2006 Football Schedule

Well it is out, the thing we have all been waiting for, our schedule for next season. Just in case you haven't seen it, here it is. Thanks to GoldTimer at Wreck Ramblin for finding it.One of the first thing I notice no Thursday games. Thursday night games were a Georgia Tech tradition since O'Leary and I hope our departure from playing on this day that always gave us good publicity and a nationally televised game is for a good reason, like that our atheletes need the time to study for Friday tests or that all of our Saturday games have already been picked up by ABC and ESPN.

Secondly is our busy September and November. We have four home games and a road test against Virginia Tech to round out a very busy first month. UVA moves over from its traditional spot as a November dweller to now being a warm up for the Hokies. One good thing, getting through the Commonwealth in September means we don't have to worry about the pesky Cavaliers right before the Dawgs. I look for wins over Samford, Troy, and UVA, and for us to go 1-1 against Notre Dame and VT. Notre Dame is the higher ranked team, but Notre Dame is also a home game and our first game of the season, and Coach Gailey seems to be pretty good at getting guys up for the openers. Virginia Tech will be depleted, but still very good, but Lane Stadium is insane and always a tough place to play. That makes for a 4-1 September.

We only have three games in October: Maryland, at Clemson, and Miami. Maryland should be a tough game but a definite win for us. PRESEASON prediction: this might be this year's NC State, a team we should beat 9 times out of 10, but some how we come out flat and they pull off the miracle. Hopefully this will be our Homecoming game and that will pump the guys up enough to avoid the upset. Going to Clemson is always my favorite road trip. Athens is a fun place to play, but the game is always good in Clemson and the fans are a little nicer to the visitors. Just a great ACC matchup where anyone can win any year. I expect for Clemson to be around 5-2 by the time they play us so this has all the markings of a big time national matchup. Georgia Tech should have the better team, but playing in Death Valley evens the odds. This is anyones game. After last year's 10-9 homecoming game, and with Jay Davis returning, I am inclined to give this one to Clemson. I hope I am wrong. Miami is next and they look like they are going to be pretty tough. Last year's miracle will still be fresh in their minds and they should have most of that team back next year. Coming off an emotional game against Clemson, Tech might not have the juice at this point to get it done. They will probably be in the top 10 at this point and this will be a big time game. I look to beat Maryland and split Clemson and Miami for a 2-1 October.

November's theme is simple: beat up on the Tar Heel state and get ready to feast on Dawg meat. After road trips to Raleigh and Chapel Hill, we get to play Duke at home before heading off to Athens. UNC and NC State should be worse than last year, and we are very capable of being 3-0 for the month of November heading into Thanksgiving. The Slobbermouths are due for a good old fashioned beat down, and at home no less. This is going to be a game for the ages. Reggie finally gets the monkey off his back and overturns two straight years of agony. I am going to be bold and predict a 4-0 November for a 10-2 season. It will be difficult, but we are entirely capable of making this happen.

This should be a season for the ages. The ACC Championship Game is within reach. Playing in January is within reach. This is going to be the signature season for an embattled coach and a new Athletic Director. The board is set, the pieces are in motion. Toe meets leather in 219 days... -yb

Correction: I misread the schedule. We are playing a Thursday night game against Virginia on the 21st of September. Sorry for the error. I knew it didn't look right. -yb