GA Tech May Play Georgia Southern

[TexasTerror]

Good to see GA Tech's new AD has had a change of heart from previous notions at Georgia Tech to avoid playing Georgia Southern. Georgia has a history with the Eagles, but hopefully Georgia Tech can get involved. Best of luck to the Eagles and the ADs from both schools in making it happen!

Tech may schedule Georgia Southern

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published on: 08/08/06

Atlanta (AP) — Georgia Tech's new director of athletics, Dan Radakovich, said Tuesday that Tech may agree to play state rival Georgia Southern in football for the first time.

Radakovich, hired in February to head Tech's athletic department, said he has talked with Georgia Southern athletic director Sam Baker about a possible football game between the state schools.

Georgia and I-AA school Georgia Southern have played three times in the last 15 years, and they have another game scheduled for 2008.

Tech has never agreed to play Georgia Southern, but that may change.

"Sam was by my office a few weeks ago and we talked," Radakovich told a gathering of Georgia sportswriters.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/sports/gatech/stories/0808gasoutherntech.html

[CollegeSportsInfo]

Great to see the efforts made. It's just too bad that it wasn't when Georgia Southern was at the top of the heap. Us UMass fans had to deal with UConn refusing to play us in basketball when we were one of the top teams. Then when Calipari left and the program stumbled, he was was ready to pick up the phone. GSU is a top 10 team still, but those teams from 98-00 were nice...could beat up on Chan's gang.

[Blueandwhitefightfight]

Great to see the efforts made. It's just too bad that it wasn't when Georgia Southern was at the top of the heap. Us UMass fans had to deal with UConn refusing to play us in basketball when we were one of the top teams. Then when Calipari left and the program stumbled, he was was ready to pick up the phone. GSU is a top 10 team still, but those teams from 98-00 were nice...could beat up on Chan's gang.


By the time we play GT (approx. 1-3 years most likely), we will have a championship caliber team.

We have the talent flowing into Statesboro now. With BVG, we are able to pick up some extremely talented recruits, pulling good players from the I-A recruiting pool. We have already had a bunch of transfers and all but a couple are young.

The coaching prestige and style has been turned up a few notches. Players are very disciplined and focused under the new staff. They are hitting harder, running harder, jumping higher, etc. Everything is a LOT more intense.

The defense is also looking really good at the moment. From talking with a friend of mine who is our SS, they are playing like a team and are a lot more focused.

We have a ton of young talent.

By the time the GT game rolls around, I would not be suprised to put up a good fight and pull off an upset.

[Mr. C]

One reason that some teams wanted to avoid Georgia Southern in the past was because they didn't want to have to deal with the Erk Russell/Paul Johnson option. I-A teams in particularly rarely play teams that run the triple option anymore. Don't know if that was some of Georgia Tech's reluctance in the past.

[TexasTerror]

One reason that some teams wanted to avoid Georgia Southern in the past was because they didn't want to have to deal with the Erk Russell/Paul Johnson option. I-A teams in particularly rarely play teams that run the triple option anymore. Don't know if that was some of Georgia Tech's reluctance in the past.

With teams like Georgia Southern from the I-AA level and Rice University from I-A dropping the option, it's getting few and far between on who uses the option...

Outside of Nicholls St, do we have any true option teams? From my SID experience, working a game where a team has the option is quite the challenge. You never know who is going to end up with the ball...

[GSUhooligan]

Wofford and URIn run options as far as I know...

[walliver]

Wofford has been running the option since 1969 when it was installed by Jim Brakefield and his assistant Fisher Deberry.

Wofford's offense is not the pure option offense that Georgia Southern used to run. It is more of a 4 yards and a cloud of dust offense. Although our base offense is the Wingbone, the option is run out of multiple sets (I-formation, power-I, and shotgun) and a lot of traps, counters, and reverses are run.

Since joining the SoCon, most teams have played Wofford the week after playing Georgia Southern, given them two weeks to get ready for us (or in Furman's case 3 weeks:D ). Starting this year, that won't be an issue (GSU's change in offense and revision of the SoCon schedule).

