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Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets start 2018 season unranked

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 1: A member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team holds his helmet up at the beginning of the fourth quarter during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field on November 1, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia Tech beat Florida State 31-28. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 1: A member of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team holds his helmet up at the beginning of the fourth quarter during the game against the Florida State Seminoles at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field on November 1, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia Tech beat Florida State 31-28. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
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In not so shocking news, the Georgia Tech football team will start their 2018 season unranked after not ending up in the Associated Press’s preseason poll.

For the third straight season and eighth time in the current decade, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will begin their 2018 campaign as an unranked team. The Jackets have been ranked in the preseason top-25 just three times during the Paul Johnson era. The Associated Press released their preseason rankings on Monday afternoon, which saw the Alabama Crimson Tide take the top spot for the third straight season.

The Yellow Jackets going unranked to start the season is no surprise as the program went 5-6 last season after struggling consistently late in games. No teams that had a losing season last year were ranked in AP preseason poll with the worst teams among the preseason top-25 going 7-6 last season (West Virginia, Florida State, Texas, Oregon).

While the Yellow Jackets are not in this year’s preseason top-25, the ACC was still well represented with four teams making the preseason poll. The Clemson Tigers will start the season as the ACC’s best and the second best in the nation as they came in just behind Alabama and finished with 18 first place votes. Miami was the only other ACC team in the top 10 as the Hurricanes came in at #8. The next pair of ACC team’s come in at #19 and #20 with Florida State and Virginia Tech respectively to round out the ACC’s presence in the preseason poll.

Three Random Thoughts on the Preseason Top 25:

Extra motivation for SCAR: The first thought that ran through my mind when looking at the preseason top 25 was the absence of South Carolina. I believe the Gamecocks could make the SEC East an interesting race this season especially if they can pull an upset over Georgia in week 2.

Not that strong of a storm: When looking at teams that are overrated, I think the first one that really jumps off the poll at me is Miami at #8. The Hurricanes are coming off a great season but at the same time, they showed at times to be a real beatable team. They’re a strong team but in my mind, to be a top-10 team, you have to be a National Title contender and they’re not a title contender in 2018.

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Texas is back…..: Oh look, Texas is ranked in the top-25 once again. Perhaps, this is the year that Texas is back, perhaps not. People love to overreact with the Longhorns and after starting as the 23rd best team in the country last season, the Longhorns went 5-7. I think Tom Herman will eventually turn it around in Austin but the program has been a disaster since 2013.