Compare expectations before season started and now

[augustabuzz]

I thought we were looking at a 2-2 start with a chance at 3-1. I believed the 2-2 start would equate to 7-5 for the season. Now, my expectations, barring injur(y)/(ies), are 8 to 9 Ws.

 

[beej67]

A 0.9 win sounds a lot like a moral victory (loss).

Methinks ye don't understand the math here.

A .9 win means you'd win 9 games if you played 10 consecutively.

 

[stinger78]

I think we will win out. Seriously. I think we will win out and finish with a top 10 season. Maybe #8 or so.

BOR, I said the same this afternoon w/o calling the UGAG game, and got panned. <shrug>

We have an O that is already the best in the ACC and it it getting better by the day. We have a young but solid D that has had a bunch of injuries since the first game, that should get better, too. We have an excellent coach who will not let this team falter under the gun, and who willonly get better as he sees film on our opponents adn understands their tendencies.

In short, we're going to get a LOT better weekly from this point on. I think we could be playing like a top 10 team by season's end. Whether we'll be there or not is anyone's guess, but we could very well be playing like one. This is a very talented group, and I've thought from the get-go that our offensive talent matched very well with PJ's offense. Now I'm convinced.

I think we have a better shot to win out than most are admitting.

 

[GT65_UGA89]

As for this point in the season, I felt that 3-1 was realistic hope. However, I did not think that 4-0 would have been a possibility, which if not for one questionable call and one fumble before half would have been a strong possibility.

As for the remainder of the season;

Duke -While I expect this to be a bit of a tougher game than some are expecting -win.
Gardner-Webb -GT should rest the starters by half and get ready for next weeks opponent -win.
@Clemson- Tough call here but I expect GT can pull this one out (I hope so because a Clemson grad buddy of mine has me a ticket to the game) -win.
UVA -would be one of those games in the CCG era where just as expectations are on the rise (6-1 in this case) --wham, an L out of nowhere. It's the CPJ era, so no slip-up here -win.
FSU -finally, after coming close in four of the last five meetings, GT prevails -win.
@UNC -Their starting QB is out six weeks with a broken ankle, which means he could return for this game. Before Yates went down this was the one conference game on the schedule that had me worried the most. Might be because, prior to the recent success @Chapel Hill (4-1 since '98), GT had gone winless here since joining the ACC (0-8-1). I think UNC will be tough, but GT has enough to come away with a W -win.
Miami -

-win.
@UGA -It will be 1984 (or '98, take your pick) all over again as GT will put an end to seven (6 in '84) years of misery --and do it again, between the hedges in Athens -win.

Did I just project GT to win out?
I normally don't do this kind of thing --I'm a self-confessed 'one game at a time' guy. Who does GT play this week? Oh yeah, off week. Duke is next. Forget about all of this and just focus on Duke October 4. :rolleyes:

 

[gojkts]

I think we will win out. Seriously. I think we will win out and finish with a top 10 season. Maybe #8 or so.

Do you think the leg humpers will remain unbeaten until Thanksgiving?

 

[fattyjackson]

Preseason, i saw VT, Clemson, UNC, and Georgia as probable losses. Now, we've lost to VT, but I know longer see Clemson and UNC as losses - UNC is a probable win, and Clemson is a tossup.

I also thought we would lose one to BC, FSU, and Miami. I no longer believe that.

Thought 7-5, or (best case) 8-4.

Now, worst case, I'm going with 8-4. Most probable I'd put at 9-3.

 

[WracerX]

Before the season I thought 7 wins with some close scares.

But the offense is performing much better than I thought it would. Also, our defense has give up a lot of yards, but not many points. I thought for sure we would be giving up a whole lot more points off of turnovers.

I am looking at 8-9 wins this season. I don't think that CPJ is going to have that one game a year that saves a crappy coach's job (this year it is Groh).

 

[Yellow Fever]

I still think we will win 7 with a possible big upset in there to jump us to 8.

Expectations never changed, but I know what kinda coach PJ is and what he is capable of.

 

[buzzybee]

I was thinking a bowl game would be a great season this year-any bowl game. Now I am hoping for nothing less than the Music City.

 

[theShaft]

I said 7, I'm thinking 8.

I figured we split the BC / VT match up.

I figured a loss with either Miami or FSU, mainly FSU b/c I've never seen us beat them.

I figure losses as Clemson and UGA.

 

[1gtfan]

I think we will win out. Seriously. I think we will win out and finish with a top 10 season. Maybe #8 or so.

I will agree with that, with one caveat, Dwyer & Nesbitt have to stay healthy and not miss any big games (Duke,UVA & GW are games that we could win without them.) But they have to be at full speed for the other games for us to win out.

if we catch a break and VT loses 2 ACC games we could catch another break and play an Sec team like Lsu or Ala. in the Orange bowl. Win that one and we could be top 5....

I'm convinced 2 out of the following 3 will play in the BCS Champ. game ( U.S.C., Oklahoma, Missouri ) Leaving an sec team in the Sugar and an at large Sec team also in one of the other BCS Bowls. Now, wouldn't that be something 13-1 with a win over 3 Sec teams would put us in final top 5. Going into next season in the top 10.

