FSU game thread

[stinger78]

I don’t have to go 12-0, I can live with 11-1 .

Or maybe 10-2?

 

[stech81]

Or maybe 10-2?

Ok but I’ll more beer

 

[57jacket]

Georgia Tech again counting on Jamal Haynes to lead ground attack

“He’s a fireplug. He’s like the Energizer Bunny, he can go all day.”

www.ajc.com

 

[Gold1]

FSU is easily the most important game on the schedule. This is make a "Georgia Tech the talk of the country for the entire leadup to Week 1" material. This is a "put 45-50k in Bobby Dodd for Under The Skyline against Georgia State" moment. This is a "renew the fandom of tens of thousands of long, lost alumni" opportunity. It would be great to have a 6-6 season and beat Georgia, but program momentum would be reset by the time August 2025 rolls around.

It really is a gigantic opportunity for us in so many ways. So nervous haha

 

[MWBATL]

I don’t have to go 12-0, I can live with 11-1 .

Depends on who the one is…

 

[HurricaneJacket]

Do we expect there to be any coaches press conferences this week?

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Realistically, Tech is an underdog in this game. On paper, they should win. They have more talent, went undefeated last year until the bowl game, etc.

Gold Colored Glasses?

I'm not at all sold on F$U. They had half the team quit on the previous season, got drubbed 3-63 in the bowl game, sued their conference, lost their star Heisman-candidate QB (and RB and WRs and DTs and LBs and...), and brought in a bunch of NIL free agents to 'reload'. The offense was just 'ok' without Travis last year, and they lose him and the other key contributors. Uiagalelei was 43rd in QBR, 54th in passing yards, 75th in QB rushing yards (only 219 on the season) last season at OR St. (and there's reasons he's not at Clemson.) I'm not really buying the hype on him. They have enough talent (on paper) to win a lot of games. But it's a lot of question marks. I really question if all the new (pay to play) faces can gel, especially in game one and especially given the toxicity and distraction around the program.

On the other hand. I'm trying really hard to temper my enthusiasm about what Key and company are building. Key is an old school ball coach, he's not one to be satisfied or hand out idle praise. He's expressed a lot of appreciation for how this team has stepped up and pulled together. On offense, we return all the key players from a squad that got pretty good by the end of last season. Honestly, Haynes King was similar in passing stats to Uiagalelei. But, he was also a top 10 rushing QB, which adds a whole other dynamic to his game. The interceptions held him back in his stats and he really needs to improve there. But I hope he'll be in less situations where he needs to take risks to try to win. The defense is a big neon question mark. But all the indications are that the DL has made a big leap and that should help the whole unit. We brought in some key transfers, but we also have some returning leaders at pretty much every position. The tone around the program is really optimistic. We're setting fundraising records, putting together one of our best recruiting classes ever, a lot of enthusiasm and positivity.

I like what we're bringing to this game. I have confidence we'll be, at worst, competitive with F$U.

I asked my church friends who are Clemson fanatics (I have agreed to absolve them of their many sins) about good ole Uiagalelei. They don't know what he did at Oregon State. They don't know how many pass completions, passes intercepted, rushing yards, wins, losses, etc. They don't want no part of him. He looks great, they say. He has all the measurables, they say. But he cannot handle pressure of any kind from the pass rush kind to the mental pressure kind. In a word, FSU can have him and will find out sooner or later that he is not Travis Jordan in any way shape or form...or so they say.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

Very well put.
Like to add:

Thru out year we seemed to score great in second quarter and then go quiet in the 3rd.
Any obervations on that??

At end of year against Clemson and Ga our ol and run game did not exceed their average yards given up. Also We did not do better than average against uva and but did much better at ucf. However at ucf the qb threw 13 passes and ran 12 times . This year we are without Dontae and we have a thin rb room ( damn freshman fumble) we cant plan on qb running so much.

It seems like from the start we need to lean on and hope for great improvement from the WR room. It looks loaded.
Dreaming= It would be so sweet if post ireland the headline is about blackburn and how gt stuck with him.

In 23 King threw for over 4 games 300 yds in games with 1 or fewer int. However in 3 games ( clem 4, bc 3, bg 2) he threw over half of his int.

