Stats Let's take a look at #VTvsGT

CuseJacket

CuseJacket

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VT enters the game 7-2 and 3-2 in conference and #17 in the country. Their best wins are over West Virginia 31-24 (neutral field) who is #23/NR in the polls. They also won @ Boston College 23-10.

GT enters the game 4-4 and 3-3 in conference. Our best win is vs. Wake Forest 38-24 at home.

VT's 2 losses are to common opponents. Here's a comparison.

Clemson
VT offense vs Clemson: 342 yards | 14 possessions | 17 points | 1.2 ppd
GT offense @ Clemson: 230 yards | 13 possessions | 10 points | .8 ppd

VT defense vs. Clemson: 332 yards | 12 possessions | 24 points | 2 ppd
GT defense @ Clemson: 428 yards | 12 possessions | 24 points | 2 ppd

Note: Clemson scored 31 total points with 7 coming via a defensive pick-6

Miami
VT offense @ Miami: 299 yards | 13 possessions | 10 points (lone TD via 17 yard drive) | .8 ppd
GT offense @ Miami: 281 yards | 10 possessions | 17 points - 1.7 ppd

VT defense @ Miami: 429 yards | 12 possessions | 28 points - 2.3 ppd
GT defense @ Miami: 481 yards | 12 possessions | 25 points - 2.1 ppd

Note: GT scored 24 total points with 7 coming via onside kick return


My initial conclusions
  • There is not much separation between GT's O&D vs. VT's O&D across these two highlight games.
  • Given GT's O&D performance against the two highlight teams, my take on the differences between the two teams this year is the following
    • Our two additional losses (TN, UVA) prove we are more inconsistent. VT has beaten who they should with 2 better wins than any on GT's resume. They deserve their top 25 ranking. Even had we beaten TN and @ UVA, VT still has a better two wins, imo.
    • Special teams are mostly hidden from the above. VT is certainly better at this phase of the game, a phase that amounts to ~18% of total plays per a previous @GTNavyNuke analysis last year (by the way, thanks for not posting those this year).
Of course there are other differences not mentioned above e.g., weather circumstances, injuries, etc.

So, how do you think the two teams stack up head-to-head?
 

Sideways

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CuseJacket said:
VT enters the game 7-2 and 3-2 in conference and #17 in the country. Their best wins are over West Virginia 31-24 (neutral field) who is #23/NR in the polls. They also won @ Boston College 23-10.

GT enters the game 4-4 and 3-3 in conference. Our best win is vs. Wake Forest 38-24 at home.

VT's 2 losses are to common opponents. Here's a comparison.

Clemson
VT offense vs Clemson: 342 yards | 14 possessions | 17 points | 1.2 ppd
GT offense @ Clemson: 230 yards | 13 possessions | 10 points | .8 ppd

VT defense vs. Clemson: 332 yards | 12 possessions | 24 points | 2 ppd
GT defense @ Clemson: 428 yards | 12 possessions | 24 points | 2 ppd

Note: Clemson scored 31 total points with 7 coming via a defensive pick-6

Miami
VT offense @ Miami: 299 yards | 13 possessions | 10 points (lone TD via 17 yard drive) | .8 ppd
GT offense @ Miami: 281 yards | 10 possessions | 17 points - 1.7 ppd



VT defense @ Miami: 429 yards | 12 possessions | 28 points - 2.3 ppd
GT defense @ Miami: 481 yards | 12 possessions | 25 points - 2.1 ppd

Note: GT scored 24 total points with 7 coming via onside kick return


My initial conclusions
  • There is not much separation between GT's O&D vs. VT's O&D across these two highlight games.
  • Given GT's O&D performance against the two highlight teams, my take on the differences between the two teams this year is the following
    • Our two additional losses (TN, UVA) prove we are more inconsistent. VT has beaten who they should with 2 better wins than any on GT's resume. They deserve their top 25 ranking. Even had we beaten TN and @ UVA, VT still has a better two wins, imo.
    • Special teams are mostly hidden from the above. VT is certainly better at this phase of the game, a phase that amounts to ~18% of total plays per a previous @GTNavyNuke analysis last year (by the way, thanks for not posting those this year).
Of course there are other differences not mentioned above e.g., weather circumstances, injuries, etc.

So, how do you think the two teams stack up head-to-head?
Click to expand...

