Tuesday Muse-day 10/15: Bets for the Second Half of the Season

To speak my truth, I only watched the first half of our game this weekend. Not really because I turned it off in disgust, but because I had the privilege of being in Baton Rouge for LSU vs Florida and Tiger Tailgaitin’ took precedence. Boy did I have a good time. Shoutout to our brethren at And The Valley Shook for hosting and feeding us. Keep your eye out for a full recap from Stephen and I in the coming weeks.

Game Recap in Three Sentences

A 28 point second quarter doomed the Jackets; this included three offensive touchdowns and one blocked punt returned for a touchdown as well.

The damage was already done, but Tech tightened up and held Duke to just 95 yards in the second half.

The offense looked decent at times as Tech outgained Duke 379 to 373, but two turnovers on downs and five drives of 0 or fewer yards left a lot to be desired.

Uniform Rating

1.9/3. Meh. I just don’t love the navy numerals.

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

ATLeast We Ain’t Them of the Week

Michigan State. Wisconsin has done nothing this season but bully opponents, and Saturday was no different. They held the Spartans to just 149 total yards and 7 first downs while maintaining a 2:1 advantage in time-of-possession. For those keeping track at home, this is the Badger’s fourth shutout this season. Start paying attention, because this defense is becoming one of the best in history.

Above The Line of the Week

• Pulled pork and cheese grits.
• Me losing my voice screaming T I G E R S TIGERS. Spelling can be so fun.
• Literally everything about Death Valley. I seriously do not have enough words to describe the awe and splendor of a night game in Tiger Stadium.

Stat of the Week

206.

This is the number of passing yards Tech earned against Duke. It isn’t great, but it is our highest so far this season and hints at some solid improvement. We only had 13 total 200-yard passing games under Johnson, but this is our future. James Graham is proving to be a serviceable quarterback that has noticeably improved as the season has progressed. I feel pretty confident that our first 300 yard passing game since 2011 will happen this year.

5 Star (7 Star, 5 Star) Developmental Program Haiku of the Week

Really hard to watch
We sure we’re getting better?
I guess, still sucks though

Bets for the Second Half of the Season

Let’s play around with some bets for what’s going to happen in our final six games.

Wins: O/U 1.5

I debated 0.5 for this one, but the emotional dummy in me really does think we’ll get at least one more. We’re bad, but there are signs we’re improving and glimpses of solid play if we can just piece some things together. The Coastal has descended into absolute madness and chaos, so I can’t help but feel like there are winnable games out there. The question is can we can get more than one? My gut says no, but crazier things have happened.

Players taking snaps at QB: O/U 2.5

We’ve seen a bunch in the first half of the season, however it does feel like we’re zeroing in on Graham being the guy. Still, I think we’ll at least get to see Lucas Johnson and Jordan Yates at least once each, so I’m taking the over here.

Rushing TD total vs passing TD total

In the first half we scored 5 passing and 8 rushing. I actually think there’s a decent chance this gets reversed in the second half because of a few factors. First, Graham is a decent passer, and he’s getting more comfortable as he actually gets starts. Second, Oliver seems to be fully invested in being a receiver now, and as our likely best athlete I think the staff wants to get him the ball as much as possible. Third, Ahmarean Brown is still lurking as an underutilized beast and I’m hoping he gets more opportunities as well. My guess is a push with 7 passing scores and 7 rushing.

Offensive yards per game: O/U 300

Our first half average was 309 yards/game against the 7th, 63rd, 18th, 72nd, and 43rd ranked defenses according to SP+ (The Citadel not included because *sigh* FCS) The rankings of our remaining six defenses are 24th, 11th, 19th, 66th, 34th, and 9th, respectively. This is a tough call. Playing four top 30 defenses to end the season is a rough draw, however the offense is showing signs of improvement. My gut says under.

Tobias Oliver touchdowns: O/U 2

Thus far TO has 2 total touchdowns, both rushing. The interesting wrinkle here is that we clearly want to work him into the passing game even as he continues to take a non-zero number of snaps at QB. I don’t think he’ll pass for any TDs, but I think there are plenty of scenarios where he gets multiple of both rushing and receiving ones. He’d make a great goal-line rushing threat and I have to believe our push to get him the ball will lead to at least one receiving touchdown. I’m taking the over.

Let me know what y’alls picks are, I’ll give out an award if anyone gets all five right.

P.S.

College football has got to be the biggest hotbed of schadenfreude in existence, and boy was Saturday briefly a really awesome day.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

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