Georgia stays at No. 4, Georgia Tech falls heading into rivalry week

ATHENS — To little surprise, Georgia picked up an easy win over Charlotte on Saturday.

The 35-3 win ensured Georgia would remain as the No. 4-ranked team in the AP Top 25 Poll heading into Week 14. Georgia is also No. 4 in the Coaches Poll ranking for this week.

Georgia’s opponent heading into the final week of the season did not enjoy a stress-free Saturday, with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets falling, 42-28, at home to Pitt.

The loss dropped Georgia Tech from No. 15 to No. 23 in the AP Poll rankings. The Yellow Jackets also saw their ACC championship game hopes take a serious hit. A win would have clinched a spot in the conference title game.

Now, Georgia Tech has to try and get off the mat with Georgia rolling into Atlanta.

The game won’t be played at home for Georgia Tech, with the game moving to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It will be a short week for both teams, with the game being played on Black Friday once again.

Last year’s contest was played in Athens and saw the Yellow Jackets jump out to a 17-0 lead. Georgia rallied to win in eight overtimes, 44-42.

Before Saturday’s loss, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made it known Georgia expects to get Georgia Tech’s best shot and then some this coming week.

“It’s the same amount of time they have, we have,” Smart said. “So I don’t know that it’s an advantage. The advantage, I guess you’re asking about, is you did it before, so repeating the process. But it’s a little different this time for us in terms of timing and everything because we’ve got to go on the road this time.”

Georgia will be fully occupied with trying to take down Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs do still have a chance to play back-to-back games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as Georgia is still alive to play in the SEC championship game.

Georgia’s chances of making it to the game did take a hit Saturday with Vanderbilt beating Kentucky. The only scenarios in which Georgia can get to Atlanta involve either Texas A&M losing to Texas or Alabama losing to Auburn. Both of those games will be played after Georgia concludes its game against Georgia Tech.

Friday’s game is set for a 3:30 p.m. ET game on ABC.