Georgia Tech Football: Does UCF Cancellation Hurt Or Help Bowl Chances?
By W. M. Lawson
As with many other games affected by Hurricane Irma, Saturday’s tilt between GT and UCF was cancelled this week. Does this hurt Georgia Tech’s chances for post-season play?
While it is incumbent upon us to remember that there are other much more important things involved with the recent storms that have hit our great country these last few weeks, it is OK to admit that college football is big business. As such, there is much riding on these games other than wins and losses. People’s jobs for one. But wins and losses matter, too. In light of the recent cancellation of the UCF game, one must wonder does that hurt or help Georgia Tech Football’s post-season chances?
There can be two schools of thought on this. With the knowledge that a team must get to six wins (most times) in order to be “bowl eligible”, and with the expectation that Georgia Tech would’ve won that game, it would be natural to conclude that the cancellation hurts by removing a solid chance at a “W”.
This isn’t entirely wrong. Georgia Tech was to be favored going into that game, and though UCF is a quality football team, this writer would’ve expected Tech to win that game.
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The other side of the coin, though , is that this gives a respite at the beginning of the season that was unexpected. Normally, I wouldn’t place too much of an emphasis on something like that early in the season.
That said, I think the double-overtime loss to Tennessee still stings and lingers. The Yellow Jackets handled business against Jacksonville State last week, but one could tell it took a while to get motivated.
This brief hiatus allows the team to re-gather and regroup, if you will. Yes, removing what one could consider a bona fide chance at a win puts more of an emphasis against higher competition within the ACC, but the benefit might outweigh that cost.
This Georgia Tech team is too good of a team to worry about making the six win mark. But they aren’t good enough to take conference play for granted. The next game is against Pitt. Those are exactly the types of games GT needs to win this year, in order for the year to be considered successful.
Next: Atlanta Falcons: Sloppy Victory Leads To Perfect Start Of Season
It is never ideal when a game is cancelled. But it might not be the worst thing, either.