Why all the GT love?

[upperdeck]

the rushing numbers are a big skewed though..
NW, minn, mizz just over a 100
USC had 258 but 120 came on two rushes, one a reverse. we stuffed the run for long stretches of that game
SB had one 71 yd run as well, but we held a good rushing team to 130 yds and almost none the 2nd half
pitt had 27, rut 85, uconn -6, UL 48, WV 88

usf/cinci lit us up with several huge runs.

are we the 5 really good game, the 3 good game team or the 4 bad game team?

 

[anomander]

People would have been accused of being homers if we had them 9-3 or 10-2 so it looked like the best place for a loss.

With our current talent I honestly feel we can win ANY game on our schedule, but can also lose every game besides Wagner. Going to come down to the obvious things, coaching, gameplans, and execution.

 

[sufandu]

the rushing numbers are a big skewed though..
NW, minn, mizz just over a 100
USC had 258 but 120 came on two rushes, one a reverse. we stuffed the run for long stretches of that game
SB had one 71 yd run as well, but we held a good rushing team to 130 yds and almost none the 2nd half
pitt had 27, rut 85, uconn -6, UL 48, WV 88

usf/cinci lit us up with several huge runs.

are we the 5 really good game, the 3 good game team or the 4 bad game team?

Really good defenses, like we think we can be, don't give up that many big plays. Often, the big plays are the ones that lead to scores and that killed us against Cincy and USC. I think when a team has 5 really good games and 4 bad games, they pretty much cancel out which leaves us as a good team. Hopefully that's something we can build on this year, but we've got some important pieces to replace and some schematic changes on both sides of the ball to digest (even if the general defensive philosophy remains similar). To take that next step, we'll need the returning guys to show improvement as well as some new faces to have some impact. I'm excited for Saturday to see where we are.

 

[GoSU96]

the rushing numbers are a big skewed though..
NW, minn, mizz just over a 100
USC had 258 but 120 came on two rushes, one a reverse. we stuffed the run for long stretches of that game
SB had one 71 yd run as well, but we held a good rushing team to 130 yds and almost none the 2nd half
pitt had 27, rut 85, uconn -6, UL 48, WV 88

usf/cinci lit us up with several huge runs.

are we the 5 really good game, the 3 good game team or the 4 bad game team?

It made for an decent, but inconsistent, run defense that was vulnerable to giving up the big play. In orders a bad match up for GT. Which is what I said at the beginning of the thread.

 

[gbo]

I'm curious why so many have picked us to lose (losing big in some cases) to GT in the prediction thread tacked above.

Last year they were awful (7-7) and got blown out by Georgia (between the hedges), Clemson (away) BYU (home) and Middle Tennessee at home. They also lost at home to Miami and Florida State.

Why all the love? Please enlighten me.

I think it has to do with Tech's offense being tough to deal with with only one week of prep. I personally think they finish second in the coastal division.

 

[Keflex]

In the losses to VT and Miami, GT had the lead into the last minutes of the game, but defense broke down and let them tie it up and lost in OT. The loss to Miami was very heartbreaking as Miami scored 23 unanswered points to win. The MTSU loss was the following week and had an impact there; that loss led to the firing of the defensive coordinator mid season.

The loss to FSU was only 6 points.

Offense hasn't been a problem for GT except against great defenses like FSU and UGA. The defense has been our biggest problem. With a new defensive coordinator and going back to a 4-3 scheme the defense is expected to improve. Also, it helps that GT now has a QB that can actually throw a real pass.