Preseason rankings....

[NorthFultonJacket]

We are ranked....at best....#9 in the ACC in the coaches poll. Woo hoo! No wonder no one talks about us on the local radio shows. There is NO buzz surrounding this years team. It’s depressing really. I rememember when we used to complain that we should be ranked higher....now we aren’t even in the top 60. I hope we prove everyone wrong but I am sticking with my prediction of 5-7 this year. Next year seems more promising but our defense will take at least a year to adjust to the new system. The attack style favored by Coach Woody will expose our secondary which needs at least a year of maturity. I don’t see us beating USF this year. However I AM looking forward to the QB battle between Oliver and Graham next spring.

 

[Adadu]

We are ranked....at best....#9 in the ACC in the coaches poll. Woo hoo! No wonder no one talks about us on the local radio shows. There is NO buzz surrounding this years team. It’s depressing really. I rememember when we used to complain that we should be ranked higher....now we aren’t even in the top 60. I hope we prove everyone wrong but I am sticking with my prediction of 5-7 this year. Next year seems more promising but our defense will take at least a year to adjust to the new system. The attack style favored by Coach Woody will expose our secondary which needs at least a year of maturity. I don’t see us beating USF this year. However I AM looking forward to the QB battle between Oliver and Graham next spring.

In the media, all that matters are L's and W's. We've had a lot of L's recently. Tech tends to do better when expectations are low so you should be excited for this year. I also highly doubt we miss a bowl this year.

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

We are ranked....at best....#9 in the ACC in the coaches poll. Woo hoo! No wonder no one talks about us on the local radio shows. There is NO buzz surrounding this years team. It’s depressing really. I rememember when we used to complain that we should be ranked higher....now we aren’t even in the top 60. I hope we prove everyone wrong but I am sticking with my prediction of 5-7 this year. Next year seems more promising but our defense will take at least a year to adjust to the new system. The attack style favored by Coach Woody will expose our secondary which needs at least a year of maturity. I don’t see us beating USF this year. However I AM looking forward to the QB battle between Oliver and Graham next spring.

Maybe...but maybe not. A team with Marshall, Benson, Howard, and a fine set of guards should not be dismissed before the season starts. To be sure, my own prediction is not that much better at 7-5 and a minor bowl but there are plenty of people who believe that this team could surprise and win as many as 9 or 10 games. Not likely for the reasons you mention but most of our opponents have problems of their own so we will see. A difficult schedule with as many as 3 top 10 teams is daunting to be sure.

 

[YJMD]

I really think that this year is going to be a lot better than next year. Our returning experience is huge, and regardless of talent it pays dividends in execution and ball security which are pivotal to our success as a team. If we throw out a stinker here, the heat on CPJ is going to be immense. Although we have a tough schedule, it's no worse than last year, and fewer monsoons would be a good bet as well. Importantly, most of our opponents are having to replace a lot of talent. We lost 3 games by 4 points or fewer last year. A small amount of improvement are all that are needed to look like we've made a huge leap.

 

[Cam]

Expectations are low because most people don't have the time or care to look into each team's profile in depth. Most just look at last year's record and what production returns. And that's fair considering how many teams there are to rank. Frankly, we were one play going our way last year in the Tennessee, Miami, and Virginia games to going 8-3 and facing Clemson in the ACC championship game. Is that GT team better? No, they're just a bit luckier. I think this year's team is capable of beating everyone on the schedule except Clemson (and maybe uga). 9-3 is pretty possible with the level of experience we have.

 

[jacketup]

This team will be better. More experienced, and the best depth on defense in a while (for all the criticism of Roof, defensive recruiting improved while he was here).

I'm still having a hard time seeing better than 6-6 due to the schedule. We got tired of Gailey's 7-5 seasons, and now we'd be happy with that. Forget talking about Clemson, we need to beat Duke.

 

[ramblinwreckguru]

This team will be better. More experienced, and the best depth on defense in a while (for all the criticism of Roof, defensive recruiting improved while he was here).

I'm still having a hard time seeing better than 6-6 due to the schedule. We got tired of Gailey's 7-5 seasons, and now we'd be happy with that. Forget talking about Clemson, we need to beat Duke.

You may be happy with a 7-5 record this year, but I don't think most of our fans would be. 8-4, I'd be content, and 9-3, I'd be happy.

 

[MountainBuzzMan]

We are ranked....at best....#9 in the ACC in the coaches poll. Woo hoo! No wonder no one talks about us on the local radio shows. There is NO buzz surrounding this years team. It’s depressing really. I rememember when we used to complain that we should be ranked higher....now we aren’t even in the top 60. I hope we prove everyone wrong but I am sticking with my prediction of 5-7 this year. Next year seems more promising but our defense will take at least a year to adjust to the new system. The attack style favored by Coach Woody will expose our secondary which needs at least a year of maturity. I don’t see us beating USF this year. However I AM looking forward to the QB battle between Oliver and Graham next spring.

Perfect! We have them exactly where we want them.

 

[JorgeJonas]

I really don’t understand the doom and gloom. And I really don’t get measuring the program by how much they talk about us on the radio. A lot of the games will be coin flips, but it’s not crazy to see us getting to the Miami game at 8-1.

 

[ThatGuy]

Maybe...but maybe not. A team with Marshall, Benson, Howard, and a fine set of guards should not be dismissed before the season starts. To be sure, my own prediction is not that much better at 7-5 and a minor bowl but there are plenty of people who believe that this team could surprise and win as many as 9 or 10 games. Not likely for the reasons you mention but most of our opponents have problems of their own so we will see. A difficult schedule with as many as 3 top 10 teams is daunting to be sure.

