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Updated SP+ Rankings: Where Did Georgia Tech Land?
Nov 29, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) runs the ball against the Georgia Bulldogs in the third quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia Tech could be ready for a breakthrough season in Brent Key's third season.

The Yellow Jackets return a good mixture of veteran talent while also adding in freshmen from one of the best recruiting classes in program history. They supplemented that talent in the transfer portal with veteran additions in the winter and spring transfer windows as well, and that has fans and analysts alike feeling optimistic that Georgia Tech will be a top-half team in the ACC this season. Can they be something more?

New SP+ Rankings

In the final preseason update to his SP+ Rankings on ESPN, Bill Connelly projects Georgia Tech to be the No. 41 team in the country, with the No. 25 offense, and the No. 100 special teams.

Per SP+, Georgia Tech's ability to get a higher ranking this season will depend on their ability to improve on defense and field a much better special teams unit.

Improving special teams is something that Yellow Jackets special teams coach Tim Salem has been harping on in fall camp:

 I mean, you know, you just want to make sure every game, you just, you know, you win your battles and field position. And then you obviously, whatever plays you can make of, you know, downing a punt to the one-yard line or, you know, returning a punt for a touchdown or blocking up, you know, field goal, just making sure that all the plays are on our positive side. I mean, it's hard because, you know, the other team's got good players too, but you just hope to make sure you're going to do your job and do a plus. And, you know, we don't have the goal of saying, hey, we want just net punt, you know, 40 yards, because he might punt 47 for the day, but the opponent might punt 52. Well, great, punted 47, outstanding, but he punted 52, so, you know, we lost. There are times you net punt 36, and you punt net punt 32. Well, we won that day, just win Saturday. Things take care of themselves."

Defensive Improvement

Georgia Tech took good steps on the defensive side of the ball last season under Tyler Santucci, but they are going to need another improvement under first year defensive coordinator Blake Gideon. Gideon wants to get his side of the ball playing carefree and simple football:

"I think coaches are guilty all over the country, myself, I'm the most guilty of turning guys into robots, so to speak, right? Hey, these are the rules, you look here, when he does this, you do this, and we take away some of those natural instincts that we recruited the kid off of, right? They did something before they got to us, so it was good enough to get them here, so we're fighting to find that happy medium, right? you know, the most disciplined team in the universe, but also allowing some of that overlap. I think that's just, that's the nature of defensive football nowadays. You gotta have some overlap, you know, you can't, every time one guy, one of 11, is a little wrong, it can't, you know, turn into a 75-yard touchdown, right? You've gotta have some overlap and some guys that are filling in for one another, that are playing with their instincts, 'cause they've all got it.

They need somebody to tell them it's okay to use it; they need somebody to tell them it's okay to use it. We thought on film, but are they the personalities that we want, right? I think everybody kind of goes through that, through this whole transfer portal world. Are they gonna fit in the locker room? It's one thing to get a really good football player and a good athlete, but are they the personality type that's gonna fit into our culture? And all three of those guys, number one, they opened their ears and they shut their mouths as soon as they got here, right? And they listened, and they shut their mouth as soon as they got here, right? And they listened, and they learned, and they watched, and they saw how we're doing things here, and then once they felt like okay now's the time to let my light shine a little bit, then they do. I think Jy Gilmore is probably the ringleader in that he just permeates maturity a calmness a poise that is so important in today's game, especially on the back end to calm things down because inevitably they're gonna hit a first down at least, right? And so to be able to calm it down and prevent a disaster from happening. So all three of those guys have been great additions. And like I said, it's easy to find good football players, but find the right personality types. That's what's important to us here, right?"

Georgia Tech certainly has the ability to improve this ranking, but they have plenty to prove as well.

This article first appeared on Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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