...Tech’s Sept. 7 open date does appear unavoidable. Nine
ACC teams scheduled nonconference games that week and Florida State and Pittsburgh received byes since they’ll play on Labor Day the prior Monday. That left Wake Forest, Boston College and Tech, and since the Jackets weren’t scheduled to play either team, Tech was the only team without an opponent...
...A variety of factors, including Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech’s nonconference schedules, ESPN’s desire for Tech to play both Virginia Tech and Clemson on Thursday night and appropriate spacing for the open dates, may have made a Thursday night game where both teams had a bye week prior to the game difficult, if not impossible. Still, Johnson called it “ridiculous” to stage one of the league’s marquee games under such a circumstance...
...Another frustration was Tech’s being scheduled to play eight consecutive weeks between open dates, something that only Pitt and Virginia will also do. Tech’s two longest road trips, Miami and BYU, are also on back-to-back weeks. Further, Tech had asked for a bye after the BYU game – as it is a long trip and also because it would coincide with fall break – and didn’t get it...
...Also, four of Tech’s six Coastal opponents play a nonconference opponent before playing Tech and a fifth, North Carolina, has an open date. It will be the fourth time in Johnson’s six seasons that the Tar Heels will have that advantage...
...Further, Pittsburgh’s opponent prior to playing Tech Nov. 2 is Navy, which runs an offense similar to the Jackets’. “Just randomly by computer, I imagine,” Johnson said with sarcasm...
Even Tech’s returning to Clemson for a second consecutive road game – a request initiated by former athletic director Dan Radakovich, now at Clemson – perturbed Johnson. Bamford said that Tech pulled the request off the table after Radakovich left Tech in October. However, the
ACC scheduled Tech to return to Clemson, one of six repeat-site games for 2013 intended to balance home and away schedules.
