Expectations for GT Football

[IM79]

higher rated doesn’t necessarily mean harder. Like I said, it’s not in another stratosphere. And UGA’s is just 6 spots behind GT in the U.S. News rankings. GT comes in at #27. Other notable schools are:

• Stanford #1
• Northwestern #3
• Cal #7
• UVA #11
• Duke #12
• Michigan #14
• UCLA #16
• USC #17
• Texas #18
• UNC #20
• Washington #21
• Indiana #23
• Vandy #24
• Florida #28
• Minnesota #29
• BYU #30
• Notre Dame #31
• UGA #33
• Arizona State #35
• Ohio State #37
• Wisconsin #38
• Pitt #39
• Michigan State #40
• Penn State #41
• Alabama #42
• Texas A&M #43
• Maryland #44
• Arizona #46
• Tennessee #47
• Boston College #48
• Utah #51
• NCSU #52

That’s 30 of the 65 P5 schools (+2 in BYU and Notre Dame) in the top ~50 of best business schools in the country. There’s 12 schools outside of GT in the top 52 that are in the ACC or SEC, and there’s 9 other schools that I would consider to be in the southeast on the list (UVA, Duke, UNC, Vandy, Florida, UGA, Alabama, Tennessee, NCSU). There’s 13 other P5 schools ahead of GT in the rankings (including BYU & ND that’s 1/5 of all power schools), 3 of them are ACC schools, and 4 are in the southeast.

Like I said, I’m sure Scheller is marginally harder to “get out” of than some other southern state schools, but it’s not like it’s aerospace engineering. Once again, the overwhelming majority of students at other southern state schools would manage Scheller as well as GT students. Scheller is basically on par with every other P5 business school in the country. It’s upper 1/3, but it’s not insane by any means. GT’s reputation for being ridiculously hard comes from its engineering majors. There are plenty of schools with renowned programs who don’t have the reputation of being fun killers like GT does. Michigan, Florida, and Stanford all come to mind. This is largely due to GT being also the entirely STEM based while the others are not.

Top 10 now per email I received from Scheller College Dean Craig Womack posted below:


We begin the year with our Undergraduate program moving up four spots to No. 10 in the nation in the 2021 Poets&Quants Best Undergraduate Business Schools ranking. A very special thank you to the Class of 2018 who participated in the P&Q alumni survey and ranked our program No. 1 in four areas: academic advising, career advising, extracurricular opportunities, and effectiveness of degree in helping students reach their career goals. This is a tremendous recognition for our Undergraduate program team, students, faculty, and alumni

 

[JacketOff]

Top 10 now per email I received from Scheller College Dean Craig Womack posted below:


We begin the year with our Undergraduate program moving up four spots to No. 10 in the nation in the 2021 Poets&Quants Best Undergraduate Business Schools ranking. A very special thank you to the Class of 2018 who participated in the P&Q alumni survey and ranked our program No. 1 in four areas: academic advising, career advising, extracurricular opportunities, and effectiveness of degree in helping students reach their career goals. This is a tremendous recognition for our Undergraduate program team, students, faculty, and alumni

That’s a different ranking, and quite honestly I’ve never heard of Poets&Quants, I don’t even know what that is. But even if you want to call Scheller a top 10 business school, it doesn’t change the point that it isn’t all that different from other large state schools, even in the southeast.

 

[slugboy]

You are brimming with confidence aren't you? What is wrong with being truthful about the number of wins you expect? I hope for six but really expect no more than four. Here's hoping to being pleasantly surprised.

I think there’s enough variability in the results when you’re in the middle of the pack that you might have more wins with a worse team or fewer wins with a better team. Close games and chance just have a bigger role in the game when the teams are fairly even, and I think we will be fairly even with most of our opponents.
I could see us win 7 games where I’m disappointed in our growth as a team, and I could see us win 4 but be improving and incredibly unlucky. Right now, I want to see the wide receivers engaged in the game (like they were at FSU), and solid lines across both offensive and defensive fronts.

I can't speak for @slugboy but I have no idea what to expect. That's just the truth. I want to see whether we have spring practice or not. I want to see whether the four younger transfers will get immediate eligibility. I'd like to know a little more about the recovery of Gibbs. Once I get a better idea of those things I might start zeroing in on what I expect and, like you, what I hope for. I think it's easier to say right now that I, too, hope for six. But I am not ready to say whether I think it's reasonable for me to expect that number or, again like you, expect less.

