What would it take this year for you to be open to the idea that we're on the right track?

[CuseJacket]

Specifically for this season and including anything that could happen postseason, what would it take for you to have hope that CGC as HC can lead the program and meet your expectations going into the future?

Poll included and will close prior to the Clemson game. If you select 'Other' please include your thoughts in this thread.

Note: This is not a question of whether you will be confident that CGC is the right guy, rather it's about renewed hope that he can be the guy. Despite the premise of the question, the goal is to take this thread in a more positive, productive direction than the 'Fire CGC' thread.

 

[wvGT11]

Stop losing to teams that are supposed to be easy teams and just look competitive in the acc.
I'll know we have something going when we establish an identity and actually win a game in all aspects, ST, offense and defence .

We're definitely not at beating GA level but we have plenty of winnable games this season if we can get your **** together and heck even get to a bowl

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

We are not beating UGAG right now, but I did vote for statement game. I don't have any illusions that we will win a "statement" game, but it would probably give me hope.

Truthfully, I should have voted for "other", because I just want us not to look like a clown show (i.e. the fg/no fg decision).

 

[Scubapro]

I chose the "Other" option.
We are stuck with Geoff and any of the options that could give me faith in him won't happen until the end of season.
This season is shaping up to be a sheet show and If we manage a top recruiting class after this season it would be a miracle. After the season he MUST get a new OC...yes its me...saying again and again Patenaude Bad. 429 yards and only 21 points. Dave couldn't score in a cat house with a fist full of hundreds.

 

[4shotB]

In my opinion, he just made his task ahead a lot more difficult. While there was positives Saturday night. especially the reduced penalties, there is no way in hell he should have lost that game with a whole offseason to prepare. Particularly after losing to the Citadel. Previously, I thought 5-6 wins might have been an indicator of hope. Now I think we have to win 6 of the 9 (of course assuming a win this weekend) after KSU and avoid getting beatdown in the 3 losses. That is a tall task. While I am hoping that he does it I am not confident. There is something that just doesn't pass the eyeball test with me and it is hard to quantify. And I was optimistic about things until Saturday. ETA - voted for x games, That number is 7 imo, although I suspect 5 or 6 buys him more time given our $ situation.

 

[Recleb]

The most recent terrible loss always seems like the worst terrible loss. I’ve seen too many similar (to some degree) wtf performances under pretty much every HC for at least the past 40+ years to be shattered by another one. Pretty tough to be a Tech fan without keeping some small pilot light of optimism going.

 

[smokey_wasp]

5 wins was kinda what I thought he needed to start with to keep momentum going and show progress. Will stick with that. 6 wins would cancel out this game entirely.

 

[slugboy]

I voted for “x number of games”. A “statement” game feels good, but this team needs {good} consistency. They need to play better week-by-week, and be a good-executing and good-looking-on-the-field team by the end of the season.

There are a lot of things they need to do in order to be a consistent team.

Both lines have got to play better, though. We did get one LB playing well.

 

[Scubapro]

There is something that just doesn't pass the eyeball test with me and it is hard to quantify.

C'mon now....we had 429 yards of offense....Patenaude is getting better.

 

[billga99]

I voted X amount of wins. But my major concern is Johnson at the end struggled with elite teams. But he almost always blew out weaker opponents. So win the ones you are suppose to win and score the occasional upset. That normally resulted in a winning season and the occasional exceptional season. Now flash forward to Collins.
2019 - Citadel loss, Temple blowout, Clemson gave up 50, VT 45-0, Georgia gave up 50, gave up 35 to Duke in the first half (I was at that game)
2020 - UCF put up 49, Clemson put up 73, Boston College put up 48, Syracuse put up 37 and this was their only win

So not just losing, but getting clobbered and losing to teams with far less talent is a horrible combo. So at the end, we need to win against teams who are less talented and some who have comparable talent, plus the periodic upset should net wins. There are no more excuses at this point. We need to look like we belong on the football field from schemes and ultimately our play.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

It’s a good question.

I’m a Tech fan so it doesn’t take much to get my hopes back up. I voted for a statement win for two reasons. 1. It already feels too late this year for Tech to develop any kind of consistency about winning the games it ought to win. 2. A statement win would completely cancel out for me losing to NIU.

I am not optimistic but truly could have checked three or more different options that would make me feel better and give me hope. But the barriers to accomplishing any of these seem pretty steep.

