I’m still in the camp that thinks a lot of people are going to be surprised with the on-field product next year. I thought this year’s record would be around 4-8 before Covid hit, and changed to 4-7 after the schedule change (which is still very much in reach.) But I didn’t think the losses would look as bad on the scoreboard as they have. I think the pandemic and lack of spring/summer practice has hindered the team much more than some on here believe.
CGC seemed to really believe this year’s team would be Bowl eligible heading into the spring. Something he never brought up last year, and hasn’t really mentioned since. I think the pandemic really threw a wrench in a lot of his plans, including the 2021 recruiting class. I think this year’s spring game was going to be a pretty big spectacle, and was even going to be broadcast nationally. Losing any momentum he had going into the spring and summer really hurt. Plus, the 2 QBs with the most starts in the CGC era (Graham-8 and Sims-6) have combined to have basically no spring or summer practice. An offensive line that has completely changed its fundamentals, along with the body types of its players lost out on valuable practice time.
Going into the UCF game with momentum from a big win, the top 2 TEs were out, the starting RB was out, the best DB was out, the DPOTW from the FSU game was out, arguably the best DL on the team in Clayton was out, Tech was on the short end of some questionable calls, turned the ball over 5 times, and still found a way to play the game within 1 score in the 4th quarter. On the road at Syracuse the next week in a bland dome with no fans (after playing the first 2 games with fans), the game gets delayed for 40 minutes prior to kickoff with key players still missing.
I truly believe the turnaround from this year to next year will be massive. I don’t think CGC would have insinuated this year’s team would be bowl eligible if he didn’t mean it, the pandemic just had different plans.