We really need a good spring practice—the offensive and defensive lines in particular, and probably the wide receivers and tight ends nearly as much. On defense, I’ve said that the defensive backs and the front 6 have seemed out of sync with each other in some games, and the defensive backs even with each other. That’s the kind of thing that 11-on-11 can help work out the kinks with.
How the transfers and incoming freshman blend in with the rest of the team is a big question, and another reason that Spring and Summer practice are huge. That hurt us this year because of our youth, and we’re still a young team.

higher rated doesn’t necessarily mean harder. Like I said, it’s not in another stratosphere. And UGA’s is just 6 spots behind GT in the U.S. News rankings. GT comes in at #27. Other notable schools are:

• ...

That’s 30 of the 65 P5 schools (+2 in BYU and Notre Dame) in the top ~50 of best business schools in the country. There’s 12 schools outside of GT in the top 52 that are in the ACC or SEC, and there’s 9 other schools that I would consider to be in the southeast on the list (UVA, Duke, UNC, Vandy, Florida, UGA, Alabama, Tennessee, NCSU). There’s 13 other P5 schools ahead of GT in the rankings (including BYU & ND that’s 1/5 of all power schools), 3 of them are ACC schools, and 4 are in the southeast.

Like I said, I’m sure Scheller is marginally harder to “get out” of than some other southern state schools, but it’s not like it’s aerospace engineering. Once again, the overwhelming majority of students at other southern state schools would manage Scheller as well as GT students. Scheller is basically on par with every other P5 business school in the country. It’s upper 1/3, but it’s not insane by any means. GT’s reputation for being ridiculously hard comes from its engineering majors. There are plenty of schools with renowned programs who don’t have the reputation of being fun killers like GT does. Michigan, Florida, and Stanford all come to mind. This is largely due to GT being also the entirely STEM based while the others are not.

The USNews ratings follow a formula, and it’s a pretty simple one. It’s always underrated Georgia Tech for how it prepares students for the “real world”.
The places where we could reasonably be dinged are in subjects like English, Languages, and other subjects that were “support subjects” for the degrees at Tech. It’s gotten better, but at one point a drag on our ratings was the quality of the required subjects that weren’t from the engineering schools. Even the Physics/Math/Biology departments needed more emphasis than they got.

I, for the record, never once said it was hell on earth. We had breaks at Christmas. I don't think they do that in hell. Also, if you ever ate in Brittain dining hall, I would imagine the food is better down there.

I’d pushed Brittain dining hall out of my mind. What a waste.

I’d split our schedule up like the following

10% chance of a win

• Clemson
• UGA

20% chance of a win

• Notre Dame

30% chance of a win

• UNC
• Miami (possibly underrating Miami)

Close enough to even odds

• BC
• UVA
• VT
• PITT

70% Odds

• Duke

80% odds

• NIU
• Kennesaw State

But, again, that doesn’t tell you whether the team is on the right path or not.

 

[MWBATL]

higher rated doesn’t necessarily mean harder. Like I said, it’s not in another stratosphere. And UGA’s is just 6 spots behind GT in the U.S. News rankings. GT comes in at #27. Other notable schools are:

• Stanford #1
• Northwestern #3
• Cal #7
• UVA #11
• Duke #12
• Michigan #14
• UCLA #16
• USC #17
• Texas #18
• UNC #20
• Washington #21
• Indiana #23
• Vandy #24
• Florida #28
• Minnesota #29
• BYU #30
• Notre Dame #31
• UGA #33
• Arizona State #35
• Ohio State #37
• Wisconsin #38
• Pitt #39
• Michigan State #40
• Penn State #41
• Alabama #42
• Texas A&M #43
• Maryland #44
• Arizona #46
• Tennessee #47
• Boston College #48
• Utah #51
• NCSU #52

That’s 30 of the 65 P5 schools (+2 in BYU and Notre Dame) in the top ~50 of best business schools in the country. There’s 12 schools outside of GT in the top 52 that are in the ACC or SEC, and there’s 9 other schools that I would consider to be in the southeast on the list (UVA, Duke, UNC, Vandy, Florida, UGA, Alabama, Tennessee, NCSU). There’s 13 other P5 schools ahead of GT in the rankings (including BYU & ND that’s 1/5 of all power schools), 3 of them are ACC schools, and 4 are in the southeast.

