By Don Stone - Tech Express

   Quite a change in perspective from just a few weeks ago. The perception on local teams were something like this...
   * The Georgia Bulldogs were going to teach Boise State a lesson. You don't try to come into the home of the Southeast Conference and expect to beat an SEC team. This would be a whole different animal than the Broncos were used to playing, a step up in the quality of talent and intensity of the fan base. After about a quarter of play, the animal they were facing was starting to look more like a poodle than a bulldog.
   Now, Georgia has lost its second game to South Carolina and the 0-2 start has head coach Mark Richt looking over his shoulder for the hook...at least if you listen to a frustrated and angry fan base on the talk shows.
   Forget the fact that they just played the #4 and #12 teams in the country, each of whom is being talked about as national championship game possibilities.
   Doesn't help, though, that UGA has lost 9 of its last 10, the only win coming last November in Athens against the Yellow Jackets, playing without Joshua Nesbitt.
   * The Falcons, coming off a 14 win season, were ready to turn around an iffy preseason and move into a higher gear in Chicago. But, it was the Bears doing the shifting, dominating Atlanta in a 30-16 embarrassment. Again, ticked off fans are ignoring the level of the opponent. The Bears, after all, did go farther than the Falcons in the playoffs and hosted the NFC Championship Game.
   * The Braves were almost guaranteed a playoff spot. They were rolling along on the way to the other Philadelphia nemesis with a chance to possibly make up a chunk of the 7.5 game deficit. But, instead of moving up to 4.5 games back, a three game sweep did a reversal and dropped them back to 10.5 out and virtually eliminated from the division race.
   No problem, fans would rationalize. They still had a 7.5 game lead in the Wild Card race over the Cardinals. After a doubleheader sweep of the Mets, they headed for St. Louis with the intent of dropping the Redbirds back to that 10.5 game hole. But, the home team was thinking like the Phils and did another sweep, pulling themselves up to 4.5 behind Atlanta in the Wild Card race. The Bravos are not playing well. Starting pitching has been spotty and the bats of players like Brian McCann, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward have cooled down. A lot for the Cards to overcome in two weeks. But, stranger things have happened.
   Even the boys down the street at Georgia State got pummeled. But, they should be getting used to that by now.
   The only bright spot in local sports has been coming at the hands of Paul Johnson. His 2-0 Yellow Jackets have been piling up the yardage and the wins in impressive fashion, outscoring their opponents 112-42. They ran up over 600 yards in the season opener against Western Carolina and got another 596 Saturday against Middle Tennessee State.
   Ahh, the mention of those two teams on the schedule is where you might note the difference in the opposition. Georgia played Idaho State and South Carolina. The Falcons had the Bears and the Braves had the Phillies and Cardinals.
   Valid point
   Alabama and Oklahoma, they're not. But, you can only play the other team on the field. And the Catamounts and Blue Raiders were it. Even so, the level of play by the Rambling Wreck has to be acknowledged.
   The schedule continues a bit on the soft side for Georgia Tech this week as they host the Jayhawks. Kansas cannot be overlooked, however. They are also 2-0, coming off a big 45-42 win over Northern Illinois. Their QB, Jordan Webb, is the same guy who threw for three touchdowns against Georgia Tech last season in Kansas in a surprise upset of the Jackets.
   The Jayhawks may pose a problem in their ground game, ranked 10th in the nation with 277.0 ypg. They've averaged 43.5 points per game.
   This is the first time the team has had back-to-back wins for its second-year coach Turner Gill.
   Should be a high scoring game Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd for the only local team that has been winning. Let's hope they continue the trend.