Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

College Basketball Betting Lines

2005 Stats

2005 Season Summary

Few teams in all of sports, either college or pro, frustrate the challenge the patience of both fans and gamblers alike as do college football’s Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Tech is tantalizingly talented and capable of beating the finest powerhouse programs while turning right around and losing to the meek and the weak.

Three straight minor bowls under Gailey

Since Chan Gailey took over as head coach in 2002, Georgia Tech had become one of the most challenging teams for college football bettors to handicap. The Yellow Jackets had made three straight minor bowls under Gailey posting straight up records of 7-6, 7-6, and 7-5, which demonstrated a conflicting pattern of potential and failure.

As Gailey entered his fourth season at the helm his teams had improved dramatically on defense but regressed on offense. Despite having a talented quarterback in Reggie Ball, Tech’s offense was stagnant and staid, ultimately holding the Ramblin Wreck back from achieving contender status. Gailey’s main challenge in 2005 was to develop Tech into a consistent unit on both sides of the ball that could still beat the best teams in the land while not being caught napping against lesser foes.

A fantastic start

Georgia Tech kicked off the 2005 campaign with a Saturday Night national television game at Auburn where they were 7-point dogs to a team that was coming off an undefeated 2004 season. As has happened so many times in the past, Tech pulled off a shocker as they scored a 23-14 outright upset.

The Jackets were over-valued for their home opener as 12.5-point chalks against North Carolina in a 27-21 win. This was followed by a nice 28-13 home win against Connecticut as 14.5-point chalks. It was a fantastic start for Georgia Tech, who stood at 3-0 straight up and 2-1 against the spread.

Exposed as a pretender

Georgia Tech had climbed to 15 th in the national polls as they headed to Blacksburg for an ACC showdown against 4 th ranked Virginia Tech. The Jackets were an enticing 10.5-point dog, which was a trap, as Georgia Tech was, indeed, a wreck in a 7-51 loss in which they were completely exposed as a pretender.

The Jackets were obviously punch drunk in their next game, at home as 3.5-point chalks against struggling North Carolina State . The Wolfpack prevailed 14-17 and Tech now stood at 3-2 straight up and 2-3 against the spread.

Back on track

Georgia Tech’s back-to-back losses did serve the purpose of regaining some of their value against the sportsbooks as they next headed off to hapless Duke where they were installed as a 21-point chalk. The Jackets rewarded contrarian bargain hunters with a 35-10 cover to get back on track.

When in doubt its always wise to take the points

Next was a home game against a very similar type program in the Clemson Tigers. Like Tech, Clemson could be great one week and then burn all of their “converts” the very next week against weak foes. In matchups such as this between two erratic teams that cannot be trusted it is not wise to “step out” but when in doubt its always wise to take the points, as was the case here as Tech got the 10-9 win but the 2.5-point underdog Tiers got the cash.

Tech won its third consecutive game straight up, 30-17, as 7.5-point chalks at Wake Forest . This was followed by an all too typical 17-27 loss at struggling Virginia as 3-point dogs.

One final high

The Virginia game soured gamblers again on Tech, who was a whopping 19-point live dog at Miami . Written off by nearly everyone, (and with that Auburn game forgotten), Tech pulled off a shocking 14-10 upset win for one final high that was followed by disappointment. Tech lost at home at 5-point dogs to rival Georgia 7-14 and was disgraced in their bowl game 10-38 by Utah as 9-point chalks to enrage alums and gamblers alike.