Will GT win 10+ games next season?

[dressedcheeseside]

First of all comrades, we need to embrace the schedule next year and not fear it. The way we finished last season, there shouldn't be a single team in the country who honestly thinks they are in a better postion than us moving into this year. We won the Orange Bowl for crying out loud and went 3-1 against the toughest line up of any team to close out the year. If we are to be a really good team in 2015, then the the schedule shouldn't matter and we will win a ton of games regardless. To reach great heights, we are going to have to beat great teams, whether in the middle of the season, or at the end.

I learned a long time ago to take them one game at a time and not look ahead, or take anything for granted. I like our kids but we are going to have to earn ALL of our wins next year, and the earning part starts right now at spring ball and carries through summer. Nobody knows what the final count will be, and frankly, at this point, it doesn't even matter to me. I just want to see us working our behinds off and developing team chemistry in addition to depth and talent.

Earning and luck. People like to say you make your own luck but that's bs when it comes to injuries. Imagine if Smelter had gotten injured in game 1 instead of game 12. Imagine if he had not gotten injured at all, we probably beat FSU. It's also bs when it comes to an oblong spheroid bouncing on the ground. We had a lot of bounces go our way for a change.

 

[JacketFromUGA]

I really just would like to get to the point where I'm not biting my nails in fear at the 4th quarter. I really want to see us win games where its not dependent on one bounce or an overtime interception.

 

[BabyJacket1990]

I really just would like to get to the point where I'm not biting my nails in fear at the 4th quarter. I really want to see us win games where its not dependent on one bounce or an overtime interception.

That's going to come with better recruiting. Everybody keeps forgetting how awful our defense was. If we don't get a turnover , any offense scored at will for most of the year. Did we improve in some category's ? Yes , but that might be the case this year. Let's talk about third down conversions. That was huge for us last year on offense. Without having any Wide Receivers that are established, it's going to be tough for us to keep that same number this year.

 

[UgaBlows]

L


You sure uga has no QB?

They have 3, only one of which has any playing time (Ramsey) and he looked like hot garbage in those chances last year. The other two are redshirt freshman and nobody in dwagland seems to excited about them boys either. They are going to be one-dimensional as hell unless one of those guys steps up in a huge way.

 

[UgaBlows]

It all comes down to a few bounces of the ball. I really believe that had we not had the lucky bounces in the Pitt game, the season would have ended entirely different. As it was, after two tough close losses, the ball bounced the right way that set in motion the rest of a fantastic season.

Had the D.J White forced fumble near goal line gone out of bounds before it crossed the goal line, the season may have turned out completely different. Fractions of inches, fractions of seconds can make such a difference. Emotions and momentum are huge factors in a game played by 19-22 y.o.

How many unlucky bounces have we had over the years?

 

[JorgeJonas]

I really just would like to get to the point where I'm not biting my nails in fear at the 4th quarter. I really want to see us win games where its not dependent on one bounce or an overtime interception.

I think you have to embrace it, man. We probably aren't ever going to have such a massive talent disparity between us and our opponents that we will blow out eight or nine of them every year. 2014 probably represented a high water mark, actually. I mean, we crushed Clemson and Mississippi State, beat Miami by more than ten points, and we hammered teams that usually are close (NCSU, Pitt, UVA). I would even go so far as to say that playing six games decided by one possession or less and going 3-3 in them wasn't even all that lucky.

 

[JacketFromUGA]

sorry I didn't mean blow out wins. I just meant maybe a 9 point lead without the ball or any lead with the ball.

 

[JorgeJonas]

sorry I didn't mean blow out wins. I just meant maybe a 9 point lead without the ball or any lead with the ball.

Yeah, no worries. I mean, dude, that team made me old last year, but that's probably why I also love them so much. We got to watch them grow from a team picked fifth in the division, that squeaked by Southern, mature against Virginia Tech (no one remembers 4th and 15 anymore) and Miami, encounter some adversity against Duke and Carolina, and respond by saying "no, we won't give up." It was that fight in the 2014 team that endeared them so much to me (and, I suspect, others). The UGA game was so memorable because it was so difficult, and because the team simply wouldn't die. It is my belief that none of those things would have happened without a culture change, and that's something that won't go away this year. Don't be afraid to believe in them.

 

[awbuzz]

Before we get too cocky... let's don't forget the Ga Southern game last year! 1st half = the world as it should be. 2nd half, disbelief and frustration, then elation.

 

[Animal02]

How many unlucky bounces have we had over the years?

Too many

 

[AE 87]

How many unlucky bounces have we had over the years?

42

 

[Bruce Wayne]

42

I'll take the over.

 

[GTech63]

Before we get too cocky... let's don't forget the Ga Southern game last year! 1st half = the world as it should be. 2nd half, disbelief and frustration, then elation.

