Starting off the season with a post here on my team. Yes I can say "my" team here, I graduated and have proof.
Alright Jackets fans, something has got to give this year. We're playing two FCS teams, so assuming we beat both we will need 7 wins to get to a bowl game. There are seven winnable games on the schedule, but that may be it. Most likely, we're going to have to break a trend this year to go to a bowl game.
Under Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech is:
* 1-4 vs Virginia Tech
* 1-4 vs Miami
* 1-4 vs Georgia
In fact, all three wins were from the 2008 and 2009 seasons. It has been too long.
Also looming big this year is the trip to Charlottesville, Virginia. While Paul Johnson's record there is only 1-1, that one win was the only one in 20+ years of trips there.
Due to a stupid scheduling quirk (thank you Dan Radakovich) we get to go to Clemson for the second straight year. It fixes a few long-term scheduling issues, but it screws us in the process by an Athletic Director who then left to be the AD at Clemson. DRad can kiss our butts for that move. Clemson is expected to be real good this year, and while Tech has had their number in a lot of games, it doesn't look good. Paul Johnson's record in Clemson is only 1-2.
That's five of twelve games that aren't looking good for the Jackets. Unless we break a trend, we're staring at 7-5 at best. There's no wiggle room for errors. No upsets.
So we look at the other seven games.
* Elon and Alabama A&M are the two FCS teams visiting Atlanta. Those should be easy wins.
* Duke and North Carolina visit in back-to-back weeks in September. Duke will most likely take a step back this year. North Carolina should be better than last year, but GT tore them a new one in Chapel Hill last year. These two games should be wins for Tech.
* We get both conference newcomers in Atlanta this year, Syracuse visits in mid-October while Pitt visits in early November. Pitt and GT should turn into a nice rivalry. Syracuse will be rebuilding this year. Pitt will be close. Both could be GT victories.
* This leaves us with a trip to BYU in mid-October. I could barely watch the game last year in Atlanta. BYU absolutely shut down GT's offense. 157 yards total, 117 on the ground with 40 in the air. GT scored 17 points, but neither touchdowns were on offense (interception return and a kickoff return). This is where we see what this team is like. This is game #6 on the schedule, Tech will have played three winnable games, and two most-likely losses (Miami and VT) by this point. A loss on the road here and this might be it.
Keys:
* The offense has been fine the past couple of years. A new starting QB in Vad Lee will have a few issues, but he's had enough playing time to get the bigger kinks out of the way already. GT has averaged 34 ppg the past couple of seasons, expect that to continue.
* The defense absolutely has to get better this year. This is it. GT's defense has gotten worse every year under Paul Johnson. That 2008 team gave up an average of 20.3 PPG. The championship season of 2009 it was 24.8 PPG. 2010 saw a rise to 25.2 PPG. 2011 saw it get worse to 26.1 PPG. 2012 was a disaster at 28.3 PPG. New defensive coordinator Ted Roof has his work cut out for him. If the trends continue, nobody on the coaching staff may be employed at GT this time next year.
So what's my prediction? 7-5. We lose a game we shouldn't (most likely @BYU) and win a game that breaks a trend (@UVA looks likely).