Like I said, I’m sure Scheller is marginally harder to “get out” of than some other southern state schools, but it’s not like it’s aerospace engineering. Once again, the overwhelming majority of students at other southern state schools would manage Scheller as well as GT students. Scheller is basically on par with every other P5 business school in the country. It’s upper 1/3, but it’s not insane by any means. GT’s reputation for being ridiculously hard comes from its engineering majors. There are plenty of schools with renowned programs who don’t have the reputation of being fun killers like GT does. Michigan, Florida, and Stanford all come to mind. This is largely due to GT being also the entirely STEM based while the others are not.

I'm confused. What relevance do graduate school rankings have to football recruiting?

 

[4shotB]

The business school may be marginally more difficult to “get out” of than other similar programs, but it’s not in some other stratosphere. The overwhelming majority of business students at other southeast state schools could get by just fine at Scheller. Other schools have programs that are as competitive and highly touted as GT’s engineering, such as nursing, communications, or agricultural programs. But because GT is almost entirely a STEM based school, those tough programs at other schools don’t hurt the school’s entire reputation like it does at GT.

JacketOff, the most of us here agree that there is good education to be had at nearly any major college or university. Our friends, neighbors and professional associates are reminders of that. One thing though that you fail to mention is that we are comparing FB players, not the typical student. The FB players at GT are getting an education at one of the better business schools in the nation. Is it as tough as the engineering college? No, it's probably not as many people who dropped engineering hopped on the "M train" and left with a GT diploma.

However, the (bulk of) FB players at Uga aren't in their business school. or at Texas or at UVa. They are in the majors that most of us on this board have never heard of or would not want our children to pursue. I agree that a FB player at Duke or Indiana in their business schools is working just as hard on his academics as do Tech players. But the reality is most of them are in less than strenuous majors.

At GT, the business school is the basement. At our competitors, it is the penthouse.

 

[jojatk]

All transfers get immediate eligibility next year. The NCAA passed a blanket waiver for all sports.

Are you sure that impacts kids who are going to play next year. I thought that waiver only affected kids who would play this school year and not next. I hope I am wrong.

 

[RonJohn]

Are you sure that impacts kids who are going to play next year. I thought that waiver only affected kids who would play this school year and not next. I hope I am wrong.

I am confused by your statement. How could an immediate eligibility waiver only affect kids who aren't planning to play next year? Immediate eligibility means they can play next year. If they aren't planning to play next year, then an immediate eligibility waiver doesn't do anything for them.

EDIT: Maybe I understand now. Are you saying only affect transfers who enrolled in this school year? Then it might not be in effect for those who transfer and enroll next school year?

 

[MidtownJacket]

@4shotB coming in hot, “At GT, the business school is the basement. At our competitors, it is the penthouse.”

I will say I was a Public Policy (think political science) major at GT. I was deciding between Duke and GT then HOPE came along and reminded me of a $200k difference and I, thank God, went to Tech. A big contributor (beyond the $) was that Tech emphasized, even in non-STEM majors, math and science. As well as drilling statistics and research into you through both core and elective class load.

I will say I have a high aptitude for science and sometimes wonder how I might have enjoyed Mechanical Engineering, but the point remains it was true then and now that our Liberal Arts programs are difficult in the traditional sense of their own measurements as well as the tradition of GT with engineering and lab sciences which are technically very challenging.

The math components were pretty easy compared to what engineers take, but again well beyond what Duke (no slouch academically either) for example required.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

higher rated doesn’t necessarily mean harder. Like I said, it’s not in another stratosphere. And UGA’s is just 6 spots behind GT in the U.S. News rankings. GT comes in at #27. Other notable schools are:

• Stanford #1
• Northwestern #3
• Cal #7
• UVA #11
• Duke #12
• Michigan #14
• UCLA #16
• USC #17
• Texas #18
• UNC #20
• Washington #21
• Indiana #23
• Vandy #24
• Florida #28
• Minnesota #29
• BYU #30
• Notre Dame #31
• UGA #33
• Arizona State #35
• Ohio State #37
• Wisconsin #38
• Pitt #39
• Michigan State #40
• Penn State #41
• Alabama #42
• Texas A&M #43
• Maryland #44
• Arizona #46
• Tennessee #47
• Boston College #48
• Utah #51
• NCSU #52

That’s 30 of the 65 P5 schools (+2 in BYU and Notre Dame) in the top ~50 of best business schools in the country. There’s 12 schools outside of GT in the top 52 that are in the ACC or SEC, and there’s 9 other schools that I would consider to be in the southeast on the list (UVA, Duke, UNC, Vandy, Florida, UGA, Alabama, Tennessee, NCSU). There’s 13 other P5 schools ahead of GT in the rankings (including BYU & ND that’s 1/5 of all power schools), 3 of them are ACC schools, and 4 are in the southeast.