I think they are a better team especially on defense BUT they are not as good as some we have played in the past. The thing that I find worrisome is they have two BIG 300 plus pound defensive tackles that promise to be a handful. After watching them against Miami, my impression was that we actually played Miami a better game. Getting pressure on their young quarterback is paramount. If we can do that and rattle him some we have a chance. Interestingly, the comments on the Virginia Tech website I scrolled through were remarkably similar to what GT fans complain about: "Miami is just too athletic for us" "The talent level is way down because of Frank not recruiting" Our recruiting area is not fertile enough (in so many words) to allow us to compete with Florida teams" etc. Lamenting that they no longer have "Bucky" and "Ford" and some of the others that tormented us in the past. I don't think they have played as well since that first win with West Virginia. I watched the replay of their game with UNC and they won but were uncharacteristically sloppy for a Hokie team.
 
katlong

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These are very interesting stats - thanks for posting. They are pretty similar. After our loss on Saturday, I feared for the worst against VT hoping to not get blown out, and then I watched half of the Miami/VT game until I couldn't stand it anymore. VT did not play well - and I felt like they got pounded by Clemson earlier in the season as well. Maybe they are better than us by more than the stats show, but not based on what I saw Saturday night. I think it depends on who comes to win! We have a great chance to win if we execute our game, and if not, we'll hang another "L" on the wall. Go Jackets!
 

takethepoints

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I think both fan bases are way too likely to blame losses on recruiting problems. It's a form of Hanlon's Razor: "Never blame on recruiting what can be explained by inexperience or pure bum luck."

If you look back over the years, you'll find that both Tech and VT have trived on 3* recruiting classes. They've usually done a bit better then we have, but, weighted for class size, not by much. Their fans have been complaining about this for eons, just like ours have. This year we have lost two one point games, one by inexperience - TM would pitch the ball on the 2 point play today - and one by bum luck - you could run the 4th down conversion that led to Miami's victory 100 times and 99 times the ball would not be caught. That's football.

And, no, I don't see any significant difference between VT and us. They have one "good" win against West-by-God-Virginia in their first game. They wouldn't be able to beat that outfit today. We have one "good" against Wake.

(The original Razor = "Never blame on malice what can be explained by stupidity or incompetence." One of my favorites.)
 

MWBATL

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I think trending is also important. I believe our offense in particular is trending down. VPI&SU has always given us trouble with their defense, even when we are good offensively. They fire in the gaps and attack our offense which often confuses us and forces bad decisions, especially for inexperienced players (QB). With no passing game, I am expecting a terrible offensive performance...maybe somewhere slightly better than Clemson but about like Miami.

The VPI&SU offense should be able to do just enough and I expect them to win a decently tight game...something along the lines of 27-17 with a late score by VPI&SU making the last two minutes meaningless.

Bottom line, though....they're better than us atheletically and I don't see how our coaching is much better than theirs.
 

RyanS12

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UgaBlows said:
Your one of the only people i actually believe when i read these kind of statements. Thanks for the pick-me-up, i needed it!
Click to expand...
Thanks. I wasn't so confident during the chat Saturday. I said game over a few times and not in our favor. Thatgame just had a weird look and vibe to it. Just felt off.
 

takethepoints

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UgaBlows said:
I dread going against Bud with no passing game
Click to expand...
We went 2 for 7 for 34 yards last year. If you recall, we won.

We averaged 258 yards per game on the ground last year. We're averaging 332 this year against a better list of opponents and 482 yards per game on a dry field.

I'm not as worried about this game as I was last year as a consequence. I'd be happier if we threw the ball better, but we're doing well enough to win.

Will we? Well, that's another question. I think it will be another prizefight, provided the field is dry.
 
Coloradojacket

Coloradojacket

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After watching all four games and the stats.
Clemson Va Tech. A lot of their yards came in the fourth quarter as Clemson was putting in second teamers. Game was over in the third quarter.
Miami Va Tech. Miami threw three interceptions and Va Tech did nothing.

also I think weather was a big differentiator as we were moving the ball on Miami until the monsoon.
 
UgaBlows

UgaBlows

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takethepoints said:
We went 2 for 7 for 34 yards last year. If you recall, we won.

We averaged 258 yards per game on the ground last year. We're averaging 332 this year against a better list of opponents and 482 yards per game on a dry field.

I'm not as worried about this game as I was last year as a consequence. I'd be happier if we threw the ball better, but we're doing well enough to win.

Will we? Well, that's another question. I think it will be another prizefight, provided the field is dry.
Click to expand...

I do recall, i also recall that we had a totally different QB
 
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