 

[GTKyle]

I will agree with that, with one caveat, Dwyer & Nesbitt have to stay healthy and not miss any big games (Duke,UVA & GW are games that we could win without them.) But they have to be at full speed for the other games for us to win out.

if we catch a break and VT loses 2 ACC games we could catch another break and play an Sec team like Lsu or Ala. in the Orange bowl. Win that one and we could be top 5....

I'm convinced 2 out of the following 3 will play in the BCS Champ. game ( U.S.C., Oklahoma, Missouri ) Leaving an sec team in the Sugar and an at large Sec team also in one of the other BCS Bowls. Now, wouldn't that be something 13-1 with a win over 3 Sec teams would put us in final top 5. Going into next season in the top 10.

You have big aspirations. Let's get through Clemson, Miami, FSU, and UNC first.

 

[cyptomcat]

yeah guys, early dreams..

We will play every game to WIN and even to CRASH them like MSU, but don't dream too much at this point.

 

[stinger78]

You know, this thread has shown me something very sad about the Tech psyche. We expect mediocrity, and we are afraid to dream. We disguise this under the fabric we call "reality."

I can sense the desire of most in this thread to let it go and trust that PJ will make us better than we've been in a long time, but we cannot.

Maybe we win out, and maybe we don't. As fans, it's OK to dream about it. And when you really take a long look underneath where we are presently, there's a lot of signs that point to a very successful season THIS year.

Our ypp has increased each game against 3 tough D's, to where it was about 7 ypp against MSU. This and we're barely at 50% efficiency just now. We have the talent on offense to make serious waves THIS year, if they get it. They are getting it. The OL improved tremendously betwee the VT and MSU games. Those are smart, athletic guys, so we knew they would in time. Well, they just did.

We have an off week to heal and rest up, then 2 games we ought to win fairly handily. This gives us 4 weeks to make the next step up before the CU game, and their weakness (DL) appears to play directly into our strength. At this point, you have to think we have a good chance of beating CU.

Beyond that there are too many variables right now, but the immediate future is incredibly bright. Now sure something may happen to derail all this. Most of us remember 1996, when a rash of injuries ruined our season. Those things can't be predicted. This season is bright.

Some folks are just optimistic by nature, some are less so, and some are downright pessimistic. We all have our different takes, but we should all enjoy the ride and dream a little. If it doesn't happen, so what? At least you had fun dreaming. This is entertainment, and having fun is what it's all about.

Dream on, "brothers and sisters," it's gonna be fun. Here's for winning out!

 

[Buzz4Him]

Our ypp has increased each game against 3 tough D's, to where it was about 7 ypp against MSU. This and we're barely at 50% efficiency just now. We have the talent on offense to make serious waves THIS year, if they get it. They are getting it. The OL improved tremendously betwee the VT and MSU games. Those are smart, athletic guys, so we knew they would in time. Well, they just did.

The ypp have been as follows for the 3 D-1 games:
BC 4.76
VT 6.11
MSU 7.95

And by half
BC 4.8 4.7
VT 5.8 7.3
MSU 6.1 9.8

This seems to support your theory that they are "getting it".

 

[Buzzing72]

10-1 I have not been impressed with any of the teams we have left. I think the Miami game will be our toughest test of the season. There defense looks really good and there QB's confidence is rising each week. But we have them in our house so I give us the edge.

 

[beej67]

I don't see how projecting 9 wins is "mediocrity."

 

[stinger78]

I don't see how projecting 9 wins is "mediocrity."

9 wins is not. It's the 7-8 wins that are, IMO. 9 wins is probably the safe bet right now. 10 means we only lose to UGAG. We may well end up with 7-8 wins, but given our progress and what's happening with the teams on our schedule, 7-8 is pretty pessimistic, IMO. 7 means only going .500 (4-4) from here on out with Duke, GW and UVA ahead of us. 8 means we only beat 2 of CU, FSU, UNC, Miami and UGAG. That's pretty pessimistic in my book for where we are right now.

 

[BuzzCzar]

9 wins is not. It's the 7-8 wins that are, IMO. 9 wins is probably the safe bet right now. 10 means we only lose to UGAG. We may well end up with 7-8 wins, but given our progress and what's happening with the teams on our schedule, 7-8 is pretty pessimistic, IMO. 7 means only going .500 (4-4) from here on out with Duke, GW and UVA ahead of us. 8 means we only beat 2 of CU, FSU, UNC, Miami and UGAG. That's pretty pessimistic in my book for where we are right now.

10 wins could mean that we lose to Miami and beat UGa. Remember that in football, there is no logic and anyone can have a bad day on a given Saturday. To assume logically will only make an ass of you and me.

 

[stinger78]

10 wins could mean that we lose to Miami and beat UGa. Remember that in football, there is no logic and anyone can have a bad day on a given Saturday. To assume logically will only make an ass of you and me.

Yes, this is very true, but I didn't want to get into all the possibilities, so I simply mentioned the one we're most likely to lose to. as the likely loss.