Why Tech and Alabama postponed

Georgia Tech's recently postponed football games with Alabama could still be played as scheduled if the schools can't find satisfactory replacements, Tech athletics director Dan Radakovich said Tuesday.

Both schools had agreed to postpone the home-and-home series, scheduled at Alabama in 2013 and Bobby Dodd Stadium in 2014. However, as is common with scheduling, scenarios could shift that could bring the games back on their original dates.

"If they didn't have a game and we didn't have a game, we'd play," Radakovich said.

Radakovich debunked the numerous theories to have emerged over the past few days. The postponement had nothing to do with any kind of super-conference possibilities, Radakovich said, nor did it have anything to do with Tech coach Paul Johnson's displeasure with the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game played at the Georgia Dome, which he said has given out-of-state schools a recruiting advantage in Atlanta. Lastly, no, Tech isn't afraid to play the Tide.

"We have the greatest respect for the University of Alabama and their football program," Radakovich said. "Playing them would be a lot of fun."

Radakovich said he contacted Alabama athletics director Mal Moore in December to discuss postponing the series because, at the time, he was considering some alternatives that would help Tech's recruiting efforts, as well as balance the schedule. He declined to elaborate on what those alternatives were.

When he and Moore talked again in late January, Alabama was already lining up games to fill Tech's slot. Neither the Jackets nor the Tide have announced those games. Moore was in Arizona on Tuesday and couldn't be reached for comment, but an official in Alabama's athletics department confirmed the timeline of events.