Also we have a very good fg kicker.
Go Jackets

Just some points.

If it were me running the show at FSU, on offense I would run the ball right at those two 300 plus pounders and see if the hype about better conditioning was true. What I would NOT do is make my quarterback win the game. That guy tends to have problems under pressure. On defense, I would depend upon my defensive line and linebackers to hit King and keep hitting him. He is the guy that can beat you. Under no circumstances as a favorite would I want Georgia Tech within a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Strange things happen to teams that let them hang around... see Miami.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

I've previously compared last year's GT team to the 2007 Alabama team on this forum. If you'll forgive my indulgence, let's compare what happened 2007/08 to GT 2023/24:

Year 1 - 2 Marquee wins over top 15ish teams - Tennessee + Arkansas/North Carolina + Miami
Year 1 - Hard-fought close loss against top competition - LSU/UGA
Year 1 - Embarassing loss to lower competition, followed by a strong response - Louisiana-Monroe/Bowling Green
Year 1 - Bowl win - Colorado/UCF
Year 2 - Get boosters aligned behind new program and raise a record amount of money - Mal Moore/J Batt
Year 2 - Hire young up-and-coming defensive coordinator - Kirby Smart/Tyler Santucci
Year 2 - Sign headliner in-state 5-star recruit, sending a message to recruits - Julio Jones/Josh Petty
Year 2 - Upset top-10 ACC opponent on a neutral-site field, signaling you're back - Clemson/FSU <-- you are here

Now I'm in no way saying that we will go 12-0 next year or will win 5 of the next 10 national championships. I'm just saying, history is like poetry, it rhymes, and I'm ready to watch a game I have a feeling we'll remember for a long time.

Nor are we in any way close to Alabama 2007. Not happening this year, probably not next year either.

 

[g0lftime]

I asked my church friends who are Clemson fanatics (I have agreed to absolve them of their many sins) about good ole Uiagalelei. They don't know what he did at Oregon State. They don't know how many pass completions, passes intercepted, rushing yards, wins, losses, etc. They don't want no part of him. He looks great, they say. He has all the measurables, they say. But he cannot handle pressure of any kind from the pass rush kind to the mental pressure kind. In a word, FSU can have him and will find out sooner or later that he is not Travis Jordan in any way shape or form...or so they say.

He is probably more of a running threat with his size. He is a big athletic guy.

 

[Thwg777]

I asked my church friends who are Clemson fanatics (I have agreed to absolve them of their many sins) about good ole Uiagalelei. They don't know what he did at Oregon State. They don't know how many pass completions, passes intercepted, rushing yards, wins, losses, etc. They don't want no part of him. He looks great, they say. He has all the measurables, they say. But he cannot handle pressure of any kind from the pass rush kind to the mental pressure kind. In a word, FSU can have him and will find out sooner or later that he is not Travis Jordan in any way shape or form...or so they say.

Good write up. In my opinion, he’s an upgraded Sims. Norvell’s first act was to get Sims to decommit so I was surprised to see ukulele at free shoes. We’ll know soon enough!

 

[57jacket]

Last year's FSU QB ( Travis..?) was so very key to their success. I mean extraordinarily. How his replacement performs will define thieir O.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

Last year's FSU QB ( Travis..?) was so very key to their success. I mean extraordinarily. How his replacement performs will define thieir O.

Even if he turns out to be everything they want, it still takes 2-3 games to work the kinks out to get players in sync. too bad they have us for the first game

 

[iceeater1969]

Even if he turns out to be everything they want, it still takes 2-3 games to work the kinks out to get players in sync. too bad they have us for the first game

As i have pointed out -last year they had 2 WR go to pros. Fingers crossed the next man up is not NFL quality. The guy from Clemson sure doesnt seem to be on track to go to nfl.

But thatsxwhy they play the game.

 

[GTJake]

FSU is easily the most important game on the schedule. This is make a "Georgia Tech the talk of the country for the entire leadup to Week 1" material. This is a "put 45-50k in Bobby Dodd for Under The Skyline against Georgia State" moment. This is a "renew the fandom of tens of thousands of long, lost alumni" opportunity. It would be great to have a 6-6 season and beat Georgia, but program momentum would be reset by the time August 2025 rolls around.

