What a great night. Had both my sons with me. Stadium seemed to be about half full. Some Carolina blue, but the Tech faithful turned out.
* The stadium sound & graphics package was all GT, definitely a home-town advantage. Kudos to GT media for adapting the BDS graphics and game videos to the roof-level ribbon board. Compare it to the TN game a few years ago when the Benz was considered a neutral site, and both teams were equally promoted.
* The enclosure of the stadium facilitated much louder fan noise, vs open stands at BDS. At times, the noise was deafening. If the roof had not been open it would have been even louder. And, coupled with the great play and end result, the crowd was highly energized and the players fed off this too.
I agree with the post above. Tech fans were energized.
Some takeaways,
Made all field goals and extra points. (Even converted a 2 pointer)
Defense collectively had their best performance. Thacker's (new) defense was impressive.
Donte Smith is a gamer. What a shame the refs blew the whistle. (Guys, they are ACC refs and are consistently horrible) He is elusive (slippery). He just seems to squirt through holes that aren't there.
Carter made a big league catch for a TD. Lots of contact with the DB and the Tech receivers. Refs let it go.
No fumbles or interceptions. What a difference that makes. Howell's fumbles changed momentum in my opinion.
Sims won his starting job back.
Four wins away from a bowl.
Still needs work
Collins game management
Not sure how the offensive line will grade out, but seemed like they did not get a good push.
Coverage. DBs still look confused on some coverages. I must temper any criticism. Carolina only had 3 receivers in patterns and Howell had to check down often leading to sacks. So the DBs were covering well. Need better communication.
Dancing on the sidelines. Why?
My criticism after the NIU game has turned into optimism for the rest of the season. It was actually fun watching Tech beat a quality team.