ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit gave Georgia Tech a healthy dose of love Thursday, picking the Yellow Jackets to win the ACC championship over Florida State.
He did not pick Tech to make the College Football Playoff, however, going with Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma and Arizona State.
Herbstreit also reaffirmed his appreciation for quarterback Justin Thomas, naming him the winner of his preseason "Herbie" for most exciting player. (A bit of background: Herbstreit was an option quarterback in high school and has remained a fan of the option offense.)
So what is a Herbstreit endorsement for Tech to win the conference worth?
I searched for previous Herbstreit predictions and found 32 predictions for division winners, conference champions and, last year, College Football Playoff participants. I left out his picks for BCS participants and winners, as they’re a substantially more difficult projection.
Out of 32 picks in the past four seasons, he was right on 13. (Sources: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011)
I’m going to guess that that’s probably not a bad rate among his peers. However, he has cashed in on picking Alabama to win the SEC West, the SEC and to earn a spot in the CFP, which is sort of like betting on a savings account. He is 5-for-7 picking the Tide. So, on non-Alabama picks, Herbstreit is 8-for-25. (Interestingly, Herbstreit picked LSU to win the SEC over Tennessee this season.)
Take the Tech pick for what it’s worth – a nice endorsement, and one that could prove accurate, but not exactly Warren Buffett.
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