Countdown to Kickoff: 2020 Season Predictions

Ed. Note: This will contain season predictions for the season as a whole and Georgia Tech’s seasons.

Benjamin Tankersley

• For the record, I’ll say Tech finishes 6-5 after a rough start and bounces back with three or four straight wins to close the season.
• Jordan Mason, Juanyeh Thomas, and Tre Swilling all get All-ACC honors
• Georgia Tech averages more than 300 yards per game on offense
• At least two defensive linemen with five sacks
• Tech settles on a quarterback by Louisville
• No postseason outside of the CFP happens, and it’ll come down to Clemson and Alabama again.

Chris Paschal

For the sake of argument, I’ll assume the full season is happening:

• Wins against Syracuse, Louisville, Boston College, and either Pitt or Duke
• > 300 yards per game of offense
• < 350 yards allowed per game
• > 32 total offensive touchdowns
• Ahmarean Brown earns All-ACC honors
• 4 QBs gets at least 10 snaps

Jake Grant

Tech will go 5-6. It’s too much to ask from this still-young team with a still-yet-to-not-make-me-think-he-kinda-is-trash-and-CPJ’s-offensive-mastermind-status-spoiled-me OC to expect any more than that. Can we please get a win over Duke though? It’s been too long.

Jeffrey Cramer

I gave a prediction yesterday in the likely case scenarios but likely things hardly ever happen in the ACC so I’ll change it up a bit for my final predictions.

FSU: I have gone back and forth over if this is a win or not because FSU does recruit well but hasn’t performed as such and is in the first year of a coaching overhaul. This is the best time to catch FSU and I think Tech catches the Seminoles trying to work out some kinks. W (1-0)

UCF: Central Florida has had 10 players, both starters and backup, opt out of the season. This is still one of the best Group of 5 teams and is well-coached. UCF could be better than a lot of the ACC teams so a win here would be a nice bonus for Tech but I am going to lean toward a loss. L (1-1)

Syracuse: Syracuse has some decent players on their roster but little cohesion to make it work. This is the most probable win of the schedule even on the road. Tech should take care of this game or we have problems. W (2-1)

Louisville: No one expected this team to be as good as they were last year and they return a lot of those players. Credit Coach Satterfield for righting the ship in his first year and making this a dark horse candidate for the ACC Title. Tech doesn’t manage to steal a W from this one. L (2-2)

Clemson: Nothing to see here...or you would want to see anyway. L (2-3)

Boston College: The Eagles have a solid offensive line so they could be a pretty decent offense but they still have a young team overall and new coaching staff. With a new coaching staff and Clemson looming the following week give me a GT win. W (3-3)

Notre Dame: Toughest game behind Clemson and won’t be close after the half. L (3-4)

Pitt: Tech seems to keep having bad miscues against what are really mediocre Pitt teams. A cleaner game equals a win for the Yellow Jackets. W (4-4)

Miami: The Canes may have a new star QB but I have a feeling they don’t fix their poor team chemistry in a year that requires distancing. W (5-4)

Duke: Chase Brice keeps this Duke team from falling apart early and has their offense humming by this time. L (5-5)

NC State: Tech had one of their best performances against the Wolfpack last year who had no answers for Jordan Mason. Expect a similar result again. W (6-5)

Robert Binion

Game by Game:

@FSU - Close Win

UCF - Close Loss

@Syracuse - Comfortable Win

Louisville - Close Win

Clemson - Big Loss

@Boston College - Close Win

Notre Dame - Big Loss

Pitt - Close Loss

@Miami - Comfortable Loss

Duke - Comfortable Win

@NC State - Close Win

Final Record: 6-5

Offensive MVP: Tucker Gleason

Defensive MVP: Juanyeh Thomas

Best Moment: Winning in Tallahassee with a True Freshman at Quarterback

Worst Moment: Losing to Pitt, derailing hopes for an improbably special season and reminding us that we still have building to do

CFP: Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Notre Dame

National Champ: Clemson

Jake Patterson

-Wins: Syracuse, Boston College, Duke, N.C. State

-Toss-ups: Florida State, UCF, Pitt, and Miami

-Losses: Louisville, Clemson, Notre Dame

ACC and National Champion: Clemson

Heisman winner: Trevor Lawrence

The team will show make leaps and bounds from last season, but might not have the record to show for it. It’s ok though, a true freshman will play the majority of the season at QB, so the experience will be invaluable. The offensive line is getting older and improving, as is the defensive line. There will be considerable improvement towards the end of the year, so much so that a mid-to-high tier bowl game should be expected in 2021. Duke’s Mayo Bowl, here we come!