SMU only really tough game on paper is FSU and maybe Louisville. They play most of the bottom half of the ACC rated teams. They could be ACC champs. In reality I think they will find the ACC tougher than many outsiders think it is.
There’s always room for improvement. But I wouldn’t describe an offense that nearly doubled its previous year’s scoring output, led the league in rushing and was 3rd in total offense, as “sputtering a lot”. Our offense struggled more against elite defenses (Clemson and UGA) as would most. Our low offensive production in the Miami game had weather as a factor, yet we certainly didn’t sputter on the last drive.That our schedule is backloaded
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Our offense sputtered a lot last season. A strong and consistent passing attack with some solid possession receivers could have really helped. If we lead the league in passing, it could be just from not sputtering like last season.
It usually takes us some time to figure out the offense. Hopefully, we’re faster students this season.
On another tangent, Phil Steele says we have the 4th (I think that’s right) hardest schedule in the nation.
We also failed to convert a lot of series. It wasn’t just interceptions. We had big plays, but we weren’t very efficient.
Listening to this has me absolutely pumped for the start of this FB season. LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!From today
Brent Key, GT Football Head Coach - The Locker Room
There is some real mojo on The Flats as Breny Key readies his team for the 2024 seasonomny.fm
I think the philosophy changed in the second half of the season to be much more run oriented. I think that changed our offense for the better and made King more of a threat. Be interesting to see which approach they take at the beginning of this year.We also failed to convert a lot of series. It wasn’t just interceptions. We had big plays, but we weren’t very efficient.
BC had a terrible defense. We threw picks and fumbled, but we punted a LOT. There were plenty of games where we punted a lot.
We had three turnovers against Bowling Green, but we also had
3 plays, 8 yards, punt
3 plays, -1 yards, punt
5 plays, 8 yards, downs
8 plays, 32 yards, punt
8 plays, 62 yards, downs
If the offense hadn’t gone ice-cold for several series in a couple of games, we’d have had a much better record. Eight plays for 32 yards happens; repeated three and outs against a middling G5 team is sputtering.
Our run game was occasionally really good, but sometimes AWOL. Same with our passing game, except it was more frequently AWOL.
If you look at offensive efficiency, we were somewhere from the 42nd to 49th most efficient team. That gives you games like Bowling Green and BC
Georgia Tech | 2023 | Game on Paper
Advanced stats for Georgia Tech during the 2023 seasongameonpaper.com
We couldn't contain the BC QB either. He had an all-star game against us.
That guy is a stud - he's a lot of fun to watch when he's not gutting our defense.
SMU is 2-11 against P5 teams dating back to 2016, including 0-3 last year. There is also a massive difference in playing P5 teams every week rather than just a couple of times a year. UCF found that out last year, and I’d argue UCF was a stronger program moving to a weaker conference. They went 3-6 in the Big 12 after not having a losing conference record since 2015, their only losing record in the American after they joined in 2013. UCF was also 7-5 against P5 opponents since 2017 (of course 2 of those wins are against Geoff Collins).
That Syracuse game was strange. Their QB wasn't even a regular at that position and yet we seemed to really struggle to win that game. It was a lot closer than I expected and everyone knew the coach was a lame duck.
Appreciate your detailed response. I may be looking at our offense through the golden haze of comparison with prior seasons where Shanahan got a serious workout.We also failed to convert a lot of series. It wasn’t just interceptions. We had big plays, but we weren’t very efficient.
BC had a terrible defense. We threw picks and fumbled, but we punted a LOT. There were plenty of games where we punted a lot.
We had three turnovers against Bowling Green, but we also had
3 plays, 8 yards, punt
3 plays, -1 yards, punt
5 plays, 8 yards, downs
8 plays, 32 yards, punt
8 plays, 62 yards, downs
If the offense hadn’t gone ice-cold for several series in a couple of games, we’d have had a much better record. Eight plays for 32 yards happens; repeated three and outs against a middling G5 team is sputtering.
Our run game was occasionally really good, but sometimes AWOL. Same with our passing game, except it was more frequently AWOL.
If you look at offensive efficiency, we were somewhere from the 42nd to 49th most efficient team. That gives you games like Bowling Green and BC
Georgia Tech | 2023 | Game on Paper
Advanced stats for Georgia Tech during the 2023 seasongameonpaper.com
In the three-win seasons, I wouldn’t call our offense sputtering—that implies that it’s hot and cold. It was just cold.
Wake Forest last year was a nauseating finish. We owned that game on both sides of the ball and they came within 20 yards of tying the game late.
