In which we break out into song
Join us on Saturday as the Jackets take on the school that (fun fact!) inspired the song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
In 2013, Duke had one of their best football seasons ever, going 10-2 in the regular season and reaching the ACC title game. Afterward, they were invited to the Chick-Fil-A Bowl in Atlanta to take on heavily favored Texas A&M. Duke caught fire out of the gate, pulling ahead 38-17 at halftime. It looked like they had broken A&M’s collective soul… but legendary A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel rallied the troops and delivered a comeback for the ages. In what ended up being his final college game, the man known as Johnny Footbawwww ran wild in the backfield and threw for nearly 400 yards as he guided A&M to an improbable 52-48 victory.
Or, in other words…
The Blue Devils went down to Georgia looking for a Bowl to steal
They started the show and fire blew from their cleats, and they scored points in ways surreal
But when the Devils finished, Johnny said, “Well, you’re pretty good, old chums…”
“…but sit down on that sideline, and let me show you how it’s done!”
GT-Duke is a game with a surprising amount of history. Up until last year, these teams had faced off every year for 90 straight years, making the Dookies the second-most frequent opponent in Tech football history (behind only the reckless driving enthusiasts out east). ACC scheduling ended that streak last year, and while Duke is less of a “this would be a quality win” game and more of a “please for the love of all that is holy do not lose to a bunch of New Jersey trust fund babies” game… it’s still a series that didn’t need to be shattered purely to satisfy the ACC’s trivial whims.
Duke is navigating their first season with new coach Manny Diaz, who was unceremoniously shoved out the door by Miami for being too willing to bend the knee. It was a strange way for Miami to treat an alum, particularly given that he went undefeated at his previous stop, Temple. And it seems to have paid off for the Dookies, who are a clean 4-0 to start the season and fresh off a game in which they came back from a 20-0 deficit to score 21 unanswered points against [NAME REDACTED]’s defense and knock off North Carolina.
It’s a game that could easily go either way, but with Tech finally getting a bye week after five straight games through Week 4 of the season… it’s a chance for the Jackets to get back on track and knock the New Jersey trust fund babies out of the undefeated ranks.