Having watched now for 14 games, Brent Key football at Georgia Tech there is one predictive stat that is an obvious one but also looms large in whether the Jackets will win or lose on Saturday against Boston College. That stat is turnover margin.
In Tech's losses under Key
2022 UVA +2
2022 FSU +2
2022 Miami -4
2022 UGA =
2023 Louisville -1
2023 Ole Miss 0
2023 Bowling Green -3
In Tech's wins
2022 Pitt +3
2022 Duke +1
2022 VaTech +4
2022 UNC =
2023 South Carolina State =
2023 Wake Forest +3
2023 Miami +2
The obvious two outliers are the Virginia game where Jeff Sims tried to play and could not run and Zach Gibson entered the game trying to run the same game plan as Sims and was put in a bad spot and played worse. The other one is the FSU game where Tech's defense just got gashed for the entire game by FSU who suddenly put the pieces together to begin the run they are still on.
This season has been the most obvious one with the three losses all coming in games they did not win the turnover battle. Ole Miss and Tech both avoided turnovers as the only game during this 14-game span without a turnover for at least one side but there was a blocked kick that went against Georgia Tech which to me is the same as a turnover. King's fumble that gave Louisville an edge happened at the UL26 when the Jackets were driving to take the lead down 29-28 with 3:53 to go on the second-longest drive of the day for the Jackets.
The less said about Bowling Green the better.
That brings us to Boston College. Tech is top 30 in turnover margin this season (+3) despite the last two games tilting the numbers a little bit due to the sheer volume by the Jackets of six total turnovers. Boston College is ranked 90th at -1 on the season.
It is a simple stat but it is pretty much an accurate one. Every good coach I know follows it along with blocked kicks as being consistent predictors of a chance to win.
In Tech's losses under Key
2022 UVA +2
2022 FSU +2
2022 Miami -4
2022 UGA =
2023 Louisville -1
2023 Ole Miss 0
2023 Bowling Green -3
In Tech's wins
2022 Pitt +3
2022 Duke +1
2022 VaTech +4
2022 UNC =
2023 South Carolina State =
2023 Wake Forest +3
2023 Miami +2
The obvious two outliers are the Virginia game where Jeff Sims tried to play and could not run and Zach Gibson entered the game trying to run the same game plan as Sims and was put in a bad spot and played worse. The other one is the FSU game where Tech's defense just got gashed for the entire game by FSU who suddenly put the pieces together to begin the run they are still on.
This season has been the most obvious one with the three losses all coming in games they did not win the turnover battle. Ole Miss and Tech both avoided turnovers as the only game during this 14-game span without a turnover for at least one side but there was a blocked kick that went against Georgia Tech which to me is the same as a turnover. King's fumble that gave Louisville an edge happened at the UL26 when the Jackets were driving to take the lead down 29-28 with 3:53 to go on the second-longest drive of the day for the Jackets.
The less said about Bowling Green the better.
That brings us to Boston College. Tech is top 30 in turnover margin this season (+3) despite the last two games tilting the numbers a little bit due to the sheer volume by the Jackets of six total turnovers. Boston College is ranked 90th at -1 on the season.
It is a simple stat but it is pretty much an accurate one. Every good coach I know follows it along with blocked kicks as being consistent predictors of a chance to win.
