The prospect of an awful 2011 season

The Jacket

The Coat
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Obviously we all had pretty high expectations for the last two years. But this year we are coming off of a season where we realized that the bulk of the team simply wasn't great. And we lost a lot of the guys who were talented. Of course, all of that has been said a million times but the point is this..

If you had to bet the farm on whether this year would be:
A) Awful - a record below .500, a loss to UGAg, no bowl
B) A season better than that in any way

Of course, everyone will have their own idea of what constitutes a truly awful season. My main interest is in how many people are confident in the idea that we'll perform better than what I described above.

No, there's no poll coming. Hiyo, etc.
 

Vad Lee Wins

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B.

09/01/11 W vs. Western Carolina
09/10/11 W at Middle Tennessee State
09/17/11 W vs. Kansas
09/24/11 vs. North Carolina
10/01/11 at North Carolina State
10/08/11 W vs. Maryland
10/15/11 W at Virginia
10/22/11 at Miami
10/29/11 vs. Clemson
11/10/11 vs. Virginia Tech
11/19/11 W at Duke
11/26/11 vs. Georgia

We'll get at least 6 wins in my opinion. In CPJ we trust.
 

Ramblinwreck7

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I would say better than that. Youth and inexperience will still show. We will probably win a couple we are not supposed to, but we will lose a couple that we should win as well. I also think we should....with should being the key word....beat UGA this year.

So Option B
 

The Jacket

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B.

09/01/11 W vs. Western Carolina
09/10/11 W at Middle Tennessee State
09/17/11 W vs. Kansas
09/24/11 vs. North Carolina
10/01/11 at North Carolina State
10/08/11 W vs. Maryland
10/15/11 W at Virginia
10/22/11 at Miami
10/29/11 vs. Clemson
11/10/11 vs. Virginia Tech
11/19/11 W at Duke
11/26/11 vs. Georgia

We'll get at least 6 wins in my opinion.
I think my problem is that we're still losing to teams that we should beat, but we haven't done a whole lot of beating teams that should beat us lately. If we only won the games you marked but had another disaster like Kansas State from last year, or we lost in Charlottesville, then we're quickly below the .500 mark.
 

GTCrew4b

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Definitely B. We're going to start 7-0. Beyond that who knows...
 

GT to AZ

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B. We do best when no one expects anything from us. We always crash and burn when we're hyped. I'm not saying we're going to win the ACC, just that I expect us to be over .500 and not as crappy as everyone expects.
 

The Jacket

The Coat
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Definitely B. We're going to start 7-0. Beyond that who knows...
When I look at this season like I do pretty much every other Tech season, I can see that.

I don't mean to imply that I believe that we'll have an awful season. It just seems to pop up as more realistic than usual to me every few seasons.
 

Legal Jacket

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B - it will be pretty tough for us to fall significantly below 500 imo.

Also I'm not sure about supposedly losing a lot of the guys who were talented. We've gone over many times how Nesbitt was not nearly as good as some make him out to be (esp passing) and he was instrumental in the loss to Kansas.

I'll give you Allen, Bedford, Claytor, Barrick, Butler, Edwards, Jefferson.

I think most people fail to realize that huge gains are made by existing players in the offseason. For example - Sr. Roddy Jones and Jr. Orwin Smith should be a lot to deal with. We've got Embry with a year more experience, Marcus Wright coming back, and a bunch of young guys who aren't as wet behind the ears as they were last year (Bostic, Zenon, Deon).

Our WRs can't be as bad as they were last year catching and their blocking will improve.

I'm sure Finch, Jackson, Uzzi, Phil Smith are all going to be much improved. There's a young nucleus that will join them - guys like Alford, Lanier, McRae, Braun, Kidney, Beno. Most of them were freshmen last year.

BB - well, we'll be hurting for sure. But I'm excited for Lyons and Perkins to get opportunities to run with the ball.

Defense is where it gets exciting though. Peters, Walls/Barnes, and Cross should front a vastly improved line. There's some depth too - Williams, Cummings, Dieke, Crenshaw.

Who can't get excited about Attaochu and Burnett at LB? Burnett is really where the point of emphasis is - he was good last year but should come into his own this year. Drummond can hopefully play ok and Sylvester should be much improved as well. Secondary we'll take a step back, but improved versions of Reid, Isaiah, Louis, etc. should be interesting.
 