[Mr. C]

The Erk Russell/Paul Johnson option (I guess I can't call it the spread option anymore since Florida's Urban Meyer hijacked that name for his PASSING offense) is run by Nicholls State, Rhode Island and Bucknell (as well as Johnson's Navy team, which should be in I-AA). Dave Van Gorder was extremely arrogant when he talked about the switch from the option to more of a passing attack at the SoCon rouser a couple of weeks ago. He was talking like the Eagles were 20 years removed from modern football, even though GSU led I-AA in rushing offense again last season.

Wofford runs what Mike Ayers calls the wingbone. It is a hybrid that is based on the wishbone that was run by Jim Brakefield at Wofford and Appalachian State in the 1960s and 1970s. Brakefield's wishbone was unique in that it featured the pass a lot more than most other wishbones at that time. Wofford's wingbone also has some Delaware Wing-T principals in it, with a lot of counters.

There are other teams that run various forms of the I option, similar to what Tom Osborne ran at Nebraska. While Appalachian State went away from that offense a couple of years ago for the no-huddle, shotgun spread, it still has an option component to it. Cal Poly runs an I option and Furman runs basically the same offense (it will go back to a lot more option this season and has run the same attack basically since the 1970s under Art Baker) among some of the elite I-AA teams. A lot of that stuff has its basis in the Houston Veer of Bill Yeoman.

Can anyone name other I-AA schools who run primarily an I-Formation-based option attack?

[Husky Alum]

Us UMass fans had to deal with UConn refusing to play us in basketball when we were one of the top teams. Then when Calipari left and the program stumbled, he was was ready to pick up the phone.

Not to digress or get off topic, but Calhoun wouldn't play UMass in hoops BECAUSE of Calipari, not in spite of Calipari.

All stems back to Coach Cal's recruiting antics with Marcus Camby, Harper Williams and Derek Kellogg. Calhoun didn't want to voluntarily play a coach he perceived to be doing illegal things while at UMass, run the risk of losing to a program he perceived to be "dirty" in his own back yard.

Had nothing to do with the program stumbling.

[blueballs]

Who is Dave Van Gorder?

Also, with the rash of thugs UConn has run through that hoops program in the past few years Calhoun has a lot of sack calling anybody dirty.

[walliver]

Who is Dave Van Gorder?

It's Brain's alter ego. He goes around insulting Georgia Southern traditions. This way he can deny he said anything that might be construed as offensive to Erk Russell.

[Cap'n Cat]

Seems to me the option is disappearing, in part, because many kids coming outta high school with pro dreams don't wanna get "stuck" with an option tag. It's a recruiting thing.

[griz37]

I don't know if they still do, but the last time the Griz play Southern Utah, they were running an option offense.

[PaladinFan]

In some cases, I think that is true. The option offense presents a different challenge for a lot of teams, especially ones who fear losing to a IAA competitor.

It was written in the Athens newspaper that when UGA played GSU a few years back, they didn't really prepare for the option during practice, relying rather on the athleticism of their linebackers and defensive linemen. So, some teams are obviously more worried than others about playing an option team. Georgia Tech's rationality...I have no idea.

What was insanely frustrating about playing Southern was their formation. Their guards lined up on the hip of the center with a fullback three yards deep. With the offensive line about as far off the ball as possible, the defensive line could not make low enough contact to "stand up" their opponent and rarely get pushed back...cut blocking all the time. By the time the fullback gets the ball, hes already at the line of scrimmage (as opposed to a prostyle, where he lines up 7 yrds deep) and is almost guaranteed yards.

With a sound defense, teams like Nicholls, GSU, navy, etc. can control a clock, keep their defense off the field, and seemingly always gain yards...even if the fullback simply fell over upon contact.

It's a genius offense. If run well, virtually impossible to stop with the right personell. I can see why some schools run and hide from it.

[GeauxColonels]

With a sound defense, teams like Nicholls, GSU, navy, etc. can control a clock, keep their defense off the field, and seemingly always gain yards...even if the fullback simply fell over upon contact.

It's a genius offense. If run well, virtually impossible to stop with the right personell. I can see why some schools run and hide from it.
Man you hit the nail on the HEAD!!!! Look at the Nicholls State / Furman 1st round playoff game from last year. Low scoring game.