We had to have Duke lose to UNC to get to ACCCG. The margin of success in competitive football is slim.
I am confident we will be good this year. Good luck happens when you make the opportunity for the ball to bounce your way. We did a lot of that last year. Hard hitting, swarming, film study and break to the ball. As good as our O was in 2014 and as porous as our D was, it was still the plays by the D that got us to the level we were.
It is going to be difficult to turn as many int and f recoveries into TD s in 2015. But I believe we are becoming a hard sure tackling team. Yeah I have my Rose Colored glasses on but we also have a group of young men that are mature mentally as well as physically and hard working.. We have a Derrick Moore that helps meld them into a cohesive family that support each other. I see no prima donnas, just a team that every time one of them steps up I am amazed. And I think they represent all that is great about this nation; self sacrifice, devotion, dedication, hard work, ....you can add to it. I am proud of what is going on, on the grid iron at Georgia Tech. GO JACKETS!!!!

 

[deeeznutz]

The more we go on, the more optimistic I'm feeling about our defense. I think we have PLAYERS on every level. At DL, KeShun Freeman, Adam Gotsis, and Jabari Hunt have all proven themselves as impact players, and they are all coming back better than before, plus adding in a guy who should be an impact pass rusher in Whitehead. At LB, PJ Davis is a tackling machine whose aggressive play sets the tone for the rest of the D. At DB, we have Jamal Golden at safety and DJ White & Chris Milton at CB, three very good and experienced players. I see talent, leadership, and lots of aggression.
In fact, if our defense had only a slightly better pass rush we would have been a MUCH better defense overall. Third and long wouldn't have been so easy for opponents to convert, creating a couple less possessions for the opposition and getting JT back on the field. That minor improvement can have a snowball effect. And I see our pass rush being much better this year!

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

That's going to come with better recruiting. Everybody keeps forgetting how awful our defense was. If we don't get a turnover , any offense scored at will for most of the year. Did we improve in some category's ? Yes , but that might be the case this year. Let's talk about third down conversions. That was huge for us last year on offense. Without having any Wide Receivers that are established, it's going to be tough for us to keep that same number this year.

This post is full of reality.

I am always so amazed at anyone in our fanbase that thinks we are ever going to have talent level such that we can "blow out" excellent division 1 programs on a regular basis. That ain't happening. We must out-think and out-maneuver to win, and we have the right coach for that to happen, hopefully more times than not.

 

[TechPhi97]

Well I hate to be redundant I think the strength of schedule is little overblown. This schedule has brand strength rather team strength with a little case of some folks don't want to fully dive in the GT pool.

For those who really follow CFB I have an exercise for you. Swap names with each opponents and tell me if your feelings don't when see that factory up top. Start with ND, how strong would you think Tech would be coming off a 7-6 season with a turnover prone QB and team extremely inconsistent?

What if we had FSU roster? Losing probably the no.1 overall QB in the upcoming draft while replacing him with McGuire who looked very Cole Stoudtish in his start or RS Fr. Not to mention losing 7-8 on O and D.

What about Clemson? Stud QB coming off an ACL tear and no returning OLineman to protect him to get it to his playmakers (good luck). Also lose Chad Morris and arguably the best DLine we have faced since LSU '08 or VT '11.

What about UGA? No QB. No WRs One-dimensional. Defense is still suspect and may be worse

Now take any of those 4 names and add GT roster to it. I'm pretty sure the question will not be will we win 10 but more along the lines of CFP

Wow! Love the optimism. Keep it up.

 

[alaguy]

To get to that level vs this schedule, we can't have key injuries--Gotsis,Burden, DJW ,Davis, and of course JT for sure.

 

[OldJacketFan]

To get to that level vs this schedule, we can't have key injuries--Gotsis,Burden, DJW ,Davis, and of course JT for sure.

I suspect that true of most teams. Not all, mind you, but most. Tech healthy will be right there for 10+ wins.

 

[Skeptic]

That's going to come with better recruiting. Everybody keeps forgetting how awful our defense was. If we don't get a turnover , any offense scored at will for most of the year. Did we improve in some category's ? Yes , but that might be the case this year. Let's talk about third down conversions. That was huge for us last year on offense. Without having any Wide Receivers that are established, it's going to be tough for us to keep that same number this year.

I wouldn't swear it without going back to the games, but I don't recall a lot of 3rd, 4th down passes to wideouts, with VT of course being the most memorable. I do recall sideline comebacks to Bbacks. And other than Smelter, still promising but not proven as a senior, we had no wideout experience in '14 or talent we were sure of, and boards were having this same conversation, though to be fair nobody knew what kind of passing we would get. Anybody saying at this point that they knew Waller was going to develop has some very selective rewriting of the record. If we got to double digit wins I would be tap dancing on a bar stool somewhere. I just want to play them first, with the team -- and fans -- focused on winning this game, today. That includes Georgia. On to Alcorn State.

 

[GTonTop88]

We had a ton of unproven guys on offense last year, the only guys that we knew who could play at a high level were shaq and smelter. This year we know we have a great QB returning, a good ol, and a couple of good ab. Defense we know should be better so as of right now we are in a better position than we were last year.