Friday, October 19, 2012

BC @ GT: Whoopie!



Have you ever not wanted to go to a football game?  I can understand people who don’t like sports or don’t particularly follow football not wanting to go, but, as a person who has followed football since my age was a single digit, this is the first time I’ve thought that I’d rather stay home and do yard work, laundry, and the dishes than tailgate and go to a live football game.

Tomorrow afternoon I’m heading to Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field to watch the two and four Georgia Yech Yellow Jackets host the one and five Boston College Eagles.

Riveting.

The Jackets are currently third in the FBS in rushing offense averaging 331 yards per game.  The Eagles run defense has been particularly porous this season.  The Ramblin’ Wreck may not have to throw a pass all game.  On the other side, Yech’s defense has had a myriad of problems of their own which led to the dismissal of defensive coordinator Al Groh.  The defense seems to have trouble covering receivers in a stacked set, a problem exposed by top tier competition such as Middle Tennessee State.  If a high school team can frustrate you to no end with staked receiver sets, what is the defense going to do against an actual college team, if BC can be considered as such.

Frankly, I don’t think either team really bothers to field a defense during a game.  It’s more likely that they’re projecting holograms of eleven guys onto the field.  That would explain why none of them can tackle.

So, it is possible that I’ll be treated to a shootout.  Depending on which book you looked at and on what day this week, the over under is sixty-one or sixty-two.  Yech, at home, is a thirteen or fourteen point favorite.

What I’m dreading is the flip-side of the coin: two horrid teams playing miserable football.  I recall from my youth an NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints, at a time when both franchises were moribund.  It was a sloppy affair full of dropped passes, bungled plays, turnovers, and penalties.  The game ended when Tampa missed a field goal that would have won them the game.  The Saints didn’t win as much as the Bucs out-sucked them.  I don’t want to watch that game again.

I fear that’s what I’m going to get: a punt-filled nine to six affair played mostly between the twenties.  It won’t be an exciting nine to six game with two dominating defenses shutting down the opposing offensives.  Instead it will be a study in futility.  It could truly be a wasted Saturday that I could have better spent rearranging my sock drawer.

The game is scheduled for a 3 PM kickoff, so there will be time for tailgating beforehand.  My plan is to “drink my whiskey clear” before the game starts so that I can just enjoy the experience as an afternoon outside.  Maybe I’ll watch a little football too.

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