I agree the FSU game is big, especially getting us off to a fast start and building momentum. I am very optimistic about the current projectory of the team and program as a whole, but ... I don't like the way the FSU game sets up for us:
1) if this were a true home game in Atlanta I would feel differently, but now we have other factors getting in the way, specifically travel (jet-lag), which team is more focused to play and not on vacation to Ireland.
2) Wish we had a warm-up game instead of playing one of the top teams in the conference first time out
3) FSU is pissed by missing the CFP last year and one of the main culprits is ESPN and Herbsreet who will be in attendance
4) FSU was embarrassed in the bowl game and can't wait to get that game in the rearview mirror and prove their program was slighted
5) With their post-season shenanigans they want to prove the ACC sucks
Even though we have a lot to gain going into the game, I think FSU has more to gain (or lose). I think the Georgia State game is the biggest game, maybe not in the year but certainly in the first-half. This will be by far GSU's biggest game of the year and we'll be coming back one week after playing across the pond.

 

[Lil G]

I think the Georgia State game is the biggest game, maybe not in the year but certainly in the first-half. This will be by far GSU's biggest game of the year and we'll be coming back one week after playing across the pond.

I’m also really worried about Georgia State. They will have data on us, and we will have zero on them.

New head coach that will will specialize in running the ball on us. *bowling green chills* I feel better about our defense as a whole this season, but they can still catch us unprepared for their scheme and put up points in the first half.

Glad it’s a home game. I think we’ll need that boost.

 

[roadkill]

I agree the FSU game is big, especially getting us off to a fast start and building momentum. I am very optimistic about the current projectory of the team and program as a whole, but ... I don't like the way the FSU game sets up for us:
1) if this were a true home game in Atlanta I would feel differently, but now we have other factors getting in the way, specifically travel (jet-lag), which team is more focused to play and not on vacation to Ireland.
2) Wish we had a warm-up game instead of playing one of the top teams in the conference first time out
3) FSU is pissed by missing the CFP last year and one of the main culprits is ESPN and Herbsreet who will be in attendance
4) FSU was embarrassed in the bowl game and can't wait to get that game in the rearview mirror and prove their program was slighted
5) With their post-season shenanigans they want to prove the ACC sucks
Even though we have a lot to gain going into the game, I think FSU has more to gain (or lose). I think the Georgia State game is the biggest game, maybe not in the year but certainly in the first-half. This will be by far GSU's biggest game of the year and we'll be coming back one week after playing across the pond.

To expand on what you cited, I am less concerned about how we match up with FSU's athletes and more concerned about them coming to play with a chip on their shoulder from the CFP snub.

 

[CEB]

Last year's FSU QB ( Travis..?) was so very key to their success. I mean extraordinarily. How his replacement performs will define thieir O.

I’m not sure they did a stellar job protecting him either. He was really good at getting the ball out quickly and on target. He felt pressure REALLY well.
One of the knocks on DJU is that he’s better on the deep ball and may have tendency to hold it too long. Let’s hope they have some protection troubles and DJU holds the ball a count or two longer than he should.
I would expect run heavy attack from them also… if we can slow that, it could be fun.

 

[BCJacket]

To expand on what you cited, I am less concerned about how we match up with FSU's athletes and more concerned about them coming to play with a chip on their shoulder from the CFP snub.

I feel the opposite about this. Because they're 83rd in the nation in 'returning production' per Bill Connolly. Last year, they were #1. And a lot of the new starters are transfers. Not guys who were on the depth chart last season. This is pretty much a new team. So, I'm not sure how much motivation/chip they'll have from the 'snub' Does DJ U really care that they got 'snubbed' last year when he was at ORSt?

But the negativity and distraction from the fanbase and lawsuits and all that is probably present.

 

[GTJake]

To expand on what you cited, I am less concerned about how we match up with FSU's athletes and more concerned about them coming to play with a chip on their shoulder from the CFP snub.

I also think that if we are competitive and are still in the game in the 4thQ, we can lose this game and still stay in the hunt for the ACC