Like I said, I’m sure Scheller is marginally harder to “get out” of than some other southern state schools, but it’s not like it’s aerospace engineering. Once again, the overwhelming majority of students at other southern state schools would manage Scheller as well as GT students. Scheller is basically on par with every other P5 business school in the country. It’s upper 1/3, but it’s not insane by any means. GT’s reputation for being ridiculously hard comes from its engineering majors. There are plenty of schools with renowned programs who don’t have the reputation of being fun killers like GT does. Michigan, Florida, and Stanford all come to mind. This is largely due to GT being also the entirely STEM based while the others are not.

You're missing the bigger point. How many factory players are in one of these top business schools? Few if any in most programs, yet here it's our easy degree.

 

[JacketOff]

JacketOff, the most of us here agree that there is good education to be had at nearly any major college or university. Our friends, neighbors and professional associates are reminders of that. One thing though that you fail to mention is that we are comparing FB players, not the typical student. The FB players at GT are getting an education at one of the better business schools in the nation. Is it as tough as the engineering college? No, it's probably not as many people who dropped engineering hopped on the "M train" and left with a GT diploma.

However, the (bulk of) FB players at Uga aren't in their business school. or at Texas or at UVa. They are in the majors that most of us on this board have never heard of or would not want our children to pursue. I agree that a FB player at Duke or Indiana in their business schools is working just as hard on his academics as do Tech players. But the reality is most of them are in less than strenuous majors.

At GT, the business school is the basement. At our competitors, it is the penthouse.

CC: @Augusta_Jacket @slugboy @MWBATL
But my original comment had nothing to do with football, or student-athletes in general, which is where I think some may be getting confused. My original comment was in regards to why GT doesn’t have the fanbase or interest from incoming college students that other large state schools do.

The point was that it’s been driven home for generations that Tech is so much harder than everywhere else, and the experience because of it is no fun. While that may have been true a couple of generations ago, it’s not necessarily true now, especially in the business school which is my entire point. What I was trying to say is that the vast majority of students in other school’s business programs would make it through fine at Tech, but because of their preconceived notions, they have no interest in coming. This is not relative to the football team, only to potential students and fans. Also like I’ve said, having difficult programs isn’t as big of a deal for a school’s reputation if the curriculum has more variance ie: Michigan, Florida. Both of those schools produce some of the brightest minds in the world, but you’d never know it looking at their fanbases or reading their stereotypes. Pretty much the only stereotypes about Tech relate to the school being difficult or no fun.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

CC: @Augusta_Jacket @slugboy @MWBATL
But my original comment had nothing to do with football, or student-athletes in general, which is where I think some may be getting confused. My original comment was in regards to why GT doesn’t have the fanbase or interest from incoming college students that other large state schools do.

The point was that it’s been driven home for generations that Tech is so much harder than everywhere else, and the experience because of it is no fun. While that may have been true a couple of generations ago, it’s not necessarily true now, especially in the business school which is my entire point. What I was trying to say is that the vast majority of students in other school’s business programs would make it through fine at Tech, but because of their preconceived notions, they have no interest in coming. This is not relative to the football team, only to potential students and fans. Also like I’ve said, having difficult programs isn’t as big of a deal for a school’s reputation if the curriculum has more variance ie: Michigan, Florida. Both of those schools produce some of the brightest minds in the world, but you’d never know it looking at their fanbases or reading their stereotypes. Pretty much the only stereotypes about Tech relate to the school being difficult or no fun.

Also, just did some fact checking. Scheller is now a top 10 undergraduate business school.

Wharton Finishes First For Fourth Straight Year In Poets&Quants Undergraduate B-School Rankings

Ranking features the largest trove of undergraduate business education-specific data available anywhere.

poetsandquantsforundergrads.com

"What I was trying to say is that the vast majority of students in other school’s business programs would make it through fine at Tech,"

I agree, but my point is the vast majority of Student Athletes at factories aren't getting business degrees in top 25, much less top 10, business programs.

 

[JacketOff]

Also, just did some fact checking. Scheller is now a top 10 undergraduate business school.

