The calendar has told us for a while that football is knocking on the door, with most high schools getting underway this weekend and the majority of college football starting next week.
Mother Nature has been trying to confuse us, by keeping temperatures in the “are you kidding me?” range month after month. We’ll hit August normals in October at this rate.
But did you feel it Tuesday night? It wasn’t horrible. Wednesday afternoon, when cloudy, was tolerable practice weather.
And the lows for about five straight nights are predicted to be — is it possible? — below 70.
The fact that one can be comfortable while outside for more than 73 seconds is our sign that football is here.
Can I get an “amen”? I knew I could.
And seriously, a wild season awaits on all levels.
We’ll have some history Thursday at George S. Johnson Memorial Stadium when FPD plays in its first GHSA football game against visiting Irwin County.
There are those who have kept the panic button nearby ever since the school announced that it would join the public schools in an enlightened move that is about more than athletics.
FPD will be fine. The Vikings will be a little slower and smaller for a bit, but fundamentals have a way of evening the playing field or court. The second half of the season may be very different than the first.
But here’s hoping and praying for some maturity and open minds all the way around in this transition. Odds are the kids will have more than some adults.
And Friday night, the rest of the high school world tees it up.
The colleges of note for most Middle Georgian will give us a wild ride.
The level of confidence at Fort Valley State is just about spilling over, even with new quarterbacks and the loss of some solid defenders. Head coach Donald Pittman expects at least 30 points per game after his offense gets together. The defense will have a month where it gives up only that much.
For the first time in a long time, FVSU is a legitimate SIAC contender, not just on paper.
Georgia Southern fans are nearing the end of withdrawals. They haven’t seen the blue and white run the triple-option in 44 games, not since Mike Sewak’s head coaching finale in 2005. There will no doubt be hiccups along the way, but certainly a spell cast from Erk Russell will eventually fix things.
As for the goings on in Atlanta and Athens, your guess is as good as mine, except for one thing: The 3-4 defense will surprise, positively and early, in both places.
The offense at Georgia is more of a question mark, courtesy of yet another rookie quarterback running the head coach’s offense, but Georgia Tech may be looking at a newbie if Joshua Nesbitt — as tough a football player as anybody — goes down.
One big difference between the two teams is the offensive line. Georgia has experience and talent but is injury-prone up front. Georgia Tech has some new bellies on the line. Football life begins and ends on the line of scrimmage.
Mark Richt can survive a progressive 8-4, so long as the four losses are more respectable than some of those in recent years. But look for a surprise year in Athens, maybe a better one than many predict, if for no other reason than to expect the unexpected.
It feels like a status-quo season at Georgia Tech, if the status quo is last season, except for the conference championship. The ACC, at least on paper, seems stronger, and consecutive road games at Clemson and Virginia Tech are title-killers.
But blessedly, football is here. The air conditioners are getting a wee bit more rest, and every day isn’t a two- or three-shower one.
It’s time to yell with the band and smell the tailgating.
Contact Michael A. Lough at 744-4626 or mlough@macon.com
