College football is wildly unpredictable, perhaps even more so in the first week of the season when P5 opponents match up. Week one match ups are almost like bowl games and we have all felt the frustration of trying to pick those right. Only a fool would PICK us to win straight up. Having said that, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if we did win either. Moral victories are not in my DNA, so I will not even talk about a loss that makes me happy. Currently, I feel less knowledgeable about where we are as a team than I have in way over a decade. True, I have not immersed myself in TECH football news this off season, but I'm not sure how much that would have helped anyway. There are just so many questions. The spring game was an infomercial and nothing more.
What I WANT more than anything, even a win, is for us to stick to our guns (meaning the culture we have heard so much about, attacking everything...) and play this thing to win. Aggression has been implemented (supposedly) in all all aspects of the program's preparation, whether it be workouts, recruiting, academics, practices, or what have you. I want to see that in every phase of the game from the coaches as well as players. If we go down, I want us to go down swinging our bayonets about after having run out of ammo. If we do so, it will be proof to me that we are truly building something. Merely winning alone, won't really prove that. If we play passive and somehow eek out a win on a bunch of silly mistakes by the opposition, I will be thankful for the W but still disappointed that the "culture" I have been hearing about is a sham.
Some of the public talk I have heard from coaches and the like is a little cliche' for my taste, but some of it really resonates with me too. I absolutely love the "competition is king" motto and I could swear that CGC has taken some of his philosophy straight out of my beloved USMC playbook. One of the things that the USMC does right is stick to their core culture and warrior mentality in literally EVERYTHING they do. My son is a Marine now and I swear, after listening to him, nothing has changed culturally since my day. Modern sensitivities have not been catered to in the least bit. You have to earn everything and fight for it continuously. Being pushed to your absolute limits in every way, shape, or form is just a normal day of training. For those who are unfamiliar, you would be surprised how far that type of mentality can take any group committed to a common cause. If it is true and not just public lip service, then I expect one heck of a good fight.
