Syracuse Moving to the ACC Q&A: Georgia Tech

We got our chance to talk about our future ACC rivals in the "Meet Your New Neighbors" series. Now those same folks that we lightly poked fun at get to offer up their own opinions of us! Each week, I'll be posting Q&A responses from one of the 12 current ACC schools, and I'll also be submitting to some questioning on their respective sites, too. It should be fun, and if we're lucky, people might get as angry as they did in the Virginia Tech profile comment thread.

This week, we got to sit down with From the Rumble Seat's Winfield Featherston. From the looks of it, they're not exactly thrilled to see more Northerners invading their little collection of southern institutions, but at least they're willing to try to make it work (lookin' at you, Florida State!).

Also see our previous conversation with Tomahawk Nation.

Was Syracuse your first choice for ACC expansion?

From the Rumble Seat: I'm a traditionalist when it comes to conference alignment, which means I like geographic and natural rivalries. So no, I didn't want Syracuse to join the ACC because it doesn't make sense in my old school, "dadgurn kids won't pull their pants up"-type mind. That being said, I didn't want Boston College in either. I have gotten used to them however, so I guess we'll all eventually be able to be friends.

Are you guys happy with the ACC? Or are there some legs to SEC and Big Ten rumors that pop up every once-in-a-while?

FTRS: The typical Tech fan wants back in the SEC. We have a long history with those teams going back to our golden age of football (1950s). Why not yearn for the glory years? I don't get the B1G rumors. Once again, it doesn't make any sense, regionally-speaking. Money-wise, maybe. Academics, sure. But it's cold up there. Why do we want to go up north? Oh. Right. MONEY.

Will things ever get better for the basketball team than the 2004 title game, or is that the Yellow Jackets' ceiling in hoops?

FTRS: You obviously don't know our basketball history. Here's a quick crash course. Two Final Fours, one National Championship runner-up, four Elite Eight appearances, multiple NCAA Tournament appearances, and three conference championships. Not pristine, but no fluke either. The 2004 season wasn't just a good run for our program. It was what was (and still is) expected of the program. We just had a coach who suddenly got in over his head and let his discipline escape. Coach Brian Gregory definitely has his work cut out for him for the next few years.

What about this triple-option offense Georgia Tech football runs? It seemed to work pretty well with Joshua Nesbitt, but not as well with Tevin Washington. Can you give us a quick breakdown of its strengths and weaknesses? Might as well start game-planning now, considering how poor our run-defense was in 2011.

FTRS: Josh Nesbitt was a steamroller. Tevin Washington is a game manager. Where you had Nesbitt barreling down the center, carrying the team on his shoulders, we'll see Tevin make a great read and handle the ball appropriately. Our quarterbacks are not the reason for the two years of "struggles." We've need to work on improving our offensive and defensive lines for better time for the QBs to make a decision. GT is strongest in its QBs, Abacks (wing RBs) and BBackcs (think like a fullback) and secondary defense. GT is weakest on the OL,DL, and special teams. GT is neutral in WRs.

Any tips for getting by in the ACC (dos and don'ts for fans)?