Georgia Tech football entered ‘Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate’ looking to keep its College Football Playoff picture alive.
The 19th-ranked Yellow Jackets (No. 23 in CFP rankings), however, will come out of their Week 14 rivalry game with yet another loss, as Haynes King and Co. fell 16-9 to No. 4 Georgia (No. 4 in CFP rankings) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Friday, Nov. 28.
The loss drops Brett Key’s squad to a three-loss team, guaranteeing they will miss the CFP after they entered Rivalry Week ranked 23rd in the playoff rankings.
Georgia Tech hung in there with Georgia for much of the first half, as both teams traded field goals for their first scoring opportunities. The Bulldogs created some separation at the 4:44 mark of the second quarter when Gunner Stockton connected with Zachariah Branch for a 7-yard touchdown pass on third-and-5.
King threw an interception early in the third quarter, setting Georgia Tech further back on offense. The Yellow Jackets’ defense kept the offense in the game with a few key stops, but King and Co. weren’t able to piece together a touchdown drive in the second half, with arguably their best opportunity to score a touchdown coming on a last-second Hail Mary attempt.
Since Friday’s contest was a non-conference game for both teams, Georgia Tech will now screen watch the rest of the ACC to see if it can catch some breaks to make the ACC championship game next week in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Yellow Jackets need a Virginia loss to Virginia Tech and a SMU loss to Cal to make the conference championship game.
That all said, where will the Yellow Jackets fall in the latest top 25 rankings following the defeat? Here’s where they may land:
Georgia Tech football ranking: Where will Yellow Jackets fall in top 25?
Georgia Tech dropping to three losses loss didn’t come at a great time, as the final College Football Playoff top 25 ranking will be revealed in just over a week on Sunday, Dec. 7 at noon ET.
While the Georgia loss isn’t ‘bad’ for Georgia Tech — the Bulldogs are a top-four team in the latest CFP top 25 — the loss came too late in the season, and will negatively impact Georgia Tech’s CFP picture and top-25 ranking.
Final projection: No. 23