Yellow Jackets vs. Minnesota Gophers in Detroit!
Georgia Tech will face the Minnesota Gophers in the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, Michigan. The game is scheduled to take place on December 26th at 5:15pm EST on ESPN. The Gophers finished the season 6-6, and finished fifth in the Big Ten West division.
Georgia Tech Left Out of Tier-One Bowls
With no disrespect intended towards the Quick Lane Bowl, why was Georgia Tech left out of a tier-one bowl game? Georgia Tech finished the season with a 7-5 record, and a second place finish in the Coastal division of the ACC. Going by record, Georgia Tech is the tied for the fifth best record in the ACC.
But, alas, Miami and Virginia, two teams that Georgia Tech beat during the regular season, are headed to tier-one bowl games. Miami will play Wisconsin in the Pinstripe Bowl on December 27th at Yankee Stadium. Virginia will play South Carolina in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte on December 29th.
Georgia Tech players have taken to social media to display their displeasure with their bowl-game selection:
How do we finish FOURTH in the ACC and get the lowest bowl in the ACC!!!! HOW!!!!!
— Qua Searcy (@QuaSearcy) December 2, 2018
https://twitter.com/quonmarshall16/status/1069345370885509121
Don’t get it twisted, we gonna be ready to play… it just doesn’t make sense how we get a worse bowl than all these teams that we beat… lol
— Jalen Johnson (@jjbballin4) December 2, 2018
Christmas in Detroit😩😭
— Lucas Johnson (@lucasj_7) December 2, 2018
Lucas Johnson‘s tweet is a little ambiguous in its message, but the emojis were the deciding factor – he is not happy. None of the players are expressing their displeasure because of an issue with the Quick Lane Bowl. On the contrary, the issue is with the disrespect the players are feeling right now. They just watched teams they beat last month get invited to better bowl games.
Farewell Paul Johnson
Certainly, fans would have loved to have sent Paul Johnson out on a more prolific stage, but Detroit will have to do. Johnson announced his retirement from coaching on November 28th. This will conclude Johnson’s eleventh season with the Yellow Jackets, and his twenty-second year as a head coach. Johnson has been coaching football for four decades! Johnson’s influence on coaching cannot be overstated. Georgia Tech will remember him as their winningest football coach in team history.
