the Rough Riders (but which were largely overlooked in the history books). After San Juan Hill, Wood again assumed direct command of the Rough Riders for the rest of the war. After the war, Wood was promoted to Governor General of Cuba and later of the Phillipines. Most of the charges of white supremacy against Wood are based on his harsh conduct in putting down the Moro Uprising in the Phillipines, which included killing a number of women and children in some of the battles. I don't know how accurate those claims about him are.

Wood was the leading candidate in the first few ballots during the Republican convention of 1920, but when the field appeared deadlocked, they eventually turned to Warren Harding as a "safe" compromise candidate. Ironically, the Democratic candidate that year, James Cox, was the sitting governor of Ohio at the same time that Harding was a Senator from Ohio.

Wood apparently attended Georgia Tech for only one month. He was eventually awarded a masters degree (the school only had courses in mechanical engineering at the time) but that may have been political as well. He actually stumbled across the school when he was on a horseback visit to Atlanta and saw a group of men playing football on a field near Tech. The sport was rather new in the south at that time. He did organize the team and coached them in the 1893 season. Again, eligibility rules were rather lax and several schools had ringers on their teams.
While Wood was Governor-General of Cuba, he implemented a Chinese exclusion act. His public statements then and when in politics were racist.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 7:26 pm
by mellytu74
Vandal wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 1:24 pm
I’m betting Melly played the TL;DR card many posts ago.
And a bit of Bombay Sapphire and elderflower tonic water just went through my nose.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:05 am
by SpacemanSpiff
It looks like the ACC has more of a problem than Georgia Tech's loss this weekend. All three ranked teams lost (although Clemson and Florida State were playing tough opponents; not sure what UNC's problem was against Virginia Tech other than having too big a head from reading their pre-season press clippings), Duke lost to UNC-Charlotte, and Louisville looked miserable against Ole Miss.

There is a lot of scuttlebutt and speculation that even if Clemson wins out with an 11-1 record, they might not get into the playoffs due to lack of ranked teams to play against, so look for them to try and run up scores where possible - assuming their offense can get on track.

BTW, there's no truth to the rumors that Miami's major recruits came from Bishop Sycamore. :mrgreen:

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:11 am
by silverscreenselect
SpacemanSpiff wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:05 am
It looks like the ACC has more of a problem than Georgia Tech's loss this weekend. All three ranked teams lost (although Clemson and Florida State were playing tough opponents; not sure what UNC's problem was against Virginia Tech other than having too big a head from reading their pre-season press clippings), Duke lost to UNC-Charlotte, and Louisville looked miserable against Ole Miss.

There is a lot of scuttlebutt and speculation that even if Clemson wins out with an 11-1 record, they might not get into the playoffs due to lack of ranked teams to play against, so look for them to try and run up scores where possible - assuming their offense can get on track.

BTW, there's no truth to the rumors that Miami's major recruits came from Bishop Sycamore. :mrgreen:
As bad as things were for the ACC, they just got worse. Florida State, which took Notre Dame to overtime six days earlier (and had everyone talking about how the Seminoles were back) then had this happen to them on the final play against FCS opponent Jacksonville State. For the record, Jacksonville State had lost to UAB 31-0 the week before.


Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 10:30 am
by mellytu74
silverscreenselect wrote:
Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:11 am
SpacemanSpiff wrote:
Tue Sep 07, 2021 9:05 am
It looks like the ACC has more of a problem than Georgia Tech's loss this weekend. All three ranked teams lost (although Clemson and Florida State were playing tough opponents; not sure what UNC's problem was against Virginia Tech other than having too big a head from reading their pre-season press clippings), Duke lost to UNC-Charlotte, and Louisville looked miserable against Ole Miss.

There is a lot of scuttlebutt and speculation that even if Clemson wins out with an 11-1 record, they might not get into the playoffs due to lack of ranked teams to play against, so look for them to try and run up scores where possible - assuming their offense can get on track.

BTW, there's no truth to the rumors that Miami's major recruits came from Bishop Sycamore. :mrgreen:
As bad as things were for the ACC, they just got worse. Florida State, which took Notre Dame to overtime six days earlier (and had everyone talking about how the Seminoles were back) then had this happen to them on the final play against FCS opponent Jacksonville State. For the record, Jacksonville State had lost to UAB 31-0 the week before.

I watched that FSU game.

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:17 pm
by SpacemanSpiff
I was particularly miffed that the ACC Network blurb on the channel listing said it was a battle of Sunshine State teams.

Wrong Jacksonville, geoputz.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2021 3:33 pm
by Ritterskoop
We are liking Matt Rhule, though I still miss Ron Rivera.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:30 am
by silverscreenselect
An update on another sorry season. Tech finished 3-9, losing its last six games in a row. The last two losses to Notre Dame and Georgia were by a combined 100-0 score. Already, at least a half dozen quality players with eligibility remaining are leaving one way or another, including our top running back (who had 50+ yard touchdowns in six consecutive games this year). There is a very good chance that we will be down to one returning scholarship running back with any game experience. No recruits from what is supposed to be a very good recruiting class have publicly decommitted (early signing is next week), but I have a feeling that opposing coaches have been in touch with a lot of them.

In response to the growing alumni displeasure, our athletic director sent everyone an email pointing to the progress the team was making by keeping a lot of games close. We lost a number of close games this year, most of them to 6-6 or 7-5 teams. No mention of the Notre Dame or Georgia losses, which could have been much worse if the other teams hadn't basically shut down their offenses for much of the second half. Geoff Collins is in year three of a seven-year, multi-million dollar contract that was flat out ridiculous for a coach with two years experience at Temple. We did fire our offensive coordinator and replaced him with the offensive coordinator at Tulane, which finished 2-10. Our defense, which has some quality players, finished 116th in the nation in total defense, yet the defensive coordinator is staying.

Geoff Collins has been consistent at winning three games a year at Tech. He may have his work cut out for him to reach the three-win level next season.

Re: A Note to Melly

Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2021 6:01 am
by earendel
silverscreenselect wrote:
Tue Dec 07, 2021 12:30 am
An update on another sorry season. Tech finished 3-9, losing its last six games in a row. The last two losses to Notre Dame and Georgia were by a combined 100-0 score. Already, at least a half dozen quality players with eligibility remaining are leaving one way or another, including our top running back (who had 50+ yard touchdowns in six consecutive games this year). There is a very good chance that we will be down to one returning scholarship running back with any game experience. No recruits from what is supposed to be a very good recruiting class have publicly decommitted (early signing is next week), but I have a feeling that opposing coaches have been in touch with a lot of them.

In response to the growing alumni displeasure, our athletic director sent everyone an email pointing to the progress the team was making by keeping a lot of games close. We lost a number of close games this year, most of them to 6-6 or 7-5 teams. No mention of the Notre Dame or Georgia losses, which could have been much worse if the other teams hadn't basically shut down their offenses for much of the second half. Geoff Collins is in year three of a seven-year, multi-million dollar contract that was flat out ridiculous for a coach with two years experience at Temple. We did fire our offensive coordinator and replaced him with the offensive coordinator at Tulane, which finished 2-10. Our defense, which has some quality players, finished 116th in the nation in total defense, yet the defensive coordinator is staying.

Geoff Collins has been consistent at winning three games a year at Tech. He may have his work cut out for him to reach the three-win level next season.
I guess "Rambling Wreck" truly applies. :mrgreen: