presented in no particular order
33, T33 – where Georgia Tech ranks in the USA Today coaches poll and the Associated Press poll, respectively. It's the first time this season that the Jackets have received votes.
(The last time Tech was in the top 25 was in the Nov. 20, 2011 poll, which preceded the Georgia game. I'm guessing there won't be enough movement ahead of Tech this week to get in. There's only game between ranked teams – No. 11 UCLA and No. 15 Arizona State – and No. 20 BYU and No. 23 East Carolina are also idle, as is Marshall, which is head of Tech in the "others receiving votes" pile. The very useful site that listed every AP voter's ballot is no longer, unfortunately, but, from poking around, I saw that Josh Kendall of the State in Columbia, S.C., had Tech at No. 21 . The page has the date wrong.)
(Interestingly, North Dakota State, which is an FCS school, also received votes. I guess that’s within the rules. The Bison are 4-0, beat Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, and beat Montana, a top-five FCS team, 22-10, on Saturday)
49 – Tech's rank in the Sagarin ratings. The Jackets are actually behind Virginia Tech, which is No. 42. Tech isn't helped, presumably, by its schedule strength ranking (No. 113), although Duke is No. 41 and the Blue Devils' SOS is worse (No. 190). Clearly a conspiracy. (Actually, from what I can tell, the Sagarin ratings are a synthesis of three other ratings, one of which rates Tech considerably lower than Duke.)
5 – the number of blocked kicks Chris Milton has in his career, three last season and two more this year, including a Virginia Tech field-goal try against Virginia Tech. It was, in fact, the first field-goal try that the Hokies have had blocked since 2006.
3 – Tech's blocked kick total, tied for second in the country
Offense yards-per-play
Defense yards per play
.75 – Tech's average turnover margin, tied for35th in the country
6 – interceptions, tied for eighth in the country. Tech had 14 last season. Six players – Lawrence Austin, Paul Davis, Corey Griffin, Quayshawn Nealy, Demond Smith and D.J. White – all have one each. Two have been returned for touchdowns.
56.25 – Tech's third-down conversion rate, tied for seventh in the country
48.98 – Tech's defensive third-down conversion rate, tied for 112th
75 – Tech's touchback percentage, sixth in the country
19 – Tech's plays of 20 yards or more, tied for 35th in the country
21 – Tech's plays of 20 yards or more allowed, tied for 110th in the country
160.52 – Justin Thomas' passer rating, 23rd in the country
110.75 – Thomas' rushing yards per game, 23rd in the country and second among quarterbacks behind Boston College's Tyler Murphy (125.0)
24.21 – DeAndre Smelter's yards-per-catch average, 15th in the country
79.00 – Zach Laskey’s yards-per-game rushing average, tied for 62nd in the country
4 – Game-winning field goals on last play of game in Tech's modern history. Harrison Butker joins Scott Sisson (Virginia 1991, N.C. State 1992) and Luke Manget (Georgia 1999).
+4, +19, -2, +22 – Tech's point differentials by quarter
.517 – Tech's points-per-play average, 24th in the country.
.421 – Tech's defensive points-per-play average, 80th in the country
(For what it’s worth, three defensive numbers noted above – yards per rush, yards per pass attempt, yards per play and points per play – were down in the Virginia Tech game compared to the season average. In order, 3.85/5.43, 7.6/7.6, 5.89/6.37, .333/.421. Third-down conversion rate was up - 48.98 for the season and 57.14 for the game.)