To clarify - this year we have the 5th toughest schedule in the FBS.

By comparison, in 2016 & 2017 we had a top 10 difficulty-of-schedule - and in 2015 we had the *toughest* schedule in the nation.

And yet, in 2015, even with the injuries, we still played a number of games close. Which makes me think if we stay healthy this year, we might surprise some people. (Esp. when combined with the bad preseason press, which means there will definitely be a chip on this team’s shoulder.)

 

[knoxjacket]

I really don’t understand the doom and gloom. And I really don’t get measuring the program by how much they talk about us on the radio. A lot of the games will be coin flips, but it’s not crazy to see us getting to the Miami game at 8-1.

I think seeing us at 5-4 or 4-5 at that point is significantly less crazy.

 

[ATL1]

However I AM looking forward to the QB battle between Oliver and Graham next spring.

No confidence in LJ?

 

[Heisman's Ghost]

To clarify - this year we have the 5th toughest schedule in the FBS.

By comparison, in 2016 & 2017 we had a top 10 difficulty-of-schedule - and in 2015 we had the *toughest* schedule in the nation.

And yet, in 2015, even with the injuries, we still played a number of games close. Which makes me think if we stay healthy this year, we might surprise some people. (Esp. when combined with the bad preseason press, which means there will definitely be a chip on this team’s shoulder.)

I can believe it. It being the 5th toughest schedule. Yet there are some who want to play Notre Dame, Auburn, Florida etc. A death wish for a program that consistently struggles with depth on both lines.

 

[Cam]

I really don’t understand the doom and gloom. And I really don’t get measuring the program by how much they talk about us on the radio. A lot of the games will be coin flips, but it’s not crazy to see us getting to the Miami game at 8-1.

We've got a tough schedule on paper, but I agree with you. We SHOULD beat Alcorn State, USF, and a rebuilding Pitt to start out the year. However, we also SHOULD lose to Clemson. Bowling Green is a likely win. Louisville lost the guy who carried them and CPJ has beaten our rotating ACC opponent every year he's been here (yes, FSU was that team in 2015). That's a 5-1 start to the first half of the season. Duke is beatable, Virginia Tech lost a TON of defensive pieces and we've been strangely successful against them under Fuente, and UNC is close to firing Fedora. We have a realistic shot of being 8-1 going into Miami. Even if we lose to them, beat a Virginia team still trying to figure it out, and lose to uga, we're still 9-3 for the season. It's not an unrealistic scenario, especially since our best offenses are often when we are loaded with experience (like we are now).

 

[JorgeJonas]

I think seeing us at 5-4 or 4-5 at that point is significantly less crazy.

I don’t disagree. You’ll generally lose some of the close games. But it isn’t like it’s murderer’s row. There isn’t a team we face other than Clemson where I think we have no shot.

 

[SolicitorJacket]

In the media, all that matters is size of your fanbase.

Fixed that for you. College football media coverage, especially locally, is not a meritocracy.

 

[g0lftime]

This is a very important year for our program. We will probably be breaking in a new QB -assume TM doesn't lose the spot - next year. A new scheme and coach on D may not go as well as we hope. PJ doesn't sub his QB much. Unless we have a bowl game and show improvement this year it says we are on a downward projection under PJ with his system. I hope that is not the case. I want him to finish his career here on his terms but there continues to be rules changes that are not favorable to his O. To me this is a pivotable year for him.

 

[ramblinwreckguru]

Anyone notice the directional Florida schools in the preseason Coaches Poll? S Fla has 6 votes, C Fla has 0 votes, and the Fla Atlantic has 27 votes (Are you freaking kidding me?). At what place in the universe, does this make sense?

*After writing this, I did notice that ucf is actually ranked #23 in the country which makes a lot more sense. However, the Fla Atlantic votes are still seem crazy.

 

[slugboy]

I think seeing us at 5-4 or 4-5 at that point is significantly less crazy.

We could be a lot better than we were last year, and still be 5-4 headed to Miami. It's a rough schedule. We're gonna need some luck, good health, and tough play. I don't know why people don't think that Pitt and USF aren't making our game a priority.

Back to the S+P forecast, which has us improving over last year: https://www.sbnation.com/college-fo...ia-tech-football-2018-preview-schedule-roster

Date      Opponent             Proj. S&P+ Rk           Proj. Margin          Win Probability
1-Sep     Alcorn State             NR                                        35.8                           98%
8-Sep     at USF                      56                                       -1.5                               47%
15-Sep   at Pittsburgh           45                                        -3.6                               42%
22-Sep  Clemson                    3                                         -19.4                              13%
29-Sep  Bowling Green       97                                         12.4                               76%
5-Oct    at Louisville            29                                        -8.2                                32%
13-Oct   Duke                        40                                         0.3                               51%
25-Oct  at Virginia Tech      21                                         -10.5                            27%
3-Nov   at North Carolina   51                                         -2.8                               44%
10-Nov Miami                        13                                         -11.4                               26%
17-Nov Virginia                    73                                         6.8                               65%
24-Nov at Georgia                6                                         -21.1                               11%

Which has us improving on offense and defense and having 5 to 6 wins. We'll need to improve a lot more than expected.

 

[Oldgoldandwhite]

, but it’s not crazy to see us getting to the Miami game at 8-1.

I’ll have some of that!