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Georgia Tech Football: Jackets have 10th toughest schedule

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Paul Johnson of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets smiles during the first half of the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at EverBank Field on December 31, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Paul Johnson of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets smiles during the first half of the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at EverBank Field on December 31, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Rob Foldy/Getty Images) /
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ESPN recently released their strength of schedule for their FPI (Football Power Inde

x) and the Jackets have the 10th toughest schedule heading into the new season.

If the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets want to be playing in the ACC Championship game this upcoming December, they won’t have an easy path to get there. The Jackets enter the season with the 10th toughest schedule, the highest of any ACC team. The toughest schedule in the 2017 season belongs to the California Golden Bears.

It’s pretty easy to understand why the Jackets schedule is ranked so high in strength of schedule. When considering ESPN’s FPI rankings, the Jackets have a pretty heavy schedule.

  • Tennessee: 13.5
  • Jacksonville State: N/A
  • UCF: -0.5
  • Pittsburgh: 4.4
  • North Carolina: 9.1
  • Miami: 14.6
  • Wake Forest: 1.1
  • Clemson: 19.7
  • Virginia: -2.8
  • Virginia Tech: 8.4
  • Duke: 2.5
  • Georgia: 15.7

When you factor in home and away games it begins to make more sense. The Jackets may face Tennessee at a neutral field (but is it really?) and Georgia at home but they must travel to Miami and to Clemson. The Jackets have four top-20 FPI opponents, luckily they don’t have to face Florida State and Louisville who have the third and 17th highest FPI respectively.

The conference with the toughest schedules this season is without a doubt the SEC, who’s 14 teams rank all inside the top 50 with 14 inside the top 40. The Pac-12 also features their entire conference inside the top 50.

The ACC should have very little arguments are the strength of schedule as the entire ACC is ranked inside the top 60. The entire ACC ranks as the following:

  • Georgia Tech: 10
  • FSU: 13
  • NC State: 17
  • Clemson: 20
  • Wake Forest: 21
  • Duke: 23
  • Pitt: 26
  • Boston College: 33
  • Syracuse: 34
  • UNC: 37
  • Miami: 42
  • UVA: 54
  • VT: 56
  • Louisville: 57

Overall, the ACC’s SOS is pretty high this season with an average SOS rank of 31.6. Most already knew that the Jackets faced a tough schedule in 2017 but ESPN’s FPI SOS rankings just confirm the tough road that lays ahead for the Jackets. It all starts off on Labor Day against the Tennessee Volunteers.