I know of 2 I-A teams that had trouble with option-type I-AA offenses last year: Indiana University had BIG problems with Nicholls State's option, giving up OVER 400 yards on the ground (if only we had a TRACE of a passing game we would have won that game) and LSU had trouble with Appalacian State last year (especially the QB). Incidentally, that game was on TV here in south Louisiana Sunday night and I watched a good bit of it. They REALLY had problems knowing where the ball was. The QB would fake the handoff out of the gun and then take off in COMPLETELY wide open space.

[Baldy]

The Erk Russell/Paul Johnson option (I guess I can't call it the spread option anymore since Florida's Urban Meyer hijacked that name for his PASSING offense) is run by Nicholls State, Rhode Island and Bucknell (as well as Johnson's Navy team, which should be in I-AA). Dave Van Gorder was extremely arrogant when he talked about the switch from the option to more of a passing attack at the SoCon rouser a couple of weeks ago. He was talking like the Eagles were 20 years removed from modern football, even though GSU led I-AA in rushing offense again last season.
I've heard VanGorder (Brian not Dave) talk about this on more than one occasion. He wants to run an offense he is familiar with. He is the head coach afterall, it should be his decision what offense his team runs.

It's his opinion that we were trying to do the same things in 2005 that we did in 1985. I can't really argue with his assessment because after some thought on the matter, I did also. What worked then, doesn't necessarily fly now. Afterall, Microsoft, General Motors, Apple, etc. don't run their businesses like it's 1985, why should we? He believes we can move this program further, much further. I also share those same beliefs. He believes GSU has reached only a minute fraction of it's potential. Likewise, I feel the same way.

You call it arrogance, I call it confidence. Paul Johnson was the same way, actually much worse. The difference is VanGorder has a personality, PJ dosesn't.

[Mr. C]

Having only dealt with Brian Van Gorder one time thus far, I can only judge by what I've seen so far. He was clearly uncomfortable with all of the media there. Paul Johnson could definitely be a bit abrasive, but perhaps because he was from this area (next county over from Boone, Newland in Avery County), he always had time for me. He didn't always like the questions I, or others, would ask, but he ALWAYS gave me as much time as I needed. Tim Stowers could also be testy at times when he was at Georgia Southern (though he seems to be a much more relaxed guy now). Van Gorder is already getting a reputation for not returning phone calls, or being available to the media that REGULARLY covers Georgia Southern (anf you are talking about two or three very easy to get along with beat writers at Statesboro, Savannah and Macon). Hopefully Van Gorder, as a new head coach, will realize quite soon what is necessary in terms of dealing with the media.

I don't know how it will all turn out, but I will miss the Georgia Southern option. It was an awesome offense to watch during the PJ era. But at the same time, I don't think it's too much to expect someone to answer questions as to why they are making such changes and how their current personnel matches the new system they are trying to run. Those are pretty obvious questions for nearly everyone.

[Mr. C]

Man you hit the nail on the HEAD!!!! Look at the Nicholls State / Furman 1st round playoff game from last year. Low scoring game.

I know of 2 I-A teams that had trouble with option-type I-AA offenses last year: Indiana University had BIG problems with Nicholls State's option, giving up OVER 400 yards on the ground (if only we had a TRACE of a passing game we would have won that game) and LSU had trouble with Appalacian State last year (especially the QB). Incidentally, that game was on TV here in south Louisiana Sunday night and I watched a good bit of it. They REALLY had problems knowing where the ball was. The QB would fake the handoff out of the gun and then take off in COMPLETELY wide open space.
The Appalachian State offense utilizes the option sparingly. The Mountaineers run something called the zone play most of the time, which is kind of like the counter dive from the Houston Veer. The QB can fake the dive and then have the tailback break to outside on an option, but this is used just often enough to keep the defense honest from putting too many bodies inside. ASU also passes the ball quite a bit. If you have seen West Virginia play, or Utah, or Florida, the ASU offense is similar to that.

[Baldy]

Having only dealt with Brian Van Gorder one time thus far, I can only judge by what I've seen so far. He was clearly uncomfortable with all of the media there. Paul Johnson could definitely be a bit abrasive, but perhaps because he was from this area (next county over from Boone, Newland in Avery County), he always had time for me. He didn't always like the questions I, or others, would ask, but he ALWAYS gave me as much time as I needed. Tim Stowers could also be testy at times when he was at Georgia Southern (though he seems to be a much more relaxed guy now). Van Gorder is already getting a reputation for not returning phone calls, or being available to the media that REGULARLY covers Georgia Southern (anf you are talking about two or three very easy to get along with beat writers at Statesboro, Savannah and Macon). Hopefully Van Gorder, as a new head coach, will realize quite soon what is necessary in terms of dealing with the media.