Wharton Finishes First For Fourth Straight Year In Poets&Quants Undergraduate B-School Rankings

Ranking features the largest trove of undergraduate business education-specific data available anywhere.

poetsandquantsforundergrads.com

"What I was trying to say is that the vast majority of students in other school’s business programs would make it through fine at Tech,"

I agree, but my point is the vast majority of Student Athletes at factories aren't getting business degrees in top 25, much less top 10, business programs.

And once again, my post is about fans and general students, not student athletes. So while that fact may have merit, it’s irrelevant to what I’m saying.

 

[jojatk]

I am confused by your statement. How could an immediate eligibility waiver only affect kids who aren't planning to play next year? Immediate eligibility means they can play next year. If they aren't planning to play next year, then an immediate eligibility waiver doesn't do anything for them.

EDIT: Maybe I understand now. Are you saying only affect transfers who enrolled in this school year? Then it might not be in effect for those who transfer and enroll next school year?

Yes to what you said in your edit. The way I read the ruling it indicated that anyone who had transferred already and was on the roster for Fall 2020 and this was their first transfer but was going to have to sit out the 2020-2021 year. And the NCAA in their infinite lack of wisdom decided NOT to vote on the proposed rule to allow one free transfer with immediate eligibility that was supposed to be voted on this month. So right now the non-grad transfers for football are either going to have to sit out next year, apply for a waiver just like they've had to do in the past and hope the NCAA feels like GT deserves a favor that we normally aren't afforded, or hope that the NCAA decides to vote on the new rule later in the year but in enough time to allow them to play next year.

Here's the source I used: https://www.ncaa.org/about/resource...transfer-student-athletes-compete-immediately

 

[Sheboygan]

None of that will have one bit of effect on recruiting. It will piss off the fans, but won't affect recruiting. Plus, I think you're exaggeration is preposterous. I'm no apologist for anyone, but too many Tech fans think they know more than they do. It's really sad and damaging to the program.

Confused? Unprepared? It's called being young in the program. My God! I really hate Tech fans sometimes. We're our own worst enemies.

It's football ! Not learning Chinese ! Most of these kids have been playing the sport for 10 years at least. Do they know the rules ? Are they held accountable for their actions. I am not just comparing our young men in a vaccum. You think we are the only team with young players ? I am just looking for noticeable progress after 2 years in the FUNDAMENTALS of football. The inexperience gets blamed , but I would like to see the breakdown by class relative to number of plays for a true explanation.
Don't hate fans like me. I certainly don't hate fans like you. We have differences of opinion, some strong differences at times. Hate should be reserved for the DWAGS, IMO.
Not really sure where God figures into a sport.......

 

[forensicbuzz]

It's football ! Not learning Chinese ! Most of these kids have been playing the sport for 10 years at least. Do they know the rules ? Are they held accountable for their actions. I am not just comparing our young men in a vaccum. You think we are the only team with young players ? I am just looking for noticeable progress after 2 years in the FUNDAMENTALS of football. The inexperience gets blamed , but I would like to see the breakdown by class relative to number of plays for a true explanation.
Don't hate fans like me. I certainly don't hate fans like you. We have differences of opinion, some strong differences at times. Hate should be reserved for the DWAGS, IMO.
Not really sure where God figures into a sport.......

I don't necessarily hate "you" per se, it's that I get frustrated with fans who have unreasonable expectations and don't look at what is really happening. You want to see progress? Look at 2019 versus 2020. There were huges steps in progress. You want to talk about young? How many true freshmen played last year? How many true freshmen played this year? How many of the guys were playing in a brand new system that asked them to do things they didn't practice day-in, day-out? Hint: All of them.

The problem isn't that "it's football! Not Chinese." It's about playing fast and playing without having to think about what you're supposed to do. That comes with reps, hundreds, and hundreds of reps. These freshmen and sophomores don't have those reps. The upperclassmen who have been repping different techniques don't have those reps. So, yeah, there's going to be screw ups. But 2020 was much better than 2019 in terms of those screw ups. Throw on top of a new system the whole CoViD19 issue, and you get what we saw.

I saw notable progress on FUNDAMENTALS. We were much better this year than last. ANYONE who says differently either has confirmation bias or doesn't know what they're looking at.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

And once again, my post is about fans and general students, not student athletes. So while that fact may have merit, it’s irrelevant to what I’m saying.