 

[AUFC]

I'm in the minority that thought we looked good on Saturday. What concerns me is that we are stuck with a coach who can't make in-game adjustments, is allergic to scoring, and consistently makes the wrong decisions on 4th down. No All-ACC starting running back and big, experienced OL is going to fix that problem - we just have to hope they can overcome the poor coaching. If you look at the stat line from Saturday, it's frankly embarrassing for CGC that we didn't win that game by double digits.

 

[danny daniel]

I would like to see our head coach and OC realize that our OL is in developmental stage (at this time) and we are unable to provide any consistent protection for our QB to execute so many pass plays. We need to go to a run heavy attack, using a lot of option with Yates, counters and misdirection, attack more on the edge, and use the pass to keep the D honest. Our playmakers are our running backs and we need to utilize them as much as possible. As and if the OL progresses in pass protection we can gradually move back to a more balanced pass/run attack. This is especially necessary if Yates remains as QB. Yates can make this plan work but not the OC's current plan.

 

[YJAlleyCat]

I chose “wait and see” because there are several ways that would, for me, make it feel like we were getting back on track. There could also be something that hasn’t occurred to me yet. I don’t have any control over the situation, so the only thing I can do is wait and see.

Winning 5 or more games is one of those ways (but feels like a steep climb at this point with our schedule). For winning X-number of games to feel like an improvement, X needs to be more than 3. X=4 would not be a big enough improvement over years 1 and 2 to feel like things have turned a corner.

For me, a statement game would be Clemson or Georgia, and I just do not see how that would happen. Vanishingly low probability. But would definitely give me hope for the future.

The third thing (my “other”) also seems quite unlikely: CGC sincerely apologizes for the results on Saturday (without all his usual BS about how elite we are, yada yada) and for letting the players and fans down, admits that what he has been doing is not working as intended, and makes some real changes that actually make things better. Those changes could be in his approach, in how they are coaching fundamentals, how they are preparing for the opponents, or in personnel.

I hope we can find a way to salvage the 2021 season and hope that by December all of us fans will have some reason to expect a better 2022. I wish I were currently more confident that this will happen.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

I chose “wait and see” because there are several ways that would, for me, make it feel like we were getting back on track. There could also be something that hasn’t occurred to me yet. I don’t have any control over the situation, so the only thing I can do is wait and see.

Winning 5 or more games is one of those ways (but feels like a steep climb at this point with our schedule). For winning X-number of games to feel like an improvement, X needs to be more than 3. X=4 would not be a big enough improvement over years 1 and 2 to feel like things have turned a corner.

For me, a statement game would be Clemson or Georgia, and I just do not see how that would happen. Vanishingly low probability. But would definitely give me hope for the future.

The third thing (my “other”) also seems quite unlikely: CGC sincerely apologizes for the results on Saturday (without all his usual BS about how elite we are, yada yada) and for letting the players and fans down, admits that what he has been doing is not working as intended, and makes some real changes that actually make things better. Those changes could be in his approach, in how they are coaching fundamentals, how they are preparing for the opponents, or in personnel.

I hope we can find a way to salvage the 2021 season and hope that by December all of us fans will have some reason to expect a better 2022. I wish I were currently more confident that this will happen.

I too have thought about whether or not Collins could apologize to fans, own some mistakes and plot a new course. I’ve concluded that in his mind that would be even more disastrous. He went 100% all in on the hype machine. He can’t admit that any aspect of his relentless positivity is not working or the whole house of cards would collapse. He bought his ticket for this ride and he is going to ride it to the end, no turning back now.

The only caveat is whether he is capable of continuing his world’s greatest cheerleader role while quietly changing things behind the scenes, getting some help and getting his act together. That will depend on who he is deep down as a person.

 

[bobongo]

Collins has to hire a competent OC right now. It's the one thing he could do to turn this ship around and keep his what remains of his support from going overboard.

 

[jeffgt14]

8 wins and I'll think about it. The ACC is straight garbage this year so even a trash team should make a bowl game.

 

[smokey_wasp]

8 wins and I'll think about it. The ACC is straight garbage this year so even a trash team should make a bowl game.

8 is a bit steep. If you assume losses to Clemson and uga, you only get to lose 1 more.

 

[WreckinGT]

For me, 6 wins with at least one of them being against (UNC, MIA, UGA, ND, Clem). It needs to be a pretty strong turnaround to erase another loss that bad.

 

[jeffgt14]

8 is a bit steep. If you assume losses to Clemson and uga, you only get to lose 1 more.

Well that's what happens when you lose to NIU.