GT over/under 5.5 wins in 2024

[Oldgoldandwhite]

I just cannot figure out what happened to the fan base from five and more years ago. if you watch video of games over the past 20 years up until 2019, we averaged a lot more fans. The upper east stands used to be pretty full and now they are almost empty. I am not sure where the fans have gone.

Really? You can basically thank two people for that.

 

[tmhunter52]

I hope that Brent Key’s 2024 team will take that big step forward to leave our past miseries behind us forever. The way to put fans in the seats is to win. Win the games against lesser talent that are supposed to be “gimmes”. Play smartly, with 100% effort, and above the star ratings. Inspire confidence in the fanbase instead of fear and despair, wondering when the collapse will come. No one wants to go backward. Only forward.

 

[stinger78]

Didn't say I said you said he was

I’m officially lost…

 

[CEB]

I’m officially lost…

 

[iceeater1969]

Seems most here underrate VT. They had the same record as GT LAST SEASON, 7-6 (5-3). The game is in Blacksburg which is a tough place to win when are good. As an aside they return 86% of their offensive production.

The bell weather game.

The 2 Techs are trying to rise.

Vt has much easier early schedule. They should be riding high.

GT has ND just before traveling to Vt.

After vt, gt has 3 mia, ncst, uga so we really need this game.

Vt s remaining schedule has Clemson as lone tough game.
Beat us a they are on a big time roll.

Blacksburg will be rocking.

Wife has approved us going after i invoked the bucket list away stadium experience.

 

[Augusta_Jacket]

Wife has approved us going after i invoked the bucket list away stadium experience.

Lane Stadium is a great place to watch a game. Beautiful area, beautiful campus, fans are semi-obnoxious but bearable.

The pre-game atmosphere is, dare I say, electric... (Just ask Lee Corso)

 

[bensaysitathome]

The bell weather game.

The 2 Techs are trying to rise.

Vt has much easier early schedule. They should be riding high.

GT has ND just before traveling to Vt.

After vt, gt has 3 mia, ncst, uga so we really need this game.

Vt s remaining schedule has Clemson as lone tough game.
Beat us a they are on a big time roll.

Blacksburg will be rocking.

Wife has approved us going after i invoked the bucket list away stadium experience.

I've been to Blacksburg many times; it's one of the closest destinations for tech football to where I live.

It is for sure a worthy trip. Get out downtown, enjoy the tailgate scene, and arrive in time for enter sandman.

 

[Root4GT]

The bell weather game.

The 2 Techs are trying to rise.

Vt has much easier early schedule. They should be riding high.

GT has ND just before traveling to Vt.

After vt, gt has 3 mia, ncst, uga so we really need this game.

Vt s remaining schedule has Clemson as lone tough game.
Beat us a they are on a big time roll.

Blacksburg will be rocking.

Wife has approved us going after i invoked the bucket list away stadium experience.

If they are playing well and it’s a night game the experience is really good. Enjoy and hope we win!

 

[Tech Lawyer]

As a Ga State Alum, I have been to Panther games at home and away (Auburn and South Carolina). They really don't have much of a student section. My guess is the Panthers will bring about 3,000 fans. Also, I expect a bit of a rebuilding year for them as they lose 3 year QB starter Darren Grainger and their top RB Marcus Carroll who transferred. We should win by at least two TDs.

 

[apatriot1776]

Really? You can basically thank two people for that.

GC and ? Stansbury?

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

I’ve made money taking the over both of these last two years. I intend to do the same this year. I don’t buy into the schedule being too hard talk. It’s the ACC, there’s too much chaos from week to week to say anybody is too tough to beat on any given Saturday (or Thursday night). I also think there’s a very real chance we have the best offense in the conference this year. With even an average defense, maybe even slightly below average, I think we can compete for the conference title.

Be careful here. Its not like we are playing in a super soft conference like the SEC

 

[ramblineck]

Agree on how you break down the opponents

Based on past history, we come out of the “easy six games” with 3-4 wins, and pick up a few wins in the other group.

As much as I enjoyed last season, I think last season’s team wins 5 games against this schedule.

To win 7 games against this schedule, we need to be better than VT and better than Louisville and NCST. We need to be a lot better than last season, and still lucky.

Every ACC coach worth their salary should have the tape of the Clemson and BC games for us, and be ready to attack our front 6 (or 7, if we do something unusual).

Any prediction I make assumes that we fix the defensive front with more than just scheme and technique. We need as big a jump on defense next season as we had on offense. I don’t know enough to make that bet right now.

I think 5.5 is a good number. Key either needs to get us a top 20 offense, where we boatrace, or a massive overhaul of the defense where we find enough players in the post Spring portal—and the latter is risky.

Santucci & company might be a massive upgrade, but our defense might be worse unless we pull in some ballers on defense

I’m really bouncing between 5 and 6 for a forecast

Why should we expect anything less than a top 25 offense? I think that keeps us in most games with the variable being the D. If they’re still awful, we could be in for a rough albeit “fun” season

 

[WreckinGT]

Why should we expect anything less than a top 25 offense? I think that keeps us in most games with the variable being the D. If they’re still awful, we could be in for a rough albeit “fun” season

What is the reason we should expect a top 25 offense? We weren't top 25 last year, didn't really add anyone that would make an immediate impact, and the quality of defenses we will play will likely be higher. It's going to be a grind. A top 25 offense would be a pretty outstanding job by our staff.

 

[takethepoints]

It’s the ACC, there’s too much chaos from week to week to say anybody is too tough to beat on any given Saturday (or Thursday night).