OK. Then we agree. But it still doesn't matter in regards to this thread title. If we are expecting recruiting to improve beyond historical benchmarks, we need to make sure we understand what hinders it. One of those things is that our easy major is not an easy major, and is in fact a top 10 undergrad program. That's a great sell for the right athlete, but not for the guys looking for an easy path to the NFL.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

I don't necessarily hate "you" per se, it's that I get frustrated with fans who have unreasonable expectations and don't look at what is really happening. You want to see progress? Look at 2019 versus 2020. There were huges steps in progress. You want to talk about young? How many true freshmen played last year? How many true freshmen played this year? How many of the guys were playing in a brand new system that asked them to do things they didn't practice day-in, day-out? Hint: All of them.

The problem isn't that "it's football! Not Chinese." It's about playing fast and playing without having to think about what you're supposed to do. That comes with reps, hundreds, and hundreds of reps. These freshmen and sophomores don't have those reps. The upperclassmen who have been repping different techniques don't have those reps. So, yeah, there's going to be screw ups. But 2020 was much better than 2019 in terms of those screw ups. Throw on top of a new system the whole CoViD19 issue, and you get what we saw.

I saw notable progress on FUNDAMENTALS. We were much better this year than last. ANYONE who says differently either has confirmation bias or doesn't know what they're looking at.

I agree with your take for the most part. The only pause for concern was regression on the defense. Still need two more years at minimum to make a judgement.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

I think there’s enough variability in the results when you’re in the middle of the pack that you might have more wins with a worse team or fewer wins with a better team. Close games and chance just have a bigger role in the game when the teams are fairly even, and I think we will be fairly even with most of our opponents.
I could see us win 7 games where I’m disappointed in our growth as a team, and I could see us win 4 but be improving and incredibly unlucky. Right now, I want to see the wide receivers engaged in the game (like they were at FSU), and solid lines across both offensive and defensive fronts.

We really need a good spring practice—the offensive and defensive lines in particular, and probably the wide receivers and tight ends nearly as much. On defense, I’ve said that the defensive backs and the front 6 have seemed out of sync with each other in some games, and the defensive backs even with each other. That’s the kind of thing that 11-on-11 can help work out the kinks with.
How the transfers and incoming freshman blend in with the rest of the team is a big question, and another reason that Spring and Summer practice are huge. That hurt us this year because of our youth, and we’re still a young team.

The USNews ratings follow a formula, and it’s a pretty simple one. It’s always underrated Georgia Tech for how it prepares students for the “real world”.
The places where we could reasonably be dinged are in subjects like English, Languages, and other subjects that were “support subjects” for the degrees at Tech. It’s gotten better, but at one point a drag on our ratings was the quality of the required subjects that weren’t from the engineering schools. Even the Physics/Math/Biology departments needed more emphasis than they got.

I’d pushed Brittain dining hall out of my mind. What a waste.

I’d split our schedule up like the following

10% chance of a win

• Clemson
• UGA

20% chance of a win

• Notre Dame

30% chance of a win

• UNC
• Miami (possibly underrating Miami)

Close enough to even odds

• BC
• UVA
• VT
• PITT

70% Odds

• Duke

80% odds

• NIU
• Kennesaw State

But, again, that doesn’t tell you whether the team is on the right path or not.

I think we will be fortunate to win 4 games but I do not see this team being able to beat any of the top 5 listed above nor do I see Duke, NIU, or Kennesaw being able to upset us. Surely, we can get one or two wins out of the middle group of "even odds" or can we?

 

[slugboy]

I think we will be fortunate to win 4 games but I do not see this team being able to beat any of the top 5 listed above nor do I see Duke, NIU, or Kennesaw being able to upset us. Surely, we can get one or two wins out of the middle group of "even odds" or can we?

If Duke gets a good QB, they'll be aiming for us and Pitt and so forth. My estimate for them is that they don't have one, and their defense still needs work.

We might win one against Notre Dame, UNC, or Miami--it'd be a huge upset, and we'd need to be healthy, but things like that happen.

5-6 wins would be pretty impressive progress for us--even 5 would, as far as winning percentage. Like I said, their is still the possibility that several teams just sleepwalk against us and we luck out without getting much better. That's why I'm more interested, with a young team like we have, that we start playing a lot better as a team--especially on defense.

 

[Milwaukee]

Fans maybe, we’ll see about recruits. My question has always been why Tech fans are so fair-weather. I mean we make fun of USCe but they show up no matter what. Pretty much the same with NC State. What’s the deal?

It’s because we’re the worst fanbase I’ve ever came across. Facts.
Collins is looking to attract a new type of GT fan fortunately, but he has to win before they show up and become die hards.