Georgia Tech Football: Saturday a must win for the Yellow Jackets
It’s only the middle of October but Georgia Tech is facing a must-win game on Saturday.
It’s no secret that Georgia Tech football has one of the toughest remaining schedules in all of college football. The combined record of their remaining opponents is 29-8, a winning percentage of .783. That being said, Saturday’s matchup against the Miami Hurricanes will be one of the biggest deciding factors in the ACC Coastal, if not the biggest. That makes Saturday’s matchup with Miami a must-win game for the Yellow Jackets.
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With a trip to Death Valley looming to take on the defending national champions, the Yellow Jackets are already looking at one probable loss. ESPN’s FPI gives the Jackets just a 10.3% chance of defeating Clemson on October 28th. The only two other games that the Jackets are underdogs in this season is Saturday’s game against Miami (26.1%) and the regular season finale against Georgia (26.3%).
That means the Jackets only ACC game outside of Saturday’s matchup with Miami that they are expected to lose is Clemson. As of right now, the Jackets would be expected to finish second in the ACC Coastal with a 6-2 conference record, with a tie-breaker over Virginia Tech due to the head-to-head victory. The Hokies already have one conference loss to Clemson.
Which goes back to Saturday’s matchup for the Yellow Jackets. The Jackets must win Saturday’s game against Miami in order to have the tie-breaker over the Hurricanes. To the dismay of both Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes do not face Clemson this season. The Hurricanes toughest ACC opponent remainings outside of the Yellow Jackets and Hokies appears to be the Virginia Cavaliers.
Therefore, Georgia Tech who is already looking at having at least one loss in the conference cannot afford to pick up another loss before October 28th to either Miami or Wake Forest. A loss on Saturday would virtually give the Jackets almost no chance of winning the ACC Coastal. Especially seeing how Miami has the 35th hardest schedule remaining in college football.
If the Yellow Jackets defeat Miami on Saturday and the rest of the season goes as the FPI expects, the Jackets would win the ACC Coastal and would most likely take on either Clemson or North Carolina State in the ACC Championship game.
With all that, the Jackets cannot look past Saturday’s game. All their energy and focus must be on the Hurricanes, the moment that the Yellow Jackets are not focused Saturday could be the moment that loses them the game.