I don't know how it will all turn out, but I will miss the Georgia Southern option. It was an awesome offense to watch during the PJ era. But at the same time, I don't think it's too much to expect someone to answer questions as to why they are making such changes and how their current personnel matches the new system they are trying to run. Those are pretty obvious questions for nearly everyone.

All I can say is that VanGorder is being interviewed on TV everyday, and he's being quoted in the various papers that covers Georgia Southern on a daily basis. For someone who doesn't return phone calls or not available to the media, he sure is on a lot of TV screens and in almost every paper almost every day of the week.

[Baldy]

It's Brain's alter ego. He goes around insulting Georgia Southern traditions. This way he can deny he said anything that might be construed as offensive to Erk Russell.
I don't know about that. Erk has been making appearances at various VanGorder camps and clinics. If Erk doesn't seem to mind all the changes CVG is making, why should the fans?

[PaladinFan]

I hope Nicholls continues success with that offense. I was very suprised they were able to keep the first round game that close. Testament to their defense and their ability to control the ball and keep it out of Martin's hands.

ASU does run probably more option than any team in the SoCon now. You are right, they don't necessairly pitch it, but a lot of their running plays and even passing plays come off a read. They are essentially play action fakes, with the option of not faking.

I expect you will see Furman go back to its roots and run a lot of option this year. Martin was not a fan of running the option, even with his size and speed. Conversely, Gray is built like a linebacker and is most dangerous running around the end. Won't be a spread option like much of what we have seen with GSU and Nicholls, but the prostyle option is college football at it's purest, IMO.

[GeauxColonels]

I hope Nicholls continues success with that offense. I was very suprised they were able to keep the first round game that close. Testament to their defense and their ability to control the ball and keep it out of Martin's hands.
I expect to have the option at Nicholls State for many years to come (at least as long as Jay Thomas or anyone associated with him is our coach. We're doing a very good job of recruiting FOR the option, maybe not going after the best overall athletes, but the ones that FIT in the system.

[KJ Eagle]

Having only dealt with Brian Van Gorder one time thus far, I can only judge by what I've seen so far. He was clearly uncomfortable with all of the media there. Paul Johnson could definitely be a bit abrasive, but perhaps because he was from this area (next county over from Boone, Newland in Avery County), he always had time for me. He didn't always like the questions I, or others, would ask, but he ALWAYS gave me as much time as I needed. Tim Stowers could also be testy at times when he was at Georgia Southern (though he seems to be a much more relaxed guy now). Van Gorder is already getting a reputation for not returning phone calls, or being available to the media that REGULARLY covers Georgia Southern (anf you are talking about two or three very easy to get along with beat writers at Statesboro, Savannah and Macon). Hopefully Van Gorder, as a new head coach, will realize quite soon what is necessary in terms of dealing with the media.

I don't know how it will all turn out, but I will miss the Georgia Southern option. It was an awesome offense to watch during the PJ era. But at the same time, I don't think it's too much to expect someone to answer questions as to why they are making such changes and how their current personnel matches the new system they are trying to run. Those are pretty obvious questions for nearly everyone.

Don't you mean DAVE Van Gorder, and PETE Johnson, and TOM Stowers, and MARK Sewak??? Who was that other guy? Oh yeah, ERIC Russell.

You call yourself a journalist??? No wonder your stuck in Boone!xidiotx

[parr90]

Erk was also at practice the other day!

[*****]

... You call yourself a journalist??? ...Are YOU calling him not one? xidiotx

[Blueandwhitefightfight]

Are YOU calling him not one? xidiotx


He was stating that there is no excuse for ignorance like that if you are one...

[eaglesrthe1]

He was stating that there is no excuse for ignorance like that if you are one...


Agreed... then again maybe Mr. D didn't know who he was interviewing. Dave might have been VERY uncomfortable with the questions, but the head coach of the Eagles doesn't feel out of place with the media.