As Good As I Feel After Today's Win...

[jeffgt14]

Ohio State won a National Championship in 2002 looking ugly all year. At the end of the day, all you gotta do is win.

 

[CHE90]

I have to note that:

1. Vandy did give up nearly 500 yards to Middle Tennessee, so I am not sure today's win over them tells us much more than last year's convincing win over Tulane;
2. I note that VPI&SU is currently crushing Boston College 42-0. Yes, that Boston College that some folks said might have the 2nd best defense we would face all season;
3. Pitt looks pretty solid in playing Okie State tough in Stillwater.....(they are tied 38-38 as I type)
4. UNC is dominating offensively. Again. (OK, so it's James Madison, but still...)
5. Miami obliterated App State in Boone, NC today by 45-10

My conclusions? The win against BC is not nearly as impressive as we had hoped. The win over Vanderbilt is likely not going to be impressive either. The schedule looks tough with Clemson, Miami and Pitt the next 3 games, and road games against UNC, VPI&SU and UGa later this year look like huge challenges.

We are 3-0 and wins against Duke, UVa and Georgia Southern seem likely. After that, it is anyone's guess. We could be anywhere from 6-6 to 10-2.

I'll take where we are, but I still have tons of questions.

Pitt looks solid. We already knew that. You don't put much stock in us beating Mercer but you put a lot of stock in UNC dominating James Madison offensively? I'm not sure what to make of bullet point number 5 but you seem to be putting a lot of stock in Miami beating App State. About the only thing I agree with is "The schedule looks tough with Clemson, Miami and Pitt the next 3 games". Road games against UNC, VaTech and UGAG - I'll take my chances there.

My apologies you did not state anything about our game against Mercer.

 

[WreckinGT]

Maybe im crazy but anywhere from 6-6 to 10-2 sounds pretty good to me. We played well today and nobody left on our schedule has looked all that great this season except maybe Miami who hasn't really played anyone yet.

 

[alentrekin]

Maybe im crazy but anywhere from 6-6 to 10-2 sounds pretty good to me. We played well today and nobody left on our schedule has looked all that great this season except maybe Miami who hasn't really played anyone yet.

Sounds to me like you are sane and ready to enjoy a typical (6-6 to 10-2) jackets football season.

 

[GTNavyNuke]

Yesterday was our best game of the season so we are getting better week to week. That has to continue since I think we are only clearly better than UVa (Hoo isn't?), Fluke (back to their true character) and Ga Southern.

Mercer has been our best opponent so far on opposing offense; they didn't beat themselves and executed very well. BC has been the best on opposing D. In 4 1/2 days, we play the best team of the year by far.

I think we are on track for a bowl game, and how competitive we are in the ACC will be seen.

Any injuries yesterday?

 

[Dustman]

Yesterday was our best game of the season so we are getting better week to week. That has to continue since I think we are only clearly better than UVa (Hoo isn't?), Fluke (back to their true character) and Ga Southern.

Mercer has been our best opponent so far on opposing offense; they didn't beat themselves and executed very well. BC has been the best on opposing D. In 4 1/2 days, we play the best team of the year by far.

I think we are on track for a bowl game, and how competitive we are in the ACC will be seen.

Any injuries yesterday?

Step Durham came out, maybe ankle? He was trying to run on the sideline but never went back in that I saw

 

[alentrekin]

Step Durham came out, maybe ankle? He was trying to run on the sideline but never went back in that I saw

He will be very helpful to try to match up with Williams and Cain. Wonder if we'll see A.J. Gray rolling to help the twins. This will be one where I would love to see the D game plan.

 

[MWBATL]

It was certainly a fabulous game yesterday. Makes me want more of the same.

But I am a GT fan, and the one thing I have learned is "you just never know".

I guess all we can do is come out to each game, root like crazy for the guys in white and gold and be happy when we win.

Sometimes, I do wonder what it must be like to be 'Bama and KNOW you will win 10 games every year...and the only question mark is the result in maybe 2 or 3 games....

 

[Vespidae]

Being from 'Bama myself, it is frustrating. Bama has the "will to win" and demonstrates that through facilities, pr, outreach, merchandising, etc.

Tech should be a perennial Top 25 team. At least, strive for that.

 

[Whiskey_Clear]

I don't care if Vandy ends up middle of the pack or dregs of the SEC. We dominated them. Probably played em as good as about anyone will. Can't ask for much more. I'm happy.

On top of that, we saw some things we know we need to get fixed. Here's to playing even better Thurs.

 

[Vespidae]

Whiskey Clear ... good point. Beating an SEC team is always cause for celebration. Always.