Vad Lee Wins

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I think my problem is that we're still losing to teams that we should beat, but we haven't done a whole lot of beating teams that should beat us lately. If we only won the games you marked but had another disaster like Kansas State from last year, or we lost in Charlottesville, then we're quickly below the .500 mark.
It's basically the same teams on the schedule as last year. we lost to KU, but beat UNC. It evened out...except for that whole postseason game thing...
 

TheTaxJacket

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I think we finish 8-4 with losses to NCST, VT, Miami, and UGA.

I think we will win the bowl game, I think the Music City bowl is most likely against Louisville.
 

Vad Lee Wins

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B - it will be pretty tough for us to fall significantly below 500 imo.

Also I'm not sure about supposedly losing a lot of the guys who were talented. We've gone over many times how Nesbitt was not nearly as good as some make him out to be (esp passing) and he was instrumental in the loss to Kansas....
...Who can't get excited about Attaochu and Burnett at LB? Burnett is really where the point of emphasis is - he was good last year but should come into his own this year. Drummond can hopefully play ok and Sylvester should be much improved as well. Secondary we'll take a step back, but improved versions of Reid, Isaiah, Louis, etc. should be interesting.
You forgot about the whole QB situation >_>
 

The Jacket

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We've gone over many times how Nesbitt was not nearly as good as some make him out to be (esp passing) and he was instrumental in the loss to Kansas.
I must have missed those threads. Can someone break this one down for me? Seems like he was instrumental in a lot more wins than losses. And I still never bought into the idea that he was that horrid of a passer, considering how many of his passes were dropped or incomplete by some other fault of the receiver. I'm not saying that Nesbitt was a great passer, but I wouldn't call him "bad" either.
 

Yukonwreck

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I think my problem is that we're still losing to teams that we should beat, but we haven't done a whole lot of beating teams that should beat us lately. If we only won the games you marked but had another disaster like Kansas State from last year, or we lost in Charlottesville, then we're quickly below the .500 mark.
There is a widely held opinion, based upon prediction articles and videos, that we cannot and will not beat any team in the Coastal Division. I don't share that belief, but it is, of course, plausible. Should that happen, how will we fare against Clempsen, Maryland, and NCST from the other division--or our OOC games. Eight wins is the new benchmark that Paul Johnson set for Technation by winning big early. If we were to win 8 games this fall, erect the statue.
 

The Jacket

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It's basically the same teams on the schedule as last year. we lost to KU, but beat UNC. It evened out...except for that whole postseason game thing...
I don't know that that is "evening out" really. I fully expected us to beat both Kansas and North Carolina.
 

Vad Lee Wins

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I don't know that that is "evening out" really. I fully expected us to beat both Kansas and North Carolina.
idk, coming out of that KU game and having to play UNC on the road I wasn't that confident that we'd bounce back. Even considering UNC's suspended players issue.

Anyways, every year's different. Just because we had a losing record last year doesn't mean you should doubt this year's team. At least start out with some confidence that we'll keep our heads above water.
 

BioJacket06

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I'll be able to eat good tailgate food and drink regardless of what happens. I'll be ok!
 

The Jacket

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idk, coming out of that KU game and having to play UNC on the road I wasn't that confident that we'd bounce back. Even considering UNC's suspended players issue.

Anyways, every year's different. Just because we had a losing record last year doesn't mean you should doubt this year's team. At least start out with some confidence that we'll keep our heads above water.
I always do. As I said earlier, I cannot go into a Tech season thinking that we'll have a bad year, just as I cannot go into a Tech game truly believing that we'll lose. I can know all of the things that make our chances of victory higher or lower, but I always, always believe we'll find a way to come out ahead in the end.
 

The Jacket

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I'll be able to eat good tailgate food and drink regardless of what happens. I'll be ok!
:laugher:

You've found the bottom line. We could have 10 consecutive winless seasons and I'll still be buying my season tickets. I know a lot of people feel like that's a time to protest by not buying tickets, but I can't rob myself of the joy that comes with being at BDS, no matter how bad things are.
 

225Jacket

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So when me and my buddy come into town for the UGA game can we get some good ole southern hospitality and possibly tailgate with some of you gentleman?
 

Wreck Em

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I'm sorry, I just never have had this feeling before, but I honestly think either undefeated or 11-1. I can't explain it even to myself, I just don't see us losing any until the ACCCG. Unrealistic, maybe. I have had this feeling for a HS team before, and only once, and that was the year they won state. I'm going ahead and saying, we win them all except for the ACCCG, FSU plays for the NC and we play at the Orange Bowl vs. Oklahoma. We shock the news media, and beat them in a shootout. We end the season at #5 and that my friends, is my prediction.
 
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