Maryland Terrapins-Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets GameThread: Let the Great Shawn Petty Experiment Begin

Kick is at 12:30, which is way too early for my liking and off-schedule with the regular noon kicks, so it's the worst of both worlds. The upshot, though: there's a veritable cornucopia of viewing methods, from ACC Network* affiliates to watching live on theACC.com to watching on ESPN3 (if you're not blacked out). Basically, unless you're driving a car or are out of the country, there's no reason not to watch this.

Like I said yesterday, I'm just excited to see Shawn Petty under center. It may not be pretty, but it's one game I would love to be an offensive coordinator for, just for the sheer challenge of forging a coherent gameplan. This game will tell us a lot about Maryland, from just how resilient they are to how much playcalling nous Mike Locksley actually has.

And the other reason I'm excited: Maryland is yet to get any publicity on a national scale, but that'd change with an upset here. Losing four quarterbacks has them on the fringes of the national radar, even if on in the "hey, this is strange" category. Throw in a win with a linebacker at quarterback and the return of the Pride unis, all in one game? Yes, they'd be a story. And it'd be a heck of a lot easier to sell local kids on the turnaround project if they could mention that they won a game with a linebacker at quarterback.

Random, Baseless Prediction: I was going to make a prediction on Petty's final line, but then I realized I have no idea what that'll look like and there's a pretty good chance I end up looking like an idiot. So instead, I'll take a guess as to Joe Vellano's final tackle tally: 16, but three and a half for loss.

(Oh, what the hell: Petty finishes 12-20, 125 yards or so and a TD. That looks impressive, though it's worth noting that it's largely just screen passes, two of which Diggs breaks.)

Prediction: Like I said yesterday, I have an inexplicable good vibe about this game, and the GameThread is the acceptable face of homerism, so Maryland by a score my prediction stands.

And no, just like yesterday there's not a single rational reason to expect that. Must be because basketball's back.