Yesterday, the ACC released their 2017 football schedule, and Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson is not happy about the way that things shook out for his squad.
Why? Well the Yellow Jackets will face three ACC teams immediately coming off from an open date, which leads Johnson to believe that the ACC has it out for his squad.
“The conference tries to screw us every way they can,” Johnson told the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Dating back to 2013, Georgia Tech has had a total of 10 league opponents on their schedule that they face after an open date. That number is tied with Florida State for the most in the league, and the two teams are the only ones in the league to play ACC teams coming off byes every season in that span.
Six conference teams (BC, Clemson, Syracuse, VT, and Wake Forest) will not face any ACC opponent coming off a bye week this season, and last year five teams didn't have any such instances. The ACC argues that
“You can’t tell me that it’s computer-driven when you have three teams with byes before they play you and six teams in the league have none. That’s a pretty good computer model.”
From the AJC:
Of the 10, six were games in which the opponent had more rest than the Jackets. On the other hand, of the six times when the Jackets have had an open date before playing an ACC opponent, Tech had advantageous rest only twice. The 2017 schedule adds to that imbalance. Clemson and Wake Forest will have open dates before playing Tech when the Jackets do not. Tech will play Miami on a Thursday night (Oct. 12) when both teams will have been off the previous Saturday.
Johnson is convinced that because of their unique triple option scheme, teams have requested that the ACC give them their bye week before facing Georgia Tech, and the ACC has complied. Many defensive coaches believe it is impossible to prepare for the scheme in a single week, while an extra week of prep would go a long way.
“It has to be it. It happens every year. It has to be intentional. There’s no other explanation for it.”
Looking at all the information presented, it sure is hard to come up with a logical explanation for the unique type of scheduling Georgia Tech has faced, so maybe Johnson is on to something. Or perhaps it's simply chance.
Head over to the AJC to read more from Johnson and the ACC on the situation.