Projecting the 12-Team College Football Playoff: Can Georgia Tech Still Make It?

For the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, the final three games of the regular season are absolutely crucial. Two ACC matchups remain, a road trip to struggling Boston College, which they cannot afford to overlook, and then a home showdown with a dangerous Pitt team. A Panthers win would leapfrog Pitt over Georgia Tech in the ACC standings, raising the stakes even higher.

With the first College Football Playoff rankings set to release on Tuesday, here is an early projection of how the 12-team field could shape up by season’s end.

Note: This list is based on conference champions and the next eight teams to get in- not bracket seeding.

Projected 12-Team Playoff Field

Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Champion)
Ohio State finishes unbeaten and takes down Indiana in the Big Ten title game.

Texas A&M Aggies (SEC Champion)
The SEC crown feels like a toss-up between the Aggies and Alabama, but Mike Elko’s team appears locked in and poised to finish strong. The Aggies will complet a magical regular season heading into the playoff, winning the programs first ever SEC title.

Texas Tech Red Raiders (Big 12 Champion) 
With three games remaining including a key home matchup vs. BYU. The other two games are UCF and West Virginia. Texas Tech looks like the most complete team in the Big 12. Especially with that explosive offense.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (ACC Champion)
Yes, the Yellow Jackets defense looked rough against NC State, especially considering the Wolfpack were missing two key offensive weapons. But with the biggest remaining ACC test (Pitt) coming at home, and with this being Haynes King’s final run, the staff and players know this is a rare opportunity. Expect Georgia Tech to find a way to claim the ACC title.

Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana reaches the Big Ten Championship at 12–0 before falling to Ohio State. A 12–1 Hoosiers squad earns an at-large bid.

Alabama Crimson Tide
Kalen DeBoer has Alabama in a strong position. If the Tide win out, they’ll enter the SEC title game unbeaten in conference play. Their only loss was way back in the first game of the season. Alabama is safely in the field, if they win their remaining four regular season games.

Georgia Bulldogs
Kirby Smart’s team finishes 11–1 with a playoff-worthy résumé. Their regular-season finale comes against potential ACC champ Georgia Tech, a game that could boost either side’s profile.

Ole Miss Rebels
With games left vs. The Citadel, Florida, and Mississippi State, the Rebels finish 11–1, securing Lane Kiffin’s first CFP appearance.

Oregon Ducks
Dan Lanning’s Ducks dropped a tight one at home to Indiana but finish 11–1, giving the Big Ten three playoff teams in this projection.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
After opening 0–2 with losses to Miami and Texas A&M, Marcus Freeman’s team has been rolling. With Navy, Pitt, Syracuse, and Stanford left, a 10–2 Notre Dame team gets in.

BYU Cougars
A path exists for BYU to win the Big 12, but with Texas Tech earning the title here, an 11–2 Cougars team ,with both losses to the conference champs, remains in play. BYU is often undervalued, but in this projection they claim a playoff bid.

Memphis Tigers (AAC Champion)
The highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion is guaranteed a spot, and at 12–1 Memphis earns that bid.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Path

For Georgia Tech, the margin for error is gone. The matchup with Pitt is massive, and hosting the game provides a meaningful boost, even if Pitt doesn’t typically have a tough home-field advantage. The Yellow Jackets only realistic path is to win the ACC. This does not appear to be a year where the ACC sends multiple teams to the playoff. If Georgia Tech wins out, they would likely face a strong Virginia team in the title game. A team that would be just outside the CFP field in this scenario.