One thing I really liked in this game was the opening TD. Mason (Vandy's coach) noted that from their analysis of the game films, Tech always ran in that formation. Apparently, CPJ was aware of that and changed the play to go long. Vandy totally taken by surprise.

Nice.

 

[Squints]

Being from 'Bama myself, it is frustrating. Bama has the "will to win" and demonstrates that through facilities, pr, outreach, merchandising, etc.

Tech should be a perennial Top 25 team. At least, strive for that.

If by "will to win" you mean "money" then I agree. All that other stuff you mentioned doesn't come from trying really hard it comes from cash.

 

[Vespidae]

Bama aspires to be a Top 5 program. Look at their facilities. Same for UT.

CPJ regularly laments the poor state of Tech's facilities vs other FBS schools.

 

[iceeater1969]

Being from 'Bama myself, it is frustrating. Bama has the "will to win" and demonstrates that through facilities, pr, outreach, merchandising, etc.

Tech should be a perennial Top 25 team. At least, strive for that.

I welcome you aboard with your desire to get gtaa and hill to aim high.

Lets just hope that we hire an AD that is young and full of xiss and vinegar. Unlikely but lets hope

 

[Vespidae]

We need an excellent AD. Smaller schools are starting up football programs with more interest than Tech - and we have 100+ yrs of tradition!

 

[Squints]

Bama aspires to be a Top 5 program. Look at their facilities. Same for UT.

CPJ regularly laments the poor state of Tech's facilities vs other FBS schools.

What do you think pays for those facilities? It sure isn't aspirations. Facilities like that don't appear unless you have a big, generous fan base or a sugar daddy a la Phil Knight or T. Boone Pickens.

We have neither.

 

[Vespidae]

It starts with a plan ... based on a purpose.

Tech has what 130,000 alumni? That's more than most. How many times have I been asked to give to support GT athletics in 35 years? Zero. How many times to support the school? 35 times.

Bama is there because they want to be there. If a Tech, specifically the GTAA, decided ... starting today ... to be a Top 25 program ... they could do it. But they have to decide and commit.

That's all.

 

[jwsavhGT]

It starts with a plan ... based on a purpose.

Tech has what 130,000 alumni? That's more than most. How many times have I been asked to give to support GT athletics in 35 years? Zero. How many times to support the school? 35 times.

Bama is there because they want to be there. If a Tech, specifically the GTAA, decided ... starting today ... to be a Top 25 program ... they could do it. But they have to decide and commit.

That's all.

I'm not sure how you didn't get in the loop for donating to the Alexander-Tharpe Fund but here is a link. http://www.atfund.gatech.edu/

 

[Vespidae]

I pay A-T through season ticket purchases. What I meant was how active the solicitation program was. My mistake. My family went mostly to Bama and they are getting solicited all the time ($100 here, $50 dinner invite, etc.)

For companions, let's look at Auburn ...

Auburn University has more alumni (200,000 vs. our 130,000) than we do, but where AU shines is a) $10MM more in tix sales, b) $20.7MM more in donations, c) $3.6MM in media rights and d) $4.6MM more in merchandising. On the Expenses side, most expenses are right in line with Tech except Coaches pay (they pay more) and Marketing, where they outspend Tech $5.2MM vs. $1.3MM.

My point is that it's a revenue problem with a root cause of lower Marketing spend, which in turn, affects tix sales, merchandising, and donations ... as people tend to donate more to a winning program than a losing one.

Fun with numbers.

 

[alentrekin]

I pay A-T through season ticket purchases. What I meant was how active the solicitation program was. My mistake. My family went mostly to Bama and they are getting solicited all the time ($100 here, $50 dinner invite, etc.)

For companions, let's look at Auburn ...

Auburn University has more alumni (200,000 vs. our 130,000) than we do, but where AU shines is a) $10MM more in tix sales, b) $20.7MM more in donations, c) $3.6MM in media rights and d) $4.6MM more in merchandising. On the Expenses side, most expenses are right in line with Tech except Coaches pay (they pay more) and Marketing, where they outspend Tech $5.2MM vs. $1.3MM.

My point is that it's a revenue problem with a root cause of lower Marketing spend, which in turn, affects tix sales, merchandising, and donations ... as people tend to donate more to a winning program than a losing one.

Fun with numbers.

FWIW, in a '14-'15 NCAA database, Auburn was #11 in revenue. Tech was #42, between Texas Tech and NC State.
http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/

Tech is not Auburn in many ways. Tech grads all took calculus, break down film on GTswarm, fly to ireland in droves and very often live outside of the south. That makes the pitch a little harder than billboards and the Gus Malzahn circuit; you have to connect to an alumni base that lives around the world in a way that feels genuine. Or, win big with triple option arbitrage..