Werner Hertzog describes ACC football best:

Every Man For Himself and God Against All

 

[boger2337]

What is the reason we should expect a top 25 offense? We weren't top 25 last year, didn't really add anyone that would make an immediate impact, and the quality of defenses we will play will likely be higher. It's going to be a grind. A top 25 offense would be a pretty outstanding job by our staff.

Gained a 5.9 rated RB that's expected to be an instant impact. I think 9-10 starters back in offense with all key positions coming back. Leo Blackburn will be healthy and if he is 75% of what he showed in his limited time he will immediately be a starter. Top 25 is a starting point. Anything past 35 is a bad year for this offense barring injuries. Everyone will also have another year in Busters offense. I am expecting top 25 with hopes of top 15. Should average 35 points a game. a 4 ppg improvement from 2023. That would land GT around 14-16th in PPG in the country.

 

[WreckinGT]

Gained a 5.9 rated RB that's expected to be an instant impact. I think 9-10 starters back in offense with all key positions coming back. Leo Blackburn will be healthy and if he is 75% of what he showed in his limited time he will immediately be a starter. Top 25 is a starting point. Anything past 35 is a bad year for this offense barring injuries. Everyone will also have another year in Busters offense. I am expecting top 25 with hopes of top 15. Should average 35 points a game. a 4 ppg improvement from 2023. That would land GT around 14-16th in PPG in the country.

Our offense broke 35 last year 3 times in 13 games against defenses ranked right around 50th in the country on average in DFEI. The defenses we play next year average around 40th in DFEI based on their 2023 numbers and you are expecting to average 35 a game against them? Not really sure that is a reasonable improvement just based on another year in the offense.

 

[JacketOff]

Our offense broke 35 last year 3 times in 13 games against defenses ranked right around 50th in the country on average in DFEI. The defenses we play next year average around 40th in DFEI based on their 2023 numbers and you are expecting to average 35 a game against them? Not really sure that is a reasonable improvement just based on another year in the offense.

Last year on offense we had a new HC, OC, WR coach, RB coach, OL coach, a new starting QB, and one of our top 2 RBs transitioned from WR to RB in the middle of spring practice, and we still had an OFEI of 33. We also led the conference in rushing, 3rd in total offense, 4th in scoring, and 5th in passing. We did all of that with a QB who was tied for the 2nd most INTs in the entire country.

Literally all of the staff is coming back, Jamal Haynes will have a full season and spring/summer practice of RB experience, Haynes King likely improves, and the entire system will be more open now that everyone is comfortable with each other.
I don’t see how you can look at all that and think the offense doesn’t at least remain stagnant.

 

[boger2337]

Our offense broke 35 last year 3 times in 13 games against defenses ranked right around 50th in the country on average in DFEI. The defenses we play next year average around 40th in DFEI based on their 2023 numbers and you are expecting to average 35 a game against them? Not really sure that is a reasonable improvement just based on another year in the offense.

They averaged 31 on the year. 3-4 extra points coming from an extra year in the offense isn't much to ask. The question will be, of those teams how many are returning 9+on defense? FSU lost a lot. They are basically unranked until proven (GT should score 28 on fsu). GT should score 164 points in the first 4 weeks. Averaging out to 40 a game the first 3rd of the season. Then should score about 121 points the next 4 games with an average of 30 for those 4. The last 4 games should be about 118 points with an average of 29.5 points.

That comes to 33.5 points per game. Which would land them in the top 20 in PPG. Not the 35 I would hope for, but a true offensive showcase against Georgia State and VMI could boost it enough to put it in the 35 range.

 

[WreckinGT]

Last year on offense we had a new HC, OC, WR coach, RB coach, OL coach, a new starting QB, and one of our top 2 RBs transitioned from WR to RB in the middle of spring practice, and we still had an OFEI of 33. We also led the conference in rushing, 3rd in total offense, 4th in scoring, and 5th in passing. We did all of that with a QB who was tied for the 2nd most INTs in the entire country.

Literally all of the staff is coming back, Jamal Haynes will have a full season and spring/summer practice of RB experience, Haynes King likely improves, and the entire system will be more open now that everyone is comfortable with each other.
I don’t see how you can look at all that and think the offense doesn’t at least remain stagnant.

Our offense last year was 33rd in OFEI, 34th in total offense, and 43rd in scoring offense. I think against a tougher schedule we will have to improve on offense to maintain those numbers which I actually do think we can do. When you start throwing top 25 and top 15 in there as expectations when we have a schedule that includes 5 teams that finished in the top 20 in DFEI the previous year then you are drinking the kool aid a bit.

 

[Root4GT]

They averaged 31 on the year. 3-4 extra points coming from an extra year in the offense isn't much to ask. The question will be, of those teams how many are returning 9+on defense? FSU lost a lot. They are basically unranked until proven (GT should score 28 on fsu). GT should score 164 points in the first 4 weeks. Averaging out to 40 a game the first 3rd of the season. Then should score about 121 points the next 4 games with an average of 30 for those 4. The last 4 games should be about 118 points with an average of 29.5 points.

That comes to 33.5 points per game. Which would land them in the top 20 in PPG. Not the 35 I would hope for, but a true offensive showcase against Georgia State and VMI could boost it enough to put it in the 35 range.

We need to cut down on TOs on offense and the defense will also have a role in how well our offense scores. If the defense gives up fewer big plays but gives up long multi play drives the offense will have fewer possessions per game which can impact the offense's scoring.