You know football season is nearing when Phil Steele's predictions start rolling in. Steele is one of the leading experts in the sports world, and fans across the country listen to or read his predictions every offseason.
So where does Steele think Georgia Tech will rank in the ACC this year? Everyone expects Georgia Tech to field a good team heading into the 2024 season, but a tough schedule makes it hard to predict where the Yellow Jackets will ultimately rank.
Steele projects the Yellow Jackets to finish tied for 10th in the ACC along with the University of Pittsburgh, the 2021 ACC champions. Steele projects three schools to finish first — Clemson, Florida State and Miami — in fourth place, followed by SMU, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Louisville in eighth and Cal in ninth, just one spot above Georgia Tech.
I don't think this is an unfair prediction for Georgia Tech, but I think they will finish better than North Carolina or California. Also, SMU isn't as highly rated going into their first season in the ACC as the other teams. Given their projected ranking of 10th, I think they'll likely finish the season 6-6 or 7-65.
They start the year with a projected win total of 5.5, but 247Sports analyst Grant Hughes wrote earlier this week that the Yellow Jackets will surpass that mark and finish the season in ninth place in the ACC with a 7-5 record.
Wins: Georgia State, Virginia-Maryland, Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
Losses: Florida State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Miami, North Carolina State
“This is one of the best Georgia Tech teams in years, but they have a tough battle ahead of them in their quest for bowl eligibility in 2024. The Yellow Jackets are expected to win close games against Louisville, North Carolina and Virginia Tech, but Brent Key's team will face CFP contenders in the first five weeks and then ACC title contenders like Miami and North Carolina State shortly thereafter. Georgia Tech is the only ACC team in our toughest composite schedule rankings, ranked sixth overall.”
I think this is a fair analysis and going 7-5 with this schedule should be considered a win in my opinion. 11 of Georgia Tech's 12 opponents played in a bowl game last year and I think up to 7 of their opponents could start the year in the top 25.
The schedule is very tough, but I don't think the Yellow Jackets get enough credit heading into next season.
There were a few first-year head coaches in the sport last season, but despite leading his team to its first bowl game since 2018 and its first bowl game win since 2016, Brent Key didn't get the attention of Colorado's Deion Sanders or Nebraska's Matt Lue. Neither of them reached a bowl game or had any notable wins. Key beat Miami, North Carolina, played Georgia tougher than most teams, and beat UCF in a bowl game. He took over a program that was on the back burner under former head coach Geoff Collins (now at North Carolina) and made it competitive in his first year. Few people realize that the Yellow Jackets could have made it to the ACC Championship if Georgia Tech hadn't blown a double-digit lead to Louisville in the season opener.
Yep, that almost happened. The Yellow Jackets finished fourth in the ACC behind Florida State, Louisville and North Carolina State. If the Yellow Jackets won a few games, they would have a shot at playing the Seminoles in Charlotte for the ACC championship.
That fact tends to get forgotten by people when talking about this year's ACC race, with other ACC teams, especially Virginia Tech, getting a lot more attention in the Top 25 rankings early on in the offseason despite failing to win against a powerhouse like Georgia Tech last year and failing to return the offensive firepower they showed.
On a recent episode of Late Kick, Pate called the Yellow Jackets one of the most underrated teams in the country coming into the year.
“I would say Georgia Tech is a little bit underrated as well. The difference with Georgia Tech is their schedule is a lot tougher. I'm not going to lie. They play Georgia every year. They were 7-5 last year with 5.5 wins, but I think that's mostly because of the tough games. They still have Haynes King at quarterback. Their offense is in the top 10 this year with returning players. They have great wide receiver depth. Their defense was bad last year, I think they were 123rd in yards allowed last year, but they revamped their defensive staff, revamped their defensive roster. They're the opposite of Nebraska, and if they play a C+ or B- defense, they should be able to win 5.5 or more games.”
Georgia Tech is by no means a perfect team, but the progress they've made under Coach Key and the amount of talent they have returning this season hasn't been talked about enough. It may not be long before the Yellow Jackets make their presence felt this season, with the entire nation watching in Week 0 against Florida State, which will be nationally televised on ESPN. This could be their chance to show why they are one of the most underrated teams in the country heading into 2024.
