Georgia Tech only moves up a spot despite having one of the best odds to win the conference
The latest College Football Playoff Rankings just came out, and there are a few questionable things in the poll. Let’s take a deeper dive into some key takeaways from the committee and its rankings.Oct 25, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King throws a pass against the Syracuse Orange in the first quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field.
Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images I mean to move up just one spot in the poll when you were idle the week before, and No. 19 Virginia and No. 20 Louisville went down is befuddling to me. Another head-scratcher is the Miami Hurricanes being ranked above the Yellow Jackets despite having two losses. The Hurricanes lost to Louisville and unranked SMU. Their quarterback, Carson Beck, combined for six interceptions in those two losses and had four against Louisville. Miami’s notable win this season came in Week 1 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who also have two losses. One to Miami and Texas A&M. The Fighting Irish will travel to play Pittsburgh on Saturday. Georgia Tech is one of the best teams in the country when you look at them as a team. They have a Heisman candidate in Haynes King, who is the consummate leader of the pack. He leads them in various statistical categories this season. They also have one of the best rushing attacks in the nation. Georgia Tech is ranked No. 13, averaging 221 yards per game.Sep 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; ACC commissioner Jim Phillips on the sideline before a game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Temple Owls at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images It is honestly just the reality of the situation right now. Yes, there are five teams ranked in the latest poll. However, none of the teams are ranked in the top 12. When breaking down the playoff bracket, remember that there are five spots for the highest-ranked power conferences, and then seven at-large bids. As it is currently constructed, the ACC wouldn’t get one at a large bid. It has to be concerning for a conference that has five one-loss teams in conference play and that has parity like we haven’t seen before. Here is what the Chairman of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, Mack Rhoades, had to say about the ACC.We don't look at conferences. We look at each of the teams. And I think for the ACC, when you look at their nonconference schedule, there really are no signature wins other than Miami versus Notre Dame,” said Rhoades. Earlier in a press conference on Tuesday, head coach Brent Key talked about how good and competitive the ACC conference is. It is too bad that it is not viewed the same. “I've seen it with a competitive league where anybody can beat anybody any given week. That's really a reflection of college football right now. Everybody wants to talk about rev share and NIL and transfer portal and all these things in a negative light. I mean, to me, it's been the greatest thing that can happen to college football. Have there been some bumpy roads with it at the start? Yeah, but I mean that's every 15 years or so, there's a major shift and change in college football. If you go back and look at the last 60 years, you can see those changes and shifts. And once you kind of weather the initial storm, they're usually always for the better. It’s not going anywhere, it's not changing. What it's done though, it's really leveled the playing field a lot. It's allowed teams to change rosters really fast,” said Key. “Now, just to change your roster is part of it. You also have to have them be able to fit into the locker room and culture of your team. But I mean, being able to sit down and watch some games on Saturday during the bye, man, it's exciting. It's really exciting. I would say probably in the last three years, college football has done almost a 180 and just the competitiveness of it. Every game is coming down to the wire. A lot of these meaningful games are coming down to the wire. You see really good players on teams that in the past be like, that doesn’t make sense. And you see teams in the past that were considered. You know these dynasty blue blood programs that are beatable every week, right? And it's awesome.”Sep 20, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Daylon Gordon celebrates with head coach Brent Key after a touchdown against the Temple Owls in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images It is unfortunate, but the Yellow Jackets can not leave any doubt. There is a ton of parity in the sport, but in the final three games, Georgia Tech must play at a high level and knock out its opponents. I think ideally the Yellow Jackets have to go 11-1 and beat a top-ranked Georgia in the Clean-Old Fashioned Hate rivalry and then go and win the ACC championship. That would put them at 12-1 on the season and an undeniable playoff resume. Coach Key talked about the team being upset and pissed off, which I think will lead to the Yellow Jackets playing their best ball the rest of the way and crushing their opponents. You can just tell there is something that is different about the team after the bye week. “Number one, there's an anger, a pissed off, hurt, mad emotion from the previous game. We've had two weeks to sit on that thing. Damn right I'm pissed off. Everyone is. But on the flip side, there's the excitement and the energy of what's in front of us. So we gotta be able to take those emotions, and football is, oh, we can't use emotion. No, you have to take your emotions and channel them into energy. That's what football is about. So, really, you have both ends of the spectrum with our team right now. And that's what we're using the channelling that energy. Now we've just got to channel it over the next three days, four days into that small pinpoint focus in the ability to go compete uh on Saturday,” said Key.Najeh Wilkins covers football and basketball for Georgia Tech Athletics at FanNation. He has experience in recruiting, hosting, play-by-play, and color commentary.
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