ESPN: Bill Connelly's ACC Coastal season preview

4shotB

Helluva Engineer
Retired Staff
Messages
4,630
Wht "x" factors do we currently possess that allows us to assume teams that outrecruit us won't beat us?

I don't think any teams - Bama, Ohio State, Clemson,etc. - rely on "X factors" as much as they do recruiting. You could also argue they have the resources to buy proven coaching talent,whether it be the head guy or the assistants/coordinators. We don't have that luxury so our guys need development along with all other aspects of our program. Even Gailey and Johnson before Collins were unproven at P5 FB.

So, at this point, I think your question is rhetorical. One possible strategic tactic which was not executed very well by the previous two regimes is to emphasize and be good at all 3 phases of the game simultaneously - O,D, and ST. The reasons why we were bad on O with CCG and bad on D and ST with CPJ have been rehashed ad nauseum so I am not trying to reopen that can of worms. I doubt there is anything new to be said on those topics anyways.

TL,DR summary - more data is needed before conclusions can be drawn or your question answered.
 

Augusta_Jacket

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,890
Location
Augusta, Georgia
I don't think any teams - Bama, Ohio State, Clemson,etc. - rely on "X factors" as much as they do recruiting. You could also argue they have the resources to buy proven coaching talent,whether it be the head guy or the assistants/coordinators. We don't have that luxury so our guys need development along with all other aspects of our program. Even Gailey and Johnson before Collins were unproven at P5 FB.

So, at this point, I think your question is rhetorical. One possible strategic tactic which was not executed very well by the previous two regimes is to emphasize and be good at all 3 phases of the game simultaneously - O,D, and ST. The reasons why we were bad on O with CCG and bad on D and ST with CPJ have been rehashed ad nauseum so I am not trying to reopen that can of worms. I doubt there is anything new to be said on those topics anyways.

TL,DR summary - more data is needed before conclusions can be drawn or your question answered.

You are correct, and it emphasizes what I have been saying. We've got to win recruiting routinely if we want to be more than an 8 win ACC team that scares uga and Clemson every once in a blue moon...
 

gtrower

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,597
So my question is how much do recruiting rankings really matter then? They've been out recruiting us for years, and have gotten even better under CMB. Arguably, CMB is the better head coach. (Until CGC proves something at the P5 level, you can't really rank him ahead of a guy with a NC on his resume) If we are all in on recruiting talent being the answer, and we acknowledge they just might have a better coach than we do, and we also look realistically at our current QB situation, much less OL, then I don't really see how they aren't a solid loss next year. I think in 2021 or 2022 the differential between us talent wise will be much narrower and our QB & OL situation should be much more in hand, but this year? Not so much...


So, since we are now running the same offense as most teams around us, how important does recruiting become? Wht "x" factors do we currently possess that allows us to assume teams that outrecruit us won't beat us?

Because recruiting rankings correlate to on-field results on a large sample size. If their talent differential gives them a a 70-30 edge then they’re significantly better and it’s gonna show long term. If you play one game, that’s not in “assumed loss” territory for me. We beat Miami on the road last year with their 18th ranked roster talent (per 247) while we were 45th. UNC’s roster is probably gonna be in the 20-25 range this season (they were 28th last year). And we’ll probably be in the 30-35 range. I think you’re over-estimating the talent differential on our 2020 rosters.

Also if you’re assuming recruiting is going to play a large part, I’m confused why you think we’ll have a better chance in 2021/2022. The way they’re going their roster talent advantage is only going to increase after 2020.
 

Augusta_Jacket

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
7,890
Location
Augusta, Georgia
Because recruiting rankings correlate to on-field results on a large sample size. If their talent differential gives them a a 70-30 edge then they’re significantly better and it’s gonna show long term. If you play one game, that’s not in “assumed loss” territory for me. We beat Miami on the road last year with their 18th ranked roster talent (per 247) while we were 45th. UNC’s roster is probably gonna be in the 20-25 range this season (they were 28th last year). And we’ll probably be in the 30-35 range. I think you’re over-estimating the talent differential on our 2020 rosters.

Also if you’re assuming recruiting is going to play a large part, I’m confused why you think we’ll have a better chance in 2021/2022. The way they’re going their roster talent advantage is only going to increase after 2020.

two things:

1. Beating Miami last year had more to do with the dumpster fire MIami was than talent on our side. That differential is very real, even with the current players we are bringing in, and Miami will always be a tough out, especially if they get a good coach.

2. UNC, which was already ahead of us in talent, is also recruiting better than us. That talent gap is narrower, and the reason I think we have better shots in 2021/22 is because we will have then built our depth with the upgraded talent. Right now, other than RB we are one deep in many roster positions with a lot of our depth coming from very inexperienced college level players. As we turn that corner, teams that we are closer to in talent, even if they are slightly ahead of us, should be beatable at lest 50% of the time.

I think we agree more than we disagree, I just don't think a lot of our fan base is thinking this completely through the what seems the obvious conclusions. If, as you say "recruiting rankings correlate to on-field results on a large sample size" then over the next few years we have to not only stay consistent in recruiting, but we have to get even better. If we want to be a 10 win team routinely, playing the schedule we play, then we need to be recruiting at or near the to 15 level. We are historically a 7 win program, which I think everyone here agrees is not an acceptable outcome for future program goals. To become a 10 win team, we need to run the table against everyone but uga and Clemson, who recruit in the top 5, and beat Miami and UNC, who both recruit better than us. Miami is generally a top 10-15 team and UNC is trending in that area. If we go 50% against those two, then we are a 9 win team, assuming we beat everyone else on our schedule. In ND years the road gets more difficult. That's also assuming that other teams, particularly VT, never recover or improve at a pace with us. Those are some major assumptions.So, we can argue about whether or not UNC should be counted as an automatic loss (I think so for 2020, but after think it becomes more a 50/50 game) but those arguments in the finer points miss the bigger picture. We are doing well in recruiting, but if we want to be a great team again, we are going to have to do even better.

As before, I think CGC knows this, and everything he is building is leading in that direction.
 

g0lftime

Helluva Engineer
Messages
5,404
I don't see us with more than 4 wins even if we play a full schedule. We still do not have a proven winner at QB. OL should be improved and we have good backs. Our ST play last year was not good. Where does that improve? Our DL will still be undersized in the middle. Our DB's are solid but need a good DL rush to let them work.
Are our game coaches capable of out coaching others? Our recruiting rankings say we are middle of the pack so we will need to out coach a few to get wins. I just watched the replay of the Pitt game so I am in a downer mood. That fumble by LJ at the goal sucked the oxygen out of the stadium. Too many turnovers and mistakes. I am getting my attitude ready to accept another long season. I hope I am wrong. Watching that game really bummed me out.
 

forensicbuzz

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,059
Location
North Shore, Chicago
Why do you need a proven winner at QB to win more than 4 games? You have no idea about our special teams. All the kickers that didn't get it done last year are gone. You don't know that our DL is undersized anymore. Lockhart supposedly weighing in over 300 pounds and looks absolutely ripped. LJ isn't here, so he won't fumble at the goal line again. Until we lose the game, I'm not going to concede it.
 
Top