Take 5 after playing 5 games
The week 4 had a 3 way tie at the top spot. Sideways, Shipwreck, and @LeeNobody each got 8 correct guesses on the week last week. Congrats y’all. Our current leader on overall picks are mrbuzz1885 and YankeeJacket, we’ll see if they can stay on top. YankeeJacket pointed out that the strategy to pick only underdogs and GT over VMI then you would’ve had a record of 28 out of 42 correct picks. Last week that would’ve gotten you 6 of 11 correct picks, so maybe keep it in mind for the future.
Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images
We finally get our bye week after playing 5 straight games. This is essentially our mid season break, surprisingly in week 5 of the year, before we face our remaining 7 opponents. If you had told me at the start of the season that we would be 3-2 at this point, I would feel that is a pretty respectable record given our schedule. Similar to last year I’m surprised at how we got to the 3-2 record, but regardless we are above .500 which is a good thing in general. This season has been a rollercoaster of expectations and struggles as the season has ground on. In many ways GT is the same as they were last year, and that can be viewed as either a good thing or a bad thing. Our offense is good (with some caveats), our defense is a mess, we challenge top opponents (but don’t necessarily win), and we struggle to win games we should win.
I don’t necessarily think this is a bad state to have the team in, as long as we get to a bowl game at the end of the season, but it is likely a huge disappointment for fans and players a-like given the talent we have and how the season started. I know everyone wants to see improvement, so while I would be fine with another 6-6 season it would certainly be a let down from a fan perspective.
The team has some things to figure things out during their break. GT needs to come back refreshed for their next few games, with a clear strategy on how to fix our run game and improve things on defense and special teams. We have some must win games for our next two matchups, one of which is against a certain defensive coordinator who shall not be named. But that is for next week… This week I am going to relax this week and enjoy a slate of college games without stressing about how GT will perform, and I expect the GT players and coaches to do the same before they face their next big hurdle.
picks:
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets v Bye Week (No Spread Given)
Logan: During bye weeks we always give away a freebie pick. You’ll actually get 2 of these this year, so look forward to that. for now, if you want a win pick GT. You can pick Bye Week if you want, but you automatically lose the pick… so maybe don’t do that.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Tech
The Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas: Arkansas Razorbacks @ #24 Texas A&M Aggies (-3.5)
Logan: Both teams come into this matchup with 3-1 records and 1-0 records in the SEC. Arkansas holds the lead in this overall rivalry record 42-35-3, but Texas A&M has won 9 of the last 10 matchups. Despite being ranked #24 the Aggies biggest win was against UF, and that is far from impressive right now. Arkansas took Oklahoma State to OT earlier in the season through use of their run game. I think I’ll take the underdogs in this one and say that Arkansas can keep this rivalry game close.
Logan’s pick: Arkansas
Northern Illinois Huskies @ NC State Wolfpack (-7.0)
Logan: NC State returns back home after a brutal loss to Clemson last week. The majority of that loss can be tied to the injury to Grayson McCall leading to freshman CJ Bailey having to take the helm for his first start ever in Death Valley. I can see why that did not go well. Northern Illinois lost to Buffalo last week in OT, which was not a great follow up after their win at Notre Dame. Both these teams come into this game and view it as a winnable one that could shape how the rest of the season looks for them. I like NC State, but I think an NIU underdog team is one of the scariest things to face when your team is dealing with injuries. I expect NIU to cover.
Logan’s pick: NIU
#15 Louisville Cardinals @ #16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-6.5)
Logan: Both these rankings seem a bit inflated after last week. GT fans watched the game last week, and while I was impressed with Louisville’s defense in the redzone, the real story of that game was GT making mistakes which cost them the game. Notre Dame’s best win was against a Texas A&M team whose best win, as we noted above, is against a struggling Florida Gators team. I don’t really think either of these teams are what they have been hyped up to be. I will say I still respected the talent I saw from Louisville last week and I think they should be able to at least cover in this game. I guess I’ll take Louisville.
Logan’s pick: Louisville
Battle for the Victory Bell:
UNC Tar Heels @ Duke Blue Devils (-2.5)
Logan: These two teams will be the ones we line up against following our bye week, so GT fans may want to watch this game. UNC has looked really rough from their first game of the year. The saving grace for the Tar Heels has been their schedule which was very forgiving over the first few games. UNC was finally exposed against JMU, and now I expect the rest of their season to show similar results. Duke has also had an easier schedule to start the season, but at least they won all their matchups. I expect Duke to win this one.
Logan’s pick: Duke
Florida State Seminoles @ SMU Mustangs (-5.5)
Logan: Hey, FSU finally won a game. Congrats! Now the Seminoles get rewarded by going on the road to be underdogs against SMU. What a weird season this is. SMU has been all over the place so I’m not entirely sure what to make of them. FSU needed a record day from their defense to win against Cal last week and I’m not convinced the ‘Noles can do the same against SMU. I will take the Mustangs in this one, but I expect this game to be another complete mess.
Logan’s pick: SMU
#20 Oklahoma State Cowboys @ #23 Kansas State Wildcats (-6.0)
Logan: Both teams suffered losses last week. Oklahoma State at least kept things close against a tough Utah defense. Meanwhile Kansas State was blown away by BYU. The BYU win was based around 3 turnovers and a 90 yard punt return for a TD against the Wildcats. While I don’t see Kansas State showing the same number of turnovers this week, I do expect to see them a bit more rattled and I think Oklahoma State should be able to take advantage.
Logan’s pick: Oklahoma State
#19 Illinois Fighting Illini @ #9 Penn State Nittany Lions (-18.0)
Logan: Illinois has surprised me quite a few times this year, despite it only being week 5. Penn State has shown weaknesses, and I think that the Illini are the type of defensive opponent with a good QB that can take advantage of those weaknesses. I don’t think Illinois wins, but I do believe they will keep it closer than the projected spread.
Logan’s pick: Illinois
“Georgia Grown Bowl” per georgiastatesports.com:
Georgia Southern Eagles @ Georgia State Panthers (-3.5)
Logan: ESPN Analytics shows this game as a straight up coin flip. I believe Vegas is giving Georgia State the 3.5 points based on them coming off a bye week and getting the game at home, otherwise the teams seem on equal footing. In short, I expect this to be a good game. It’s always hard to tell in rivalry matchups how things will playout, but generally I expect matchups to be closer than expected. I think Georgia Southern should be able to keep things within a FG, and that should be enough to cover here.
Logan’s pick: Georgia Southern
Virginia Tech Hokies @ Miami Hurricanes (-19.0)
Logan: I could do a whole spiel on this one, but I’ll keep it simple. Miami has won every game they’ve played this year by at least 24 points. The spread is 19 points. That should be all the info you need. I normally diss on Miami but I got to admit they look real good this year, and VT is not living up to their dark horse ACC hype from the start of the year.
Logan’s pick: Miami
#2 uga (-1.5) @ #4 Alabama Crimson Tide
Logan: This should be a fun one. I think both teams are quite evenly matched in this game. Alabama’s defense has been stellar all season, and it seems that their offense figured some things out in their game against Wisconsin. Despite how good Alabama’s defense has looked, the dwags have looked even better as they are the only team that hasn’t given up a TD on defense on the year so far. What the team from athens lacks seems to be their offense. Despite being a Heisman favorite, Carson Beck has not looked great in his games. Beck is serviceable, but far from what we have expected him to be. That, accompanied by the “Don’t Pick Against Bama” Policy that we follow here means I have to take the Crimson Tide in this matchup.
Logan